Donna Dabney to Retire as Corporate Secretary; Brenda Hart Promoted
to Assistant General Counsel; Esra Ozer Promoted to Assistant Corporate
Secretary
NEW YORK–Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today that Max Laun has been appointed Vice
President and General Counsel for Alcoa. He was most recently Assistant
General Counsel, Mergers and Acquisitions. Laun oversees day-to-day
operations of Alcoa’s Legal activities worldwide and serves as head of
the Legal Department’s Mergers and Acquisitions practice. In addition,
the Company announced that Donna Dabney, Vice President and Corporate
Secretary, will retire on August 1.
“Max is the clear choice for this role,” said Alcoa Chairman and CEO
Klaus Kleinfeld. “He has coordinated the delivery of legal services on
some of the Company’s most important and visible transactions, including
the formation and growth of Alcoa’s joint venture in Saudi Arabia.”
Kleinfeld thanked Dabney for her years of service to Alcoa. “Donna has
effectively managed a wide range of critical board and corporate
governance matters during her 12 years as Alcoa Corporate Secretary, and
has built strong relationships with members of the Alcoa Board. We thank
her for a job well done.”
Alcoa also announced today it has named Audrey Strauss Chief Legal
Officer, effective May 1. Strauss will also hold the titles of Chief
Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary.
The Company also announced other changes in the Office of Corporate
Secretary and Legal group. Brenda Hart is promoted to Assistant
General Counsel in the Legal Department. In addition to her current role
as leader of the Securities and Finance legal function and Assistant
Corporate Secretary, Hart will assume the additional responsibility of
Corporate Governance Counsel. In this role, she will provide counsel on
corporate governance and proxy materials and work on governance issues
relating to the Board of Directors and its committees. Hart joined Alcoa
in 2000 as Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary.
In addition, Esra Ozer is promoted to Assistant Corporate Secretary
effective May 1. In addition to her new duties managing coordination and
communications with the Alcoa Board, she will continue in the role of
Director of Executive Communications, a position she has held since
joining Alcoa in December 2008.
Biographical information:
Max Laun
Max Laun began his career as an attorney in Alcoa’s Legal organization
in Pittsburgh more than 20 years ago. During this time, he has practiced
law in several areas, most notably mergers and acquisitions, energy, and
general commercial counseling. He has served as Alcoa’s lead counsel on
several highly visible mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, including
the sale of Alcoa’s Packaging business in 2008, and transactions in
China, Russia, Latin America, Italy and elsewhere in Europe. Laun was
named Counsel/General Attorney in 1994, progressing to Senior Counsel in
2001 and Assistant General Counsel in 2009.
In 1988, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh
School of Law. While there, he served as Articles Editor of the Law
Review. He is a member of The Order of the Coif and Order of the
Barristers, two national, honorary scholastic societies recognizing high
distinction for scholarly accomplishments and for excelling in advocacy
programs.
Brenda Hart
Brenda Hart leads the Securities Law Practice Area in the Legal
Department and has responsibility for providing advice and legal counsel
on corporate finance transactions as well as securities law matters, and
SEC regulatory filings.
Hart joined Alcoa in 2000 as Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary,
and was named Senior Counsel in 2004. Prior to joining Alcoa, she worked
for Reynolds Metals Company for 18 years, where she held a series of
positions in the Reynolds Legal Department, including Chief Securities
and Finance Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Reynolds.
Hart obtained her law degree in 1982 from the Marshall-Wythe School of
Law, College of William & Mary, in Williamsburg, Virginia. While in law
school, she was Notes Editor for the William & Mary Law Review.
Esra Ozer
Esra Ozer joined Alcoa in 2008 as Director of Executive Communications.
She continues in this role, while also serving as Assistant Corporate
Secretary.
Before coming to Alcoa, Ozer worked at Siemens Corporation where she
held a series of leadership communications positions including Senior
Director of External Relations. During her decade-long tenure at
Siemens, she held diverse communications roles including Director of
Corporate Communications, Director of Management and Internal
Communications, and Director of Communications for Siemens’ non-profit
foundation.
Ozer is a graduate of the SI Newhouse School of Public Communications at
Syracuse University.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated
aluminum and alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum
industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the
aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial
transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the
past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled
products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels,
fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building
systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as
titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral
part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and
engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow
Jones Sustainability Index for ten consecutive years and approximately
75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in
active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 31
countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.