company Management

ISAO TAKENAMI

Chief Operating Officer

Isao Takenami has built a distinguished career in Finance, Accounting, and investment management since joining Nippon Steel Corporation in 1994. With around 7 years of overseas experience in the U.S. and Singapore, he has developed strong international expertise. He has held key leadership roles, contributing to strategic financial operations, investment control, and corporate governance, and has played a central role in numerous overseas M&A projects. His expertise in international finance and management positions him as a key contributor to Nippon Steel Group’s global growth strategies.

October 2026:      Chief Operating Officer, NIPPON STEEL SLOVAKIA
January 2026:       Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer, NIPPON STEEL SLOVAKIA
September 2025: Executive Counselor
April 2022:            General Manager, Accounting & Finance Div.
April 2018:            Chief Financial Officer, NS BlueScope
July 2013:              Head of Finance Dept.-II, Accounting & Finance Div.
June 2010:            Treasurer, Nippon Steel U.S.A., Inc.
August 2002:        Manager, Finance & Investment Control Group, Accounting & Finance Div.
April 1994:           Joined Nippon Steel Corporation

Education: 

March 1994:        Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.), Faculty of Law, The University of Tokyo
July 2002:             Master of Business Administration (MBA), Hitotsubashi University

TAKEHIKO ODAMURA

Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer

Takehiko Odamura has developed a robust career in global marketing and strategic business development within the steel industry since joining Nippon Steel Corporation in 1999. With extensive experience in both domestic and international roles—including a key assignment in Indonesia (PT Krakatau Nippon Steel Sumikin) —he has consistently contributed to the company’s global expansion and product strategy, particularly in flat and tubular steel products. His leadership in overseas joint ventures and cross-border coordination has positioned him as a central figure in driving international growth and innovation.

October 2026:     Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, NIPPON STEEL SLOVAKIA
January 2026:      General Manager, Marketing & Procurement Strategy, U. S. Steel Kosice
September 2025:  General Manager, USS Project
April 2023:          Head of Hot-rolled Steel Global Marketing Dept., Flat Products, Rail &     Shape Global Marketing Div., Flat Products Unit
April 2022:          Head of Flat & Shape Products Global Strategy & Coordination Dept., Flat Products, Rail & Shape Global Marketing Div., Flat Products Unit
April 2021:      General Manager, Automotive Flat Products Div., Flat Products Unit
December 2013:  Senior Manager, Global Business Development & Management Dept., Automotive Flat Products Div., Flat Products Unit
November 2011:  Manager, Sales Planning Group, Marketing Administration & Planning Div.
April 2009:          Manager, Tubular Products Global Marketing Group, Tubular Products Marketing Div., Pipe & Tube Unit
April 2007:          Manager, Planning and Coordination Group, Tubular Products Marketing   Div., Pipe & Tube Unit
April 1999:      Joined Nippon Steel Corporation

Education:

March 1999:    Bachelor of Economics, Faculty of Economics, Hitotsubashi University

Silvia GAÁLOVÁ

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Silvia Gaálová graduated at the University of Economics in 1997 and earned a master’s degree in Corporate Economics. Her professional career started in the consultancy companies Arthur Andersen and Deloitte. During this period she completed ACCA certification and became a chartered accountant.

Silvia Gaálová joined U. S. Steel Košice in 2002 as an internal auditor, then worked for several months as project manager on foreign acquisitions. From December 2003 she managed the Consolidation and US GAAP reporting department and in 2005 was promoted to General Manager Accounting. In 2017 she served as General Manager Analysis and Statistics. Effective January 12, 2018 she was appointed U. S. Steel Košice Vice President & Chief Financial Officer.

Since October 1, 2026 she has been Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of NIPPON STEEL SLOVAKIA. 

MIROSLAV KIRAĽVARGA

Vice President and Chief External Affairs Officer

Miroslav Kiraľvarga graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of P. J. Safarik in Košice 1987. Until 1995 he worked at the Physics Department, Technical University Košice, where for two years he was deputy head of department. During the period 1995 - 1997 he worked in turn for Procesna automatizacia VSZ a.s., VSZ Keramika, s.r.o. (General Director’s Assistant) and VSZ a.s. (Vice President’s Office Director).

Mr. Kiraľvarga was appointed Director of Controlling at Stabilita supplementary retirement insurance company in 1998. Towards the end of 1999 he started work as Senior Manager Personnel and Compensation in the VSZ U. S. Steel, s.r.o. joint venture.

During 1998 - 2000 he took the Master of Business Administration program at the University of Pittsburgh, Katz Graduate School of Business. In November 2000 he was appointed GM Compensation at U. S. Steel Kosice. In March 2003 he took the Management Academy Program at U. S. Steel in Pittsburgh. In the same year he became Vice President Human Resources at U. S. Steel Košice. In November 2005 he successfully completed the U. S. Steel Leadership Development Program. He was appointed Vice President External Services and Administration in 2007.
In 2011 Mr. Kiraľvarga relocated to USA and took up the position of General Manager - Global Materials Management and Procurement Support at U. S. Steel headquarters in Pittsburgh.

Effective October 1, 2013 he was appointed Vice President External Affairs, Administration and Business Development U. S. Steel Košice and returned to Slovakia.

Mr. Kiraľvarga has been President of the Association of Metallurgy, Mining Industry and Geology of the Slovak Republic, a member of the Board of Directors of Stabilita, and President of HC Košice ice-hockey club. In 2015 he was elected to the position of President of the Slovak Employers' Federation.

Since October 1, 2026 he has been Vice President and Chief External Affairs Officer of NIPPON STEEL SLOVAKIA.

ELENA PETRÁŠKOVÁ

Vice President and General Counsel

Elena Petrášková graduated from law school at the University of P. J. Safarik in Košice in 1992 and joined VSZ the same year as a litigation attorney. In 1993, she moved to the company’s corporate law section and in 1999 advanced to section. She was appointed an assistant general counsel in U. S. Steel Košice’s law department in 2001 with responsibility for the commercial and corporate sections.

In 2005, Mrs. Petrášková accepted a one-year assignment in the law department at U. S. Steel’s corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh.

She returned to Slovakia in 2006 to serve once again as an assistant general counsel at U. S. Steel Košice. In 2007, she relocated to Pittsburgh for a second assignment in the corporate law department. In the same year she was appointed attorney - international law. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2009 with a degree in the Master of Laws Program for Foreign Law Graduates.
She is Vice President and Chairperson of the Committee for Environmental Matters in the National Union of Employers and also a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Metallurgy, Mining and Geology of the Slovak Republic.

Mrs. Petrášková was appointed to the position Vice President External Services and Administration in 2011. She assumed her position as Vice President Subsidiaries and Services at U. S. Steel Košice in October 2013. The position was renamed to Vice President Eneregy and General Counsel in March 2023. 

Since October 1, 2026 she has been Vice President and General Counsel of NIPPON STEEL SLOVAKIA.