ArcelorMittal South Africa CEO Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita stepping down

(Bloomberg) – ArcelorMittal SA’s South African unit said Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita (pictured), will step down on February 18 after almost 6 years as CEO at the local operation of the world’s largest steelmaker.

The ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd. board will begin a search to replace the CEO and will “in due course” make an announcement on the transitional period, it said in a statement today.

Nyembezi-Heita, 53, became CEO in March 2008.

The steelmaker on November 6 ended a 3-year pricing dispute with raw material supplier Anglo American Plc’s Kumba Iron Ore Ltd. Kumba will sell as much as 6.25 million metric tons of ore a year from its Sishen and Thabazimbi mines to the ArcelorMittal unit at the cost of production plus a 20 percent margin.

“Although challenging, over the last 6 years as a management team, we have achieved significant advances in a number of areas,” Nyembezi-Heita said in the statement. “As the market turns, we can expect a marked improvement in our financial performance, aided in no small measure by the recent settlement with Kumba.”

ArcelorMittal South Africa dropped 1.3 percent to 41.10 rand (US$3.96) by 1:34 p.m. (6:34 a.m. EST) in Johannesburg trading, valuing the company at about US$1.8 billion. The FTSE/JSE Africa All Shares Index was 0.3 percent lower.