City-bred Amit Harlalka is going to take charge as the top boss of AM/NS India Ltd after the incumbent Dilip Oomen retires as the chief executive officer on June 30, signalling a generational shift in one of India’s leading steelmakers.
Harlalka, who studied at Birla High School before graduating in commerce from St Xavier’s, is at present the chief financial officer of AM/NS, the joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel.
A veteran of the world’s second-largest steel maker, ArcelorMittal, where he held many roles in finance across Mexico, Bosnia and Luxembourg, Harlalka is also a chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and holds an MBA in finance from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.
He moved back to India as the deputy CFO of AMNS in 2019, shortly after AM and Nippon acquired Essar Steel and later rebranded as AM/NS.
Harlalka’s new term from July 1 signals Oomen’s 7-year term as the CEO will come to an end. A veteran of the industry, Oomen, 68, successfully transitioned the company to the new avatar post the acquisition by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel via the bankruptcy process. Previously, he was the managing director and CEO of Essar Steel, under the ownership of the Ruia family.
Aditya Mittal, chairman of AM/NS India and CEO of ArcelorMittal, thanked Oomen for being “a great first CEO” for ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India.
“A highly experienced steel industry executive, he knew the operations inside out, brought stability at a time of change, and played a critical role in helping establish trust as we built the ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel brand in India. We were lucky to have him, and I am delighted that he will retain a strong connection with the company as a board member, and also vice-chairman of ArcelorMittal India Private Limited,” Mittal said.
The reshuffle takes place at a time when AMNS is expanding the Hazira unit to a 15-million-tonne capacity plant. Earlier this week, it laid the foundation for an 8.2 million tonne unit in Andhra Pradesh, entailing an investment of ₹70,000 crore.
Welcoming Harlalka, Mittal added, “As a trusted and long-serving senior executive, most recently as CFO at AM/NS India, Amit has proved himself more than ready to step into the CEO role. He has strong knowledge of the operations and has been intimately involved in the growth plans not only for steel, but also for renewables.”
On his proposed elevation, Harlalka said, the potential of the company is “enormous”. “I will be focusing on ensuring we can meet all this potential, starting with our aspiration to be accident-free,” he noted.