Alcoa Chief Technical Officer Among Top 25 'Indian Technical & Management Leaders'
-- New UN-Sponsored Book Profiles IIT Alumni --
UPPER BURRELL, Pa., Jan. 12 -- Dr. Mohammad A. Zaidi, Chief Technical Officer and Vice President, Alcoa, is profiled in a new United Nations-sponsored book entitled IIT: India's Intellectual Treasures, a "behind the scenes" look into India's prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology. The 135-page coffee table book examines the achievements of its top alumni, written by Suvarna U. Rajguru and Ranjan Pant ( www.indusmedia.net ).
Other alumni profiled in the book include Rajat Gupta, former Managing Director of McKinsey; Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems; Raghuran Rajan, Chief Economist, International Monetary Fund; Jeet Bindra, President, Chevron Global Refining and Arun Netravali, former President of AT&T Bell Labs.
Dr. Zaidi and the other IIT alumni were hosted at a celebration at the Indian Consulate in New York last month. IIT was one of the first institutions of higher education established in India 50 years ago with the help of the United Nations. Many of its graduates have made outstanding contributions to business, industry and education in the United States and India.
Dr. Mohammad A. Zaidi was appointed Chief Technical Officer and Vice President, Alcoa in March 2003. He is responsible for corporate technology programs and projects, as well as strategic product and process developments. He also is a member of the Alcoa Executive Council, the senior leadership group that provides strategic direction for the company.
Dr. Zaidi joined Alcoa in 1985 at Alcoa Technical Center (ATC) as a senior engineer. Since then, he has held assignments of increasing responsibility that include being named manager of technology development and transfer in 1991 for the aluminum-intensive vehicle, which included development of the aluminum spaceframe used for 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 worldwide extrusion and automotive businesses. In 2001, Dr. Zaidi became president of Alcoa Automotive's fabrication and assembly business and chief operating officer of Alcoa's automotive castings business.
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 PhD in mechanical metallurgy in 1977 and 1980, respectively. He has authored 20 papers or articles in various scientific journals and books.
About Alcoa:
Alcoa is the world's leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers. In addition to aluminum products and components, Alcoa also markets consumer brands including Reynolds Wrap(R) foils and plastic wraps, Alcoa(R) wheels, and Baco(R) household wraps. Among its other businesses are vinyl siding, closures, precision castings, and electrical distribution systems for cars and trucks. The company has 127,000 employees in 41 countries. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com .
Editorial Contact: Lori Gallagher
724-337-2725
lori.gallagher@alcoa.com