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John Peter Surma (born May 25, 1954) is an American businessman. He was the executive chairman of the board of
United States Steel Corporation The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...
. Surma retired as CEO of U.S. Steel effective September 1, 2013, and Chairman effective January 1, 2014, positions he held since 2004.


Biography

John Surma earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from
Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
in 1976. He joined
Price Waterhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along ...
and became a partner in 1987. In 1983 he was picked for
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
’s Executive Exchange Program in Washington, D.C., where he worked with the Federal Reserve Board. He was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as the vice chairman of the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. In 1997, he joined
Marathon Oil Marathon Oil Corporation was an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. In November 2024, it was acquired by ConocoPhillips and absorbed into the company. Marathon was founded in Lima, Ohio, as the Ohio Oil Company. In 1899, the ...
, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel, as senior vice president of finance and accounting. In 1998, he became president of Speedway SuperAmerica, a subsidiary of Marathon, and in 2001 he became president of
Marathon Ashland Petroleum Marathon Petroleum Corporation is an American petroleum refining, marketing, and transportation company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil until a corporate spin-off in 2011. Marathon Petro ...
, another subsidiary. When U. S. Steel and Marathon separated at the end of 2001, he stayed with U. S. Steel as vice chairman and chief financial officer. He became president of U. S. Steel in March 2003, and chairman of the board as of February 2006. Surma is chairman of the International Iron and Steel Institute, vice chairman of the
American Iron and Steel Institute The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) is a trade association of North American steel producers. Including its predecessor organizations, it is one of the oldest trade associations in the United States, dating back to 1855. It assumed its ...
, and a board member of the
National Association of Manufacturers The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is an advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional offices across the United States. It is the nation's largest manufacturing industrial trade association, representing 14,000 s ...
. As vice chairman of the Penn State Board of Trustees, Surma was involved in the decision to remove football coach
Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...
following the
Penn State child sex abuse scandal The Penn State child sex abuse scandal concerned allegations and subsequent convictions of child sexual abuse committed by Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, over a period of at least fifteen year ...
. The decision was communicated to Paterno via a phone call. Surma became chairman of the Penn State Board of Trustees three days later when Chairman Steve Garban resigned his position. In January 2012 he relinquished the position to
The Bank of New York Mellon The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...
executive Karen Peetz, but he has continued to sit on the board. Surma was a director of BNY Mellon until April 2012. In 2011 his reported compensation as a director of BNY Mellon was $216,575. In 2006, Surma was awarded the Elbert Gary Medal by the American Iron and Steel Institute. Surma retired as
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of United States Steel on August 31, 2013. He continued as executive chairman until December 31, 2013, when he retired from the company and the board. In September 2015, Surma assumed the chairmanship of the
National Safety Council The National Safety Council (NSC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, public service organization promoting health and safety in the United States. Headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, NSC is a member organization, founded in 1913 and granted a congress ...
, succeeding Jeff Woodbury. Surma had been on the board since 2011. He retired from that position in 2017, being succeeded by Mark Vergnano.


Compensation

While CEO of United States Steel in 2008, Surma received total compensation of $11,130,689, which included a base salary of $1,218,336, a cash bonus of $3,250,000, stocks granted of $4,174,028, options granted of $2,233,336, and other compensation of $254,989. In 2009, Surma’s total compensation as U.S. Steel CEO fell over 83% to $1.5 million from $11.1 million the previous year. He voluntarily declined long-term incentive awards and took a 20% salary cut due to economic challenges. Despite this, he received a $210,000 bonus for safety and environmental performance. That year, U.S. Steel reported a $1.4 billion net loss amid declining industry demand.


Pittsburgh Penguins

As of 2012, Surma held a minority ownership stake in the NHL’s
Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...
.


Notes

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References


See also

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List of chief executive officers The following is a list of chief executive officers of notable companies. The list also includes lead executives with a position corresponding to chief executive officer (CEO), such as managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also kno ...
*
Executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surma, John P. 1954 births Living people American chief executives of manufacturing companies Baptists from Pennsylvania Smeal College of Business alumni Businesspeople from Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Penguins owners University of Pittsburgh trustees U.S. Steel people