Daniel Brown has worked in many steelmaking capitals in his 30-year career: Pittsburgh; Birmingham, Alabama; Detroit; and now Osceola, Arkansas.
Pittsburgh is home to his employer, U.S. Steel, and Osceola is in what is now the nation’s most productive county for steelmaking, Mississippi County.
U.S. Steel owns the Big River Steel plant in Osceola as well as the nearly completed Big River Steel 2.
It is part of nearly $4 billion in capital investment that the company is making there.
“We are in the process of launching cutting-edge new production lines,” Brown said. “We are poised to make history as the most technologically advanced steel plant in North America.”
From boyhood, he was captivated by the power and precision of steelmaking, Brown said.
He joined U.S. Steel in 1994 as a management associate in the Mon Valley Works Cold Mill south of Pittsburgh and steadily climbed the ladder. Before coming to Arkansas, he was general manager of the company’s Great Lakes Works, near Detroit.
Brown is a business logistics graduate of Penn State University, and he earned an MBA from Duquesne University in 1998.
“I am amazed at how quickly the time has flown by,” he said. His greatest accomplishments include “reviving a company from bankruptcy, mentoring emerging leaders and team members, and heading an extraordinary team that stands as the best in North America’s mini-mill sector.”
The steel industry is cyclical, Brown said. “However, the Big River Steel business model is designed for adaptability. It can make swift changes, move rapidly, and continuously adjust to maintain profitability and improve across all aspects of the business.”
Brown named Walmart founder Sam Walton as the CEO he admired most. “He was renowned for his drive, determination, integrity, strong relationships with customers and suppliers, continuous learning, and emphasis on teamwork.”
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