Management Board

Born in 1959, married with three children

Gisbert Rühl joined Roland Berger & Partner GmbH as a management consultant in 1987 after studying industrial engineering at Hamburg University. Thereafter he was appointed managing director of Lion Gesellschaft für Systementwicklung mbH. After occupying management positions with Matuschka Capital GmbH and Coutinho, Caro & Co, Mr. Rühl joined RÜTGERS AG in 1993.

He was appointed to the company’s Management Board and, among other duties, served as the chief executive officer of RÜTGERS Automotive AG. In 1999 he moved to Babcock Borsig AG, where he accepted the office of a Management Board member. From 2002 until 2005 he was a partner in Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.

Since July 2005 Mr. Rühl has been the Chief Financial Officer of the Klöckner & Co Group. In November 2009 Mr. Rühl became Chairman of the Management Board of the Klöckner & Co SE. Until the end of 2012 he additionally still has been acting CFO.

Born in 1968, married with two children

After studying economics at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Marcus A. Ketter began his career in 1993 as a controller and then as Head of the Executive Office at STEAG AG. He subsequently completed an MBA at the Columbia Business School in New York and thereafter worked as Vice President of Finance and Controlling at STEAG RTP Systems Inc. as well as Vice President and Treasurer at the NASDAQ®-listed Mattson Technology Inc. in the US.

After various management positions in the ThyssenKrupp Group, including as Chief Financial Officer of ThyssenKrupp Facilities Services GmbH and ThyssenKrupp Elevator (CENE) GmbH, Marcus A. Ketter was appointed as Member of the Board and Chief Financial Officer of Schuler AG in 2011.

As of January 1, 2013 Marcus A. Ketter has been appointed as Member of the Board and Chief Financial Officer of Klöckner & Co SE.

Born in 1963, married with one child

After completing his studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Karsten Lork started his career in the Marketing Department at Krupp Stahl AG. At the successor company, Krupp Hoesch Stahl AG, he was in charge of several management positions in Marketing.

In November 1997, he joined ThyssenKrupp Nirosta GmbH where, among others, he became Director of Marketing, Sales Coordination and Logistics Centers.

With effect from July 1, 2004, he was appointed CEO of ThyssenKrupp Stainless International GmbH, having been Spokesman of the Management Board since June 2006. In May 2008, Karsten Lork returned to ThyssenKrupp Nirosta GmbH where he was in charge of Sales as a Member of the Executive Board until September 2009. In October 2009, he took over as General Manager Sales for the company’s German and Italian plants. On August 1, 2011, Karsten Lork was appointed Chief Sales Officer of the Inoxum Group (previously known as the Business Area Stainless Global of ThyssenKrupp AG), now owned by Outokumpu.

Effective February 1, 2013, Karsten Lork has been appointed to the Management Board of the Klöckner & Co SE. Karsten Lork represents the European and Asian activities on the Board. In addition, he is functionally responsible for International Product Management & Global Sourcing as well as for Operations Europe.

Born in 1953, married with 2 children

During his university studies in Detroit, Michigan, William A. Partalis worked for a steel service center in the local market. Following graduation, he began his career with Namasco, the US subsidiary of Klöckner & Co.

While at Namasco, Partalis first worked in sales, materials, and product management. Following numerous executive positions in the operational field, he was appointed CEO of Namasco in 2002, in which he played an instrumental part in the successful integration of the Primary and Temtco acquisitions. Since the takeover of Macsteel, and his appointment as CEO of Klöckner USA Holding, he is additionally responsible for the combined US business.

Effective October 1, 2011, William A. Partalis has been appointed to the Management Board of the Klöckner & Co SE. He represents the Americas' segment on the Board. In addition, he is as CEO of the US country organization responsible for managing the American business operations.