NEW YORK--Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced today that President and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld has been appointed Chairman of the U.S.-Russia Business Council (USRBC), effective September 25, 2009. Mr. Kleinfeld succeeds Neville Isdell, who is stepping down following his retirement as Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company.

“There is great potential for cooperation between the U.S. and Russia in many areas, and business plays a key role in helping identify and generate opportunities -- from bi-lateral trade and investment to collaboration on regulatory and other policies,” Mr. Kleinfeld said.

USRBC President Ed Verona commented that Kleinfeld’s long-standing relations with Russia, combined with Alcoa’s considerable investment in that country, make him a natural choice to assume the leadership of the Council. “Klaus brings an extensive network of personal relationships in Russia and an infectious optimism about the prospects for achieving progress in the bilateral relationship. He is the ideal leader for the Council in this era of the ‘reset’ in U.S.-Russia relations.”

Mr. Kleinfeld has been with Alcoa since being named a director in 2003. He was named President and CEO of Alcoa in May 2008, after a 20-year career with the global electronics and industrial conglomerate, Siemens AG, where he served as chief executive officer.

The USRBC is a Washington-based association representing approximately 250 companies among them some of the leading firms in the U.S., Russia and Europe. Founded in 1993, its primary mission is to promote trade and investment between the U.S. and Russia.

Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina, with 63,000 employees and operations in 31 countries. Alcoa entered the Russian market in 1993 when it opened a facility in Lyubachany, and acquired two major manufacturing facilities in 2005 in Samara and Belaya Kalitva. The company’s total investment in Russia is approximately $750 million.