Alcoa Re-aligns China Strategy to Support Expanding Footprint in Fast-Growing Market

Jinya Chen Elected Corporate Vice President, Jiming Zhu to Lead China Rolled Products

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today that effective July 1, the Company’s Asia-Pacific regional headquarters will report to Alcoa’s Business Excellence and Corporate Strategy organization, part of an initiative to support the expanding footprint of Alcoa’s three business groups in the fast-growing and strategically important Chinese market.

As part of this initiative, Jinya Chen, Asia-Pacific Regional President, was elected a Vice President of Alcoa by the Company’s Board of Directors. While continuing to lead the region, Chen will report to Kay Meggers, Vice President, Corporate Initiatives, and will have overall accountability for Alcoa’s China strategy.

The Company also announced that Jiming Zhu will join Alcoa as President, China Rolled Products, with responsibility for managing all of Alcoa’s Global Rolled Products (GRP) operations in China. Zhu will succeed Mark Vrablec, who was earlier named Vice President, GRP Technology and Engineering, and will move back to the United States after a transition. Zhu will join Alcoa in mid-July, reporting to Helmut Wieser, Executive Vice President of Alcoa and Group President, Alcoa Global Rolled Products, and working closely with Chen.

“We expect Jinya and Jiming to be an unbeatable Alcoa team in China,” said Alcoa Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld. “Jinya helped build Alcoa’s strong foundation in China and now he also will be responsible for developing and driving all aspects of our China strategy as Alcoa expands in one of our most vital markets. Jiming will lead the operations and growth of our largest business in China, building on our solid market presence. Expanding our reach to customers in China’s automotive, packaging and consumer electronics markets, our rolled products business is targeting to grow three times faster than the market in the next three years.”

Previously, Alcoa’s regional headquarters in China reported to Alcoa Global Rolled Products, which operates the Company’s largest manufacturing locations in the region. The new structure is designed to maximize corporate support for the expansion of all three Alcoa business groups.

Chen joined Alcoa in 2007 after 12 years with General Motors and Delphi in a variety of major strategic, legal and operational assignments in China. He is a graduate of the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade with a degree in economics, has a law degree from East China University of Politics and Law in Shanghai and master’s in law from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, MI.

Zhu comes to Alcoa from Caterpillar, where for the past seven years he held a variety of legal, operational and management responsibilities in China, culminating in his appointment as Chairman of Caterpillar China. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Beijing Foreign Studies University, a law degree from the University of North Dakota and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

About Alcoa

Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of 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 nine consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 59,000 people in 31 countries across the world.