Alcoa appoints new COO to manage aluminium smelters

US aluminium producer Alcoa has promoted global primary products (GPP) CFO Roy Harvey to COO with immediate effect and named GPP group controller Leigh Ann Fisher his successor.

In his new role, Harvey would focus on the day-to-day operations of Alcoa's 22 aluminium smelters and nine alumina refineries worldwide, as well as bauxite assets in Australia, Brazil, Jamaica, Suriname, Guinea and, soon, Saudi Arabia.

"Roy has an impressive international track record, leading complex operations in Brazil, Spain and Central America. As an experienced CFO, Roy has acute financial expertise and operational insight.

“And his investor relations background gives him a strong appreciation for the expectations of shareholders, which he has demonstrated by bringing discipline and rigor to operational and financial processes," Alcoa chairperson and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said.

He added that Fisher’s “solid” foundation in finance, spanning upstream and downstream businesses at Alcoa, would add valuable perspective to the company’s senior leadership team.

“She has made important contributions to our success by driving systemic improvements in financial processes, such as forecast accuracy, financial modelling and reporting,” Kleinfeld commented.

Fisher would also become a member of the executive council.

Alcoa earlier this month reported a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit after excluding special items, boosted by productivity gains across all its operating units and strong results from its engineered products and solutions business.

Excluding the impact of the special items, which included items related to restructuring and a legacy legal matter, net income totalled $76-million, or $0.07 a share, beating analysts’ expectations of adjusted income of $0.06 a share.