OREANDA-NEWS. August 1, 2012. Gerdau announces that its Executive Vice President & CFO and member of the Company's Executive Committee, Osvaldo Burgos Schirmer, will retire on December 31, 2012 after working in the company for 26 years.

Throughout his career at Gerdau, Schirmer contributed in an outstanding way in Gerdau's evolution of its financial policies with a strategic vision in the evaluation of markets and risks, as well as his capacity for dialog and relationship with the financial markets.

The position as of January 2013 will be held by Andre Pires de Oliveira Dias, currently the Vice President, Finance of Long Steel North America Business Operation based in Tampa, Florida (USA). Andre Pires will also join the Gerdau Executive Committee and report to the company's CEO, Andre B. Gerdau Johannpeter. His process of integration into his new activities will start this fall and will be supported by Osvaldo Schirmer until December 2012 in order to ensure a proper transition.

Pires holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Fundacao Getulio Vargas with a specialization in Finance. He joined the Company in November 2004 as Investment Director, responsible for the Family Office and the management of Gerdau’s cash and financial investment. In April 2010 he relocated to the United States where he has been carrying out his current duties.

About Gerdau

Gerdau is the leader in the segment of long steel in the Americas and one of the main suppliers of special long steel in the world. With over 45,000 employees, it has industrial operations in 14 countries—in the Americas, Europe, and Asia—which together represent an installed capacity of over 25 million metric tons of steel per year. It is the largest recycler in Latin America and in the world, and transforms each year millions of tons of scrap steel, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable development in the regions where it operates. Gerdau is listed on the stock exchanges of Sao Paulo, New York, and Madrid and has over 140,000 shareholders.