Lakshmi N Mittal

Lakshmi N. Mittal became executive chairman of ArcelorMittal in February 2021. He was previously chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal. He is a renowned global businessman who serves on the boards of various advisory councils, and an active philanthropist engaged in the fields of education and child health.

Mr.Mittal was born in Sadulpur in Rajasthan in 1950. He graduated from St Xavier’s College in Kolkata, where he received a bachelor of commerce degree. Having completed his education in India, Mr. Mittal began his career working in his family’s steelmaking business in India before moving to Indonesia in 1976 to set up a small steel company that over time grew to become ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel and mining company and one of the foremost industrial companies in the world. He is widely recognised for the role he played in restructuring the steel industry towards a more consolidated and globalised model, pursuing and successfully integrating many acquisitions in North America, South America, Europe, South Africa and the CIS. Today ArcelorMittal continues to be the largest and most global steel manufacturer.

In 2004, Mittal Steel was founded following the merger of Ispat International and LNM Holdings, and the simultaneous acquisition of International Steel Group, becoming came the world’s leading steel producer. Shortly after, in 2006, Mittal Steel launched an ambitious bid to merge with Arcelor, creating ArcelorMittal.

Mr. Mittal’s contribution to business and global industry has been widely recognised. In 1996 he was awarded ‘Steelmaker of the Year’ by New Steel in the United States and in 1998 the ‘Willy Korf Steel Vision Award’ by World Steel Dynamics for outstanding vision, entrepreneurship, leadership and success in global steel development. He was named Fortune magazine’s ‘European Businessman of the Year’ in 2004 and ‘Business Person of the Year’ by the Sunday Times, ‘International Newsmaker of the Year’ by Time Magazine and ‘Person of the Year’ by the Financial Times in 2006 for his outstanding business achievements. In January 2007, Mr. Mittal was presented with a Fellowship from King’s College London, the college’s highest award.

In 2007 he also received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Leadership Award, the Grand Cross of Civil Merit from Spain and was named AIST Steelmaker of the year. In January 2008, Mr. Mittal was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian honour, by the President of India. In September 2008, Mr. Mittal was chosen for the third “Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award.” In October 2010, he was awarded the World Steel Association’s medal in recognition of his services to the Association as its Chairman and also for his contribution to the sustainable development of the global steel industry. In January 2013, Mr. Mittal was awarded a Doctor Honoris Causa by the AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland. In April 2018, Mr. Mittal was awarded the Gary Medal by the American Iron and Steel Institute award recognising his contribution to the steel industry. In addition to his role at ArcelorMittal, Mr. Mittal is an active participant of various boards and advisory councils. He is chairman of the board of Aperam and a member of the board of Goldman Sachs. He previously sat on the board of Airbus N.V. He is a member of the Foreign Investment Council in Kazakhstan, the National Investment Council of Ukraine, the Global CEO Council of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, the World Steel Association’s Executive Committee, the European Round Table of Industrialists, the Indian School of Business and is a member of the board of Trustees of Cleveland Clinic.

Mr. Mittal, with his wife Usha Mittal, is also an active philanthropist. In 2017 the Mittal family made a significant gift to Harvard University, where Mr. Mittal is a member of the Global Advisory Council, to support the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University. The Mittal family has also made important gifts to the Great Ormond Street Hospital, supporting the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre which formally opened in January 2018, and UNICEF, specifically on the topic of child malnutrition in India. Mr. Mittal and his wife Usha Mittal have a son, Aditya Mittal (who is President and Chief Financial Officer of ArcelorMittal), and a daughter, Vanisha Mittal Bhatia (who is a Director of ArcelorMittal). Mr. Mittal is a citizen of India.