Liberty Steel Group, part of global metals, energy and logistics group GFG Alliance, said Tuesday it has created the position of chief financial officer and appointed V. Ashok with immediate effect.
The appointment follows the recent decision to consolidate steel businesses within the GFG Alliance under one group structure in a move to boost transparency and facilitate financing.
Liberty’s steel businesses have a presence in more than 10 countries, over 30,000 employees and a rolling capacity of 18 million mt of steel a year. The group is the eighth largest steel producer outside China.
Ashok, who was recently group chief financial officer at Essar Group, an India-based industrial conglomerate, will work with finance teams around the world to shape Liberty Steel’s financial structure and strategy, a GFG Alliance spokesman said.
Although individual businesses in Liberty Steel Group will retain a high degree of autonomy, consolidated accounts will be produced and a united strategy will be developed, including an aim to reach net carbon neutral status by 2030, said Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty’s parent company, GFG Alliance in late October, when the consolidation was formally announced.
Liberty House Group will integrate its steel businesses into one UK-based financial and legal entity by year end, not as a rationalization, but in an action “about bringing the group together, presenting a consolidated, transparent and homogeneous entity to the world,” Gupta said.
Jay Hambro continues as Chief Investment Officer for GFG Alliance, the spokesman said.
