HELSINKI – SSAB announced Tuesday that Tom Cox has been appointed Head of SSAB Americas and a member of the SSAB Group Executive Committee, effective Feb. 1, 2026.
Cox, currently the general manager of SSAB Iowa, will succeed Chuck Schmitt, who earlier announced his retirement.
“With over two decades at SSAB, Tom Cox has developed a unique expertise spanning the entire value chain — from steel production and metallurgy to ensuring top-quality delivery for our customers,” said Johnny Sjöström, president and CEO of SSAB. “His leadership has been instrumental in advancing fossil-free steel in the U.S. and strengthening SSAB Americas’ market position.”
Cox has worked for SSAB for 24 years. In his current role, he oversees the Safety, Operations, Maintenance and Engineering teams at the Iowa facility. His prior roles at SSAB Americas have included technical services, continuous improvement, and rolling, finishing and shipping operations management.
Under his leadership, SSAB Iowa set numerous records in safety, production, product quality and earned industry recognition for customer experience, the company said.
Cox holds a Bachelor of Science in metallurgical engineering from Iowa State University (1999) and a Master of Business Administration from St. Ambrose University (2007).
SSAB is a Nordic and U.S.-based steel company. It has developed SSAB Fossil-free™ steel and aims to largely eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from its own operations. The company has production facilities in Sweden, Finland and the United States. SSAB is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and has a secondary listing on Nasdaq Helsinki.