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American
Iron and Steel
Institute
AISI Officers
Lourenco Goncalves
Chairman, AISI
Chairman, President and CEO,
Cleveland-Cliffs
LOURENCO GONCALVES has been Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cleveland-Cliffs since August 2014. He designed and led the company through a major strategic initiative transforming Cleveland-Cliffs into a leading player in the American steel industry, starting with a complete financial turnaround, followed by growth initiatives in the metallics market and the entry into the steel and prime ferrous scrap businesses. In 2017, Cliffs started the construction in Toledo, Ohio of the world’s most modern Direct Reduction plant, which started operations in November 2020. Mr. Goncalves successfully led four major company acquisitions beginning with AK Steel in March 2020, followed by the acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA in December 2020, Ferrous Processing and Trading Company in November 2021 and most recently Canadian-based Stelco Holdings Inc. in November 2024. With the Toledo plant, Cleveland-Cliffs is the sole producer in the Great Lakes region of hot briquetted iron (HBI), an environmentally friendly metallic feedstock designed to reduce GHG emissions.
Prior to Cleveland-Cliffs, Mr. Goncalves served as Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Metals USA Holdings Corp., a leading American manufacturer and processor of steel and other metals, for over 10 years. Prior to Metals USA, Mr. Goncalves served as President and Chief Executive Officer of California Steel Industries, Inc. for 5 years. Prior to that, he was employed by Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), a major steel and mining company in Brazil, where he held several positions in operations and sales. From October 2011 to April 2014, Mr. Goncalves was a board member of Ascometal SAS, a manufacturer of special steel headquartered in Paris, France.
Mr. Goncalves serves on the Board and is Chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute. Mr. Goncalves is a Distinguished Member and Fellow of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST). He received AIST’s “Steelmaker of the Year” Award for the year 2021. Also in 2021, S&P Global Platts presented Mr. Goncalves with the “CEO/Chairperson of the Year” Global Metals Award, which honors a leader who is highly respected by both peers and competitors, admired and followed by employees, trusted by investors and welcomed by the community. Under Mr. Goncalves’ leadership, Cleveland-Cliffs was awarded by S&P Global Platts the top Global Metals Award as the “2021 Metals Company of the Year” and the “2021 Deal of the Year” Global Metals Award. Mr. Goncalves was also presented with the 2021 “Steel Advocate of the Year” Award, from Fastmarkets. In 2022, Mr. Goncalves was presented with the Willy Korf/Ken Iverson Steel Vision Award, which honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the steel industry while promoting goodwill and integrity.
Mr. Goncalves earned a Master of Science degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and a Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Military Institute of Engineering in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
KEVIN DEMPSEY is the president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), representing the interests of American steel producers. He has been with AISI since 2009, previously having served as AISI’s senior vice president of public policy and general counsel. Under Dempsey’s executive leadership, the Institute has achieved numerous policy successes, including: maintaining broad bipartisan support for the Section 232 trade remedies to preserve the steel industry’s key role in national and economic security, enacting historic legislation to strengthen trade laws, passing successful infrastructure and clean energy initiatives to benefit the steel industry, advancing the case for steel as the material of choice in the automotive and construction markets and promoting the American steel industry’s global leadership on decarbonization —all of which remain top priorities of AISI and its members today.
Before joining AISI, Dempsey was a partner at Dewey & LeBoeuf, a global law firm. Dempsey litigated numerous international trade cases on behalf of American steel producers and other U.S. industries before the U.S. International Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. courts. He served as counsel to several American steel producers in the successful Section 201 investigation on steel products.
Dempsey also previously served as counsel to Senator John C. Danforth (R-MO) and the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. In those positions, Dempsey played a key role in the drafting of the implementing legislation for the North American Free Trade Agreement and the GATT Uruguay Round Trade Agreements, and the development of the acid rain cap-and-trade system established by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
Dempsey has, and continues to, work extensively on international trade negotiations given his considerable experience with U.S. and international law related to subsidies, trade remedies, market access, intellectual property rights, and product standards, as well as U.S. legislative procedures for authorizing and implementing trade agreements.
Dempsey currently serves on the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Climate and Trade Advisory Council and travels globally to promote the sustainability initiatives of the American steel industry. Under his leadership as president and CEO, AISI was recognized as a “Red Hot Association” by DCA Live in 2024.
Dempsey received his Juris Doctor Degree from Harvard Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Washington University in St. Louis.