Aluminum producer Alcoa names new president and CEO

Aluminum producer Alcoa announced Monday that the company has named William Oplinger as its new president and CEO, effective immediately.

Oplinger, 56, also joined the board of directors. He succeeded Roy Harvey, who will now serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO through the end of the year, according to a company press release. Oplinger had served as Alcoa's executive vice president and chief operations officer since February.

Alcoa's stock fell more than 5% in early trading Monday.

The company said the leadership transition is a result of its "succession planning process."

"Roy has guided Alcoa since its launch as a public company in November 2016, helping to transform Alcoa into the stronger and more resilient company that it is today," said Steven Williams, the company's non-executive chairman of the board, in a statement. "Our Board believes Bill's extensive experience with Alcoa makes him well-positioned to carry the company forward."

The Pittsburgh-based producer split into two publicly traded companies and created the current iteration of Alcoa in 2016. Before that, Oplinger had served as chief financial officer and oversaw the mining, refining, smelting and energy businesses. Harvey had served as president since May 2017.

"I am extremely honored to lead a company with such a rich legacy and build upon the progress we've made over these past several years," Oplinger said in the statement. "We've strengthened our company and we will be focused on executing on our strategies to create value today while we work on our long-term vision to reinvent the aluminum industry for a sustainable future."