Mr Blaffart, 63, will retire from his duties as member of the management committee and as head of human resources and corporate services on 30 March 2018.

Mr Blaffart joined the group in 1978 as civil engineer in charge of product development, before joining the University of Liege in Belgium to lead on research projects. By 1982, he returned to the group, joining Metal profil Belgium, where he worked his way up to chief executive. He then took up similar roles leading Arcelor’s research division and ArcelorMittal Lorraine.

In 2010, he took on responsibility for human resources at the group’s Flat Carbon Europe segment and became a member of its management committee.

Then in 2013, Mr Blaffart accepted a position as the group’s head of HR and a seat on the group management committee. The following year, he took over additional responsibilities for corporate services including legal, communications, corporate responsibility, capital goods, purchasing, shipping and IT. Mr Blaffart was also appointed Chairman of ArcelorMittal Tubular Jubail and a Board Member of ArcelorMittal South Africa.

Mr Blaffart’s position as executive vice president and head of human resources will be assumed by Mr Bart Wille, who recently joined the group from Bekaert, a steel wire transformation and coatings business. He previously spent many years at Unilever in a number of HR related positions. Mr Wille has also been nominated as executive officer.

Commenting Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO said, “Henri has been a much-valued member of our senior management team. He has given tremendous service to the company, led many challenging projects and made a considerable contribution to the company’s performance. We wish him a happy and fulfilling retirement. In Bart, we have found an excellent, highly experienced HR executive to lead this important strategic function and continue the good work of Henri and the team.”