On Thursday, Severstal North America's newest chief executive Saikat Dey said the company would be shifting its focus away from large acquisitions and big projects. Dey said his new team would take steps to acquire best returns for the US steelmaker. The steel industry had been suffering lately due to slow demand and extensive overcapacity.

Dey joined Severstal from McKinsey and Company in 2011. Speaking about the acquisitions and projects done by his predecessor and previous management, he told reporters in a conference call, "(It was) probably the right team for what was required at that point in time. The big merger and acquisition deals that we did and the divestment. Now we face different challenges altogether. We built the car, now we are going to drive it."

Severstal North America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Severstal, Russia's second largest steel producer. The US business had a 3.4 million ton production capacity at its plants in Columbus, Mississippi and Dearborn, Michigan. Severstal is currently running at 3.0 million tons annually thanks to a profitable demand from the growing automotive industry.