General Electric announced on November 10 that Alcoa had appointed Andrei Donets as its president in Russia's aluminum processing plant. André Donetz will officially take office on November 17. He has more than a decade of management experience in the metals sector and previously served as an executive director of Rexam, the world's largest beverage can maker.

Dr. Donetz served as an acting director in the packaging industry of UC RUSAL.

Alcoa, headquartered in Pittsburgh, has two aluminum processing plants in Russia, the Samara Metallurgical Plant and the Alcoa Metallurg Rus Plant.

Alcoa plans to sell 60% of Russian-made aluminum products to the country this year, and in 2007 about 50% of aluminum products will be sold in the United States.