OREANDA-NEWS. July 05, 2010. UC RUSAL, (HKSE: 486, Euronext: RUSAL/RUAL), the world's largest aluminium producer, announces structural changes in its marketing and sales division and the appointment of Steven Hodgson as International Sales Director.

The Company has established a new International Sales Directorate which will be headed by Steven Hodgson, formerly the CEO and President of Rio Tinto Alcan's Bauxite and Alumina Division. Steven will be responsible for developing UC RUSAL's positions in key strategic markets, including Asia - the most rapidly developing region and biggest consumer of aluminium - together with Europe, the USA and Africa. His team will focus on creating long term, sustainable relationships with key aluminium consumers, raising their share of the company's total sales by consistently supplying high quality alloys and value-added products.

UC RUSAL has also established a Directorate for Russia and CIS Sales. This Directorate will be headed by UC RUSAL's former Head of Sales Sergey Belskiy. His responsibilities will include increasing the share of the company's domestic aluminium sales, viewed as a strategic priority of UC RUSAL. Programmes will be established to build cooperation with customers to develop new applications for aluminium and to encourage joint programmes with equipment manufacturers to devise high-technology products containing aluminium.

These changes are aimed at diversifying UC RUSAL's sales portfolio and the long term delivery of shareholder value by maximising high value product sales.

Steven Hodgson is an experienced executive with over 20 years in the metals and mining industry in senior operating and commercial roles, including a previous four year spell with UC RUSAL. In October 2007 he was appointed CEO and President of the Bauxite and Alumina Division of Rio Tinto Alcan and during his tenure was also President of the Australian Aluminium Council. Prior to this, he was head of Rio Tinto's Diamond Division.

From 2004 to 2006 he was the managing director of RUSAL's Alumina Division following a successful two years with RUSAL as its Head of Sales. From 1997 to 2002 he led the international sales and marketing arm of Comalco (later renamed Rio Tinto Aluminium). Mr Hodgson started his career with Comalco in New Zealand as a process engineer and rose to become the manager of the Metal Products Division and, later, the head of the Metal Products Division of Anglesey Aluminium Metal Ltd. in North Wales. Born in 1966, he graduated with honours in 1987 from the School of Engineering, Auckland University, New Zealand.