Executive Leadership

Joseph A. Carrabba joined Cliffs in April 2005 as president and chief operating officer. He assumed the role of president and chief executive officer of the Company in September 2006, and was elected chairman of the Board of Directors in May 2007.

Mr. Carrabba joined Cliffs from Rio Tinto, a global mining company, where he served for 22 years in a variety of leadership capacities at locations worldwide including the United States, Asia, Australia, Canada, and Europe. Before relocating to Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mines, Inc., in Canada’s Northwest Territory, where he served most recently as president and chief operating officer, he spearheaded the development and successful implementation of Rio Tinto’s Six Sigma initiative at its bauxite mining operation in Australia.

A native of Ohio, Mr. Carrabba earned his bachelor’s degree in geology from Capital University and his MBA from Frostburg State University in Maryland. Currently Chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute, Mr. Carrabba also sits on the Board of Directors of the National Mining Association, Newmont Mining Corporation, Cleveland’s Great Lakes Science Center, Capital University Board of Trustrees, the Frostburg University Foundation and KeyCorp.

Mr. Gallagher has commercial responsibility for all of Cliffs’ global businesses including its global strategic marketing function.

Mr. Gallagher joined Cliffs in 1981 as an ore sales representative in the commercial department.  He has held various management positions within the Company, and was named vice president-sales in August 1998.  Mr. Gallagher was then named Senior Vice President -- CFO in 2003 and president of North American Iron Ore in 2006. 

A native of Cleveland, OH, Mr. Gallagher earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale
University and an MBA from CWRU. Mr. Gallagher has served as chairman of the Cleveland Section of The American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers and is currently a member of the Iron and Steel Society of the A.I.M.E., and the American Iron and Steel Institute.  He serves on the board of directors of Fifth Third Bank’s NE Ohio affiliate and is also active in the local community, including serving on the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland.

Ms. Brlas has executive oversight for all mining operations in Cliffs’ global portfolio of controlled iron ore and coal interests as well as leading emerging operating assets including development projects in iron ore and ferrochrome. In addition, she provides leadership for safety, capital projects, cost management, continuous improvement and information technology.

Ms. Brlas joined Cliffs in December 2006 with an extensive accounting and financial career spanning more than 20 years. Prior to Cliffs, she held the roles of senior vice president, chief financial officer of sterilization systems manufacturer STERIS Corporation, and senior vice president and controller for OfficeMax.  Ms. Brlas earned her bachelor's degree in accounting from Youngstown State University.  She currently serves on Perrigo Company’s Board of Directors as a director and as the chair of the Audit Committee.  Ms. Brlas also serves on The First Tee of Cleveland’s Board of Directors as a director and as a member of the Events Committee.

Ms. Brlas was named Crain’s Cleveland Business CFO of the Year, Class of 2010, in the Large Public Company category for her outstanding fiscal leadership and asset management.

Mr. Tompkins maintains responsibility for all traditional corporate general counsel matters, Cliffs' ongoing relationships with all U.S. and international government and regulatory bodies, and the execution and reporting of the Company's increasingly critical sustainable development practices.  He also provides executive- level focus on the Company’s evolving business relationships in China.

Mr. Tompkins joined Cliffs in May 2010, having previously been executive vice president and chief financial officer for RPM International Inc. Before joining RPM in 1996, he held various legal and executive positions with Reliance Electric Company and Exxon Corporation. 

Mr. Tompkins received his B.A. degree from Mercyhurst College and his J.D. degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1981. He is active on a number of boards, including University Hospitals Case Medical Center and the Greater Cleveland Partnership's Government Affairs Council. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Canada-United States Law Institute of Case Western Reserve University and the Advisory Council for the Baldwin-Wallace College of Business, and served as the 95th president of the Cleveland Bar Association in 2005-2006.

Mr. Michaud maintains core responsibilities of oversight for global human resources, talent management, organizational development, compensation and benefits.  He provides leadership in the development of human resources-related strategic and tactical initiatives that support the company's continued growth.

Prior to Cliffs, Mr. Michaud worked as a Partner at Laurus Strategies, partnering with a wide variety of clients to build world-class HR organizations to achieve superior business results. He previously served as vice president human resources/labor relations – Americas for ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT), where he was responsible for the rapid integration of its facilities throughout the Americas. He has also held several executive human resources and labor relations positions at Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA)

Mr. Michaud received his B.A. degree from James Madison College of Michigan State University. He is a past member of the Hewitt Senior Client Advisory Board and the Washington Business Group on Health, and currently sits on the Advisory Board for Michigan State University's School of Human Resources and Labor Relations.

Mr. Paradie holds executive responsibility for all finance, accounting, tax and treasury functions within Cliffs. Mr. Paradie joined Cliffs in 2007 as Vice President, Corporate Controller and was appointed to the additional position of Chief Accounting Officer in July 2009.  Mr. Paradie was promoted to Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer in February 2011. 

Mr. Paradie has had executive oversight for the internal and external accounting and reporting functions including SEC reporting and disclosures, as well as setting accounting and reporting policy.  He was also responsible for managing control processes and procedures, along with planning and analysis for the company.  Additionally, Mr. Paradie gained significant operational experience through serving as Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager of Cliffs’ Michigan operations. 

Prior to joining Cliffs, Paradie was with international accounting and consulting firm KPMG LLP since 1992 in a variety of roles, most recently as an audit partner. He earned his Bachelors of Commerce from the University of Windsor, with dual majors in accounting and finance, and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Mr. Smith has global responsibility for business development at Cliffs, including the identification and evaluation of potential strategic transactions, due diligence and valuation, integration, and resource evaluation/quantification. He also has oversight for the exploration and development activities of the company’s Global Exploration Group. 

He was named to his present position in January 2011, having served as vice president, Latin American operations and technical, and general manager – business development for Cliffs.  Prior to Cliffs, Mr. Smith held mine management positions with Asarco and South Peru Copper Corporation.  He holds a BSc in mining engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.