Alcoa to appoint three new directors to its Board

Lightweight metals leader Alcoa Inc. has announced that it will appoint Ulrich “Rick” Schmidt, John C. Plant and Sean O. Mahoney to serve on the company’s Board of Directors, effective February 5, 2016. These appointments will further strengthen the company and add valuable aerospace and automotive experience to the Board as Alcoa prepares to separate into two independent companies in the second half of 2016. With these appointments, the Alcoa Board will be expanded to consist of 15 directors.

“We are pleased to welcome Rick, John, and Sean to the Alcoa Board,” said Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “As we prepare to separate into two strong companies, we have been actively working to ensure each has a world-class Board of Directors focused on creating shareholder value. Each of our new directors is a high caliber executive with a proven track record of success, and each brings valuable skills highly relevant to the markets we serve, including aerospace and automotive. We look forward to drawing on their expertise as we launch two independent companies positioned for success.”

In connection with this announcement, Alcoa and affiliates of Elliott Management, which hold an economic interest in approximately 7.5 percent of Alcoa’s common stock, have entered into an agreement that provides that Elliott will support the company’s slate of director nominees at Alcoa’s 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Mahoney will be included with the company’s slate of director nominees for election at the company’s 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and will be added to the class of directors whose term expires in 2016. Schmidt and Plant will be added to the class of directors whose terms expire in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Dave Miller, Senior Portfolio Manager at Elliott Management said, “We believe the company is taking the right steps as it moves forward with its separation. This is a pivotal moment for Alcoa and represents an opportunity to create substantial value for shareholders. We are pleased to have worked constructively with Alcoa and believe that Rick, John and Sean bring relevant experience to the Alcoa Board and the future Value-Add Co.”

As previously announced, Alcoa plans to separate into two, industry-leading publicly traded companies in the second half of 2016. The Upstream company will comprise five strong business units that today make up Global Primary Products: Bauxite, Alumina, Aluminum, Cast Products and Energy; the innovation and technology-driven Value-Add company will include the Global Rolled Products, Engineered Products and Solutions, and Transportation and Construction Solutions businesses. As the company prepares to implement the separation, the Board of Directors will work closely with Alcoa’s management team in a comprehensive review of its portfolio, operations, profitability drivers and cost structure, and will update the market at the appropriate time.