William is Esmark's Chief Commercial Officer with responsibility for all mill and industrial/commercial customer relationships across the country. William brings more than 25 years of experience in all facets of steel operations to his duties at Esmark.
From 1998 until 2005 he served as President of Chicago Heights, Illinois-based Century Steel, where he led the successful transition from a 65-year-old family run business into a major subsidiary of Esmark, which acquired Century in January of 2005.
Ristau's diversified career includes leading the late 1990s effort to form Heartland Steel in Terre Haute, Indiana as part of his senior management role with Ryerson Coil Processing, as well as serving as the lead company management representative in acquiring Omni Metals in Cleveland, Ohio.
William's considerable mill experience includes sales, marketing and finance positions with Inland Steel, where he served from 1975 until 1995. His responsibilities included General Manager of Industrial Products, General Manager of Commercial and Industrial and steel manufacturing and distribution operations.
William holds a
B.S. in Political Science
from DePaul University and an MBA in Finance from DePaul University .
