Alcoa Names Dr. Mohammad A. Zaidi Chief Technical Officer; John W. Collins III Becomes Chairman's Counsel

    PITTSBURGH--March 17, 2003--Alcoa announced today that Dr. Mohammad A. Zaidi, 51, has been appointed Chief Technical Officer for the company responsible for corporate technology programs and projects, as well as strategic product and process developments. Alcoa's deep capabilities in research, development, and applied engineering are one of the key ways Alcoa delivers solutions to its customers. He is also appointed a member of the Alcoa Executive Council, the senior leadership group that provides strategic direction for the company. He succeeds John W. Collins III, 58, executive vice president, Science and Technology, who becomes Chairman's Counsel assisting with the transition of his responsibilities until his retirement later this year.

    Biographical information follows:

    Dr. Mohammad A. Zaidi

    Dr. Zaidi has been president of Alcoa Automotive's Fabrication and Assembly business and chief operating officer of Alcoa's Automotive Castings business since 2001.
    Dr. Zaidi joined Alcoa in 1985 at ATC as a senior engineer. Since then, he has held assignments of increasing responsibility, including in 1991 being named manager of technology development and transfer for the aluminum-intensive vehicle, which included development of the aluminum spaceframe used on the Audi A8, and later the Ferrari Modena. Dr. Zaidi moved to Germany in 1992 for the startup of the Alcoa Automotive GmbH plant in Soest, Germany, which produces castings, and formed and machined components and assemblies for the automotive industry. In 1995, he was named director of product strategy, which involved new automotive product development and related technologies, and in 1997 vice president of technology development for Alcoa's automotive business. He returned to ATC in 1998 as director of technology for worldwide automotive and extrusions, with accountability for best practice transfer and technology management throughout Alcoa's extrusion and automotive businesses, worldwide.
    Dr. Zaidi, who was born in India, graduated in 1975 with a metallurgical engineering degree from IIT, in Kanpur, India. He graduated from the Imperial College in London both with a master's degree in materials technology and a Ph.D in mechanical metallurgy in 1977 and 1980, respectively. He has authored 20 papers or articles in various scientific journals and books.

    John W. Collins III

    John W. Collins III was appointed Alcoa executive vice president, Science and Technology in 2001 and has lead Alcoa's corporate technology programs, strategic product and process developments as well as breakthrough technology projects since then. Mr. Collins was also a member of Alcoa's Executive Council, the senior leadership group that provides strategic direction for the company.
    Mr. Collins joined Alcoa in 1969 at Alcoa Technical Center, near Pittsburgh, as a development engineer in product and process development and in 1973 became the section head of engineering and equipment development there. From 1977 through 1985, he held a series of sales and marketing management assignments in New Jersey, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City and Pittsburgh. Since that time, Mr. Collins has been president of a number of Alcoa's major business units, including Engineered Products and Mill Products. He was elected an Alcoa vice president in 1995.
    Mr. Collins holds five U.S. patents and is the recipient of three Alcoa Technical Awards. He received a BSME in 1969 from the University of Michigan, College of Engineering. He was born in Bronxville, New York, and grew up in Birmingham, Michigan. Mr. Collins has been active on a number of external commercial and academic industry advisory boards including the Tauber Manufacturing Institute and the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan.
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