John P. Surma Jr. elected U. S. Steel chairman

United States Steel Corp. announced today that the board of directors has elected John P. Surma Jr. chairman of the board, effective February 1, 2006. Surma succeeds Thomas J. Usher, who will retire as chairman and as a director at the end of January. Surma will continue to serve as president and CEO.

Surma joined U. S. Steel in January 2002 as vice chairman and CFO immediately following the company's spinoff from USX Corp. He was elected president in March 2003, president and COO in June of the same year, and president and CEO in October 2004. He currently serves as chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute, vice chairman of the International Iron and Steel Institute, and as a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers.

Usher joined U. S. Steel in 1965. He was elected president of U. S. Steel and to the USX board of directors in 1991, named president and COO of USX in 1994, and elected chairman and CEO of USX in 1995. From 1986 to the end of 2001, USX Corp. was the parent company of U. S. Steel and Marathon Oil Company. Usher will continue in his role as chairman of Marathon Oil Company.