LN Mittal aide, Maheshwari, to leave ArcelorMittal

LN Mittal-owned ArcelorMittal on Tuesday announced that Sudhir Maheshwari, a key member of the Group Management Board (GMB) and a close aide of LN Mittal, is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities by March next year.

"Sudhir has been an exceptional colleague for 26 years, playing a very important role in the company in various responsibilities. I am very sad that he is leaving us, but respect his decision to pursue personal ambitions and wish him every success for the future," Lakshmi Mittal, chairman and chief executive, said.

Another aide of Mittal, Malay Mukherjee, had quit earlier in 2009. The trio were responsible for building the Mittal's steel empire across the world.

Sudhir first joined the company in 1989 in Trinidad & Tobago. He held various finance positions in Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Luxembourg before moving to London in 2000 to join the company's merger and acquisitions (M&A) and corporate finance functions.

Following the merger with ISG Group to create Mittal Steel, Sudhir was appointed executive vice-president-finance and M&A. After the merger to create ArcelorMittal, he became a member of the management committee, before being appointed to the GMB in 2008.

"It has been an incredible 26 years. When I joined the company in Trinidad, I could not have imagined the subsequent journey we would take. It has not been an easy decision to leave," said Maheshwari.

Sudhir's responsibilities will be shared between senior ArcelorMittal executives, who will report to other GMB members on these functions, the statement said.

The GMB will continue to be chaired by Mittal and Aditya Mittal, Davinder Chugh and Lou Schorsch will continue to be its members.