Steel Mills
Big River Steel CEO John Correnti Dead at Age 68
Written by John Packard
August 19, 2015
A huge hole has been made in the heart the US steel industry. Big River Steel CEO John Correnti died this morning while on an out-of-town business trip.
John Correnti, 68, was no stranger to the development of steel mills. His plan to build the mini-mill in Osceola, Ark. was backed by almost 50 years of experience in the steel industry.
Correnti began his steel experience in 1969 in construction management at US Steel. He joined Nucor Corporation in 1980 as manager of construction and developed methods that cut construction time of new steel facilities by 50 percent. He was promoted to Vice President in 1984 then to Chief Operating Officer. Correnti took over as president of Nucor following Ken Iverson’s resignation in 1991 and then as Nucor’s president and CEO from 1996 to 1999.
In 2000 he led a successful proxy fight to take over Birmingham Steel and then served as its CEO and Chairman until its sale to Nucor in 2002. Correnti moved on to develop SteelCorr, LLC as Chairman, CEO and President. He founded SeverCorr LLC in 2005, which eventually became Severstal Columbus LLC, and served as its President and CEO until 2008. The Mississippi mill is now owned by Steel Dynamics
John Correnti was the CEO of Steel Development Company LLC since 1994 as well as a director and member of the audit committee of the Corrections Corporation of America since 2000.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Clarkson University and maintained a home in Blytheville, Ark.
Mr. Correnti was well thought of in the steel industry community and will be missed for his passion, humor and drive.
John Packard
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