Ronald Freeman awarded as one of the best Independent Directors 2011

Ronald Freeman, Independent Director and Member of the Audit Committee of OAO Severstal, has been honoured by the Independent Directors Association (IDA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers as one of the best in the nomination of Independent Director 2011.

Mr Freeman received the award at the Independent Director 2011 ceremony held during the Corporate Governance: Challenges and Priorities conference in Moscow.

The Director of the Year National Award was founded by the IDA in 2006 and is supported by PwC. Since 2009 the Award has been organized in partnership with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE).

The Award recognizes the personal contribution of directors to the development of corporate governance and is aimed at promoting and helping to implement best practices and high corporate governance standards within the Russian Federation.

It is widely recognized and respected by the professional community of independent directors and the boards of Russian and international companies.

Severstal’s corporate governance reflects the global standards required by investors and is highly regarded by professional communities.

In 2008 the Independent Directors Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers nominated Rolf Stomberg, Senior Independent Director of OAO Severstal, for the shortlist of Independent Director 2008 and Oleg Tsvetkov, Corporate Secretary of OAO Severstal, was awarded Corporate Governance Director – Corporate Secretary 2008.

Severstal has reflected the best international practices in corporate governance since the Company’s shares were quoted on the London Stock Exchange in 2006 and it is committed to continuous improvement to meet the needs of investors.

To ensure Severstal remains at the leading edge of best corporate governance practice the Company is a member of the Russian Institute of Directors, the leading expert and resource center for corporate governance, and the UK IR Society.

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ОАО Severstal is one of the world’s leading vertically integrated steel and steel related mining companies, with assets in Russia and the USA, in Ukraine, Latvia, Poland, Italy, Liberia and Brazil. Severstal’s gold business, Nordgold was established in 2007 and comprises mines and exploration projects in Russia, Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso and Guinea. Severstal is listed on RTS and MICEX and the company’s GDRs are traded on the LSE. Severstal reported revenue of $13,573 million and EBITDA of $3,263 million in 2010. Severstal’s crude steel production in 2010 reached 14.7 million tonnes. www.severstal.com

The INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION (IDA) is a professional organization uniting Russian and international corporate directors and experts in corporate governance. The IDA was founded in 2002 and has more than 286 members.