Steel Mills

USS chief commercial officer Jaycox to leave company, Bruno to take on his role

June 4, 2024

U.S. Steel Chief Commercial Officer Kenneth Jaycox has decided to leave the company, a company spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday.

Jaycox will transition his responsibilities to Jim Bruno from now through the end of June. Effective July 1, Bruno will be in charge of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s commercial operations, she said.

Bruno, who joined U.S. Steel in 2014, is also senior vice president of the company’s global information technology operations and president of U.S. Steel Europe, the company’s steel mill in Kosice, Slovakia.

Jaycox joined U.S. Steel in September 2020. He succeeded Doug Matthews, who retired in January 2021 after 33 years with the company.

“I want to thank Ken for his service to U. S. Steel. During his time at the company, he has been instrumental in developing a customer-centric approach and driving customer value creation in the areas of sales, commercial support, and marketing,” U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt said in a statement.

“I wish him much success in the next chapter of his career,” Burritt added.

The statements from U.S. Steel confirm information in a letter to customers about Jaycox’s departure that the company circulated on Monday.

Jaycox will be leaving U.S. Steel for an opportunity outside of the steel industry. And Bruno will maintain his current roles in addition to taking on Jaycox’s work, sources familiar with the matter said.

The U.S. Steel spokeswoman did not confirm those details. She also noted that the company had “robust succession plans, and a deep bench of professionals.”

Jaycox is not the only senior executive to have left U.S. Steel over the last year.

Dave Rogers, vice president of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) for U.S. Steel’s North American flat rolled and tubular products business segments, has also left the company, sources said. The U.S. Steel spokeswoman said that Rogers left in May.

Also, Richard Fruehauf, former chief strategy and chief sustainability officer, departed from the company in February, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The spokeswoman said Fruehauf provided notice of his intention to leave the company in the fall of 2023, providing ample time for a transition. Christian Gianni, who joined U.S. Steel in 2022, has taken on some of those responsibilities as senior vice president of sustainability and chief technology officer, she noted.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.