KAIT reports that John Correnti of Blytheville the was found dead this morning in Chicago. He was 68. 

Correnti was CEO of Big River Steel, the billion-dollar still mill project currently under construction in Mississippi County.

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The mill got more than $100 million in loans, incentives, and grants from the state as part of a “superproject” under Amendment 82 of the state constitution. The Arkansas Teacher Retirement System also contributed $125 million in venture capital. 

Correnti was previously president and CEO of rival Nucor; Nucor opposed the superproject for Big River Steel. Big River Steel is set to open in July of 2016; state legislators were promised that it would create more than 500 jobs in Mississippi County. 

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The CEO of the state’s first superproject, Big River Steel CEO John Correnti, was found dead on an out-of-state business trip Tuesday morning, Talk Business & Politics has confirmed.

Correnti was the driving force for the $1.3 billion steel mill superproject, which is being built near Osceola (Mississippi Co.). As a former CEO of rival Nucor Steel, Correnti was a big fan of Arkansas where he once headed Nucor’s operations in the 1990’s.

His career in the steel industry began in 1969 with U.S. Steel where he served in construction management activities until 1980. He’s also done stints at the helm of SeverCorr, SteelCorr and Birmingham Steel.

When he was the President of Nucor Corp. from 1991 to 1999 and CEO from 1996 to 1999, he moved to Blytheville in Northeast Arkansas and has maintained a residence there.

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