internal
Karla R. Lewis
President and Chief Executive Officer
Executive
8 yr
5 reports
Reliance, Inc. ·RS
Exceptionally long‑tenured executive team with minimal C‑suite turnover
Materials · Fortune #309 · Functional structure · 16K employees · Scottsdale, Arizona
View as of:
3
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 6)
1.5
Avg span
tight
3
Max depth
3 levels
5.3 yr
Avg tenure
stable vs FY2024
100%
Internal hires
↑ above industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-12-31 · 10-K
Revenue
$14.3B
Operating income
$1.0B
Net income
$739M
Total assets
$10.4B
Shares out
52M
Sourced from Reliance, Inc. DEF 14A · filed 2026-04-02 ↗ View on SEC
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Reliance, Inc. organizational chart
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Reliance is notable for an unusually stable, long‑tenured executive team, with all C‑suite leaders promoted internally and minimal turnover. This page details its compact functional structure, executive roles, leadership analysis, and peer comparison.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal Executive Severance Policy Adoption changed role as Executive Officers
Board adopted a formal Executive Severance Policy effective October 21, 2025.
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Add Chief Digital & AI Officer Introduce a new executive role to centralize data, automation, and AI initiatives across operations.
- COO Succession Planning Model the removal of the COO role to assess succession gaps given the long-tenured operations leadership.
Atlas work this supports
- Connect Workday or UKG Get these analytics for YOUR org — tenure, span of control, headcount, automatically from your HRIS.
- Connect Salesforce Map your target accounts like this. Import contacts, visualize decision chains, plan multi-threading.
- Plan a Reorg Use this as a starting point. Model scenarios, compare structures, present options to your board.
The people
Who's running this
4 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
internal
Stephen P. Koch
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
Operations
4 yr
0 reports
internal
Arthur Ajemyan
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Finance
4 yr
2 reports
internal
William A. Smith II
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Legal
10 yr
0 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 1 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
Karla R. Lewis $13.4M
- Base salary
- $1.32M
- Stock awards
- $7.65M
- Non-equity incentive
- $2.07M
- Pension change
- $1.89M
- Other
- $434K
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The skin in the game
Beneficial ownership
Insider stock holdings and the company's ownership requirements for executives and directors. Disclosed in the most recent DEF 14A.
Stock ownership requirements
5×CEO base salary
4×NEO base salary
5×Director cash retainer
Executives and directors must meet stock ownership multiples within defined periods.
The businesses
How Reliance, Inc. divides the work
3 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
Operations
12K employees
Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer (Stephen P. Koch)
Oversees metals processing, distribution, and supply chain operations across subsidiaries.
Finance
600 employees
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer (Arthur Ajemyan)
Manages financial reporting, capital allocation, treasury, and risk management.
Legal & Governance
150 employees
Senior Vice President, General Counsel (William A. Smith II)
Handles legal affairs, compliance, corporate governance, and SEC reporting.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
Reliance’s most distinctive structural feature is the extraordinary tenure and stability of its top leadership team.
The CEO and all direct reports have been with the company for many years, with internal promotion the dominant path to the C‑suite. This results in a compact executive group with deep institutional knowledge rather than a broad or frequently rotating leadership bench.
Structurally, Reliance operates a classic functional model. The CEO directly oversees operations, finance, and legal, with no intermediate president or regional CEOs. Compared with peers that emphasize divisional autonomy, Reliance centralizes capital allocation, risk management, and acquisition strategy at the corporate level, reflecting its long history of disciplined M&A.
- All C-suite leaders promoted internally
- Very low executive turnover
The comparison
How Reliance, Inc. stacks up
Compared with other large metals and industrial distributors, Reliance stands out for executive continuity. Peers such as Nucor and Steel Dynamics also favor internal promotion, but typically refresh their C‑suite more frequently. Reliance’s smaller C‑suite and longer average tenure reduce coordination costs but may …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
Reliance, Inc.
3 levels
4 levels
4 levels
4 levels
Worthington Enterprises
5 levels
Avg C-suite tenure
Reliance, Inc.
5 yr
6 yr
5 yr
Worthington Enterprises
6 yr
Has COO / Has CAIO
Reliance, Inc. ✓ COO — no CAIO
Worthington Enterprises ✓ COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
The most significant recent change was the adoption of a formal Executive Severance Policy in October 2025, reinforcing governance without altering leadership roles.
- reorgExecutive Severance Policy Adoption Executive Officers
Board adopted a formal Executive Severance Policy effective October 21, 2025.
Source - new
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2026-04-02
- CEO
- Karla R. Lewis
- CEO span
- 3
- C-suite
- 4
- Avg tenure
- 5.3 yr
Leadership characterized by long tenure and internal promotion.
Named executive officers (4)
- Karla R. Lewis - CEO since 2018
- Stephen P. Koch - COO since 2022
- Arthur Ajemyan - CFO since 2022
- William A. Smith II - General Counsel
FY2024
DEF 14A filed 2025-04-03
- CEO
- Karla R. Lewis
- CEO span
- 3
- C-suite
- 4
- Avg tenure
- 4.8 yr
No material change in executive composition.
FY2023
DEF 14A filed 2024-04-04
- CEO
- Karla R. Lewis
- CEO span
- 3
- C-suite
- 4
- Avg tenure
- 4.2 yr
Stable executive structure maintained.
Year-over-year changes
Governance policies evolved while leadership composition remained unchanged.
- Avg tenure: 4.8 → 5.3 yr
- reorg Executive Severance Policy - Executive Officers (DEF 14A filed 2026-04-02)
The board
Board of directors
4 directors. 4 of 4 independent (100%). Source: most recent DEF 14A.
Douglas W. Stotlar
Chair Independent
Former CEO, Con-way, Inc.
Also on: AECOM
Robert A. McEvoy
Independent
Former Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
David W. Seeger
Independent
Former President, Zekelman Industries
John G. Sznewajs
Independent
Partner, Shore Capital
Also on: CMS Energy
The board, organized
Board committees
2 standing committees. Audit and Compensation must be 100% independent under SEC rules; the rest vary.
Audit Committee
100% independent 9 mtgs/yr
- John G. Sznewajs
Compensation Committee
100% independent 6 mtgs/yr
- Robert A. McEvoy
- David W. Seeger
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of Reliance?
Karla R. Lewis has served as President and CEO since 2018 and has been with the company for decades.
What type of organizational structure does Reliance use?
Reliance uses a functional organizational structure with centralized corporate oversight.
How many direct reports does Reliance's CEO have?
The CEO has three direct reports: the COO, CFO, and General Counsel.
How has Reliance's leadership changed recently?
Recent changes include the adoption of an Executive Severance Policy and the addition of a new independent director in 2025.
Is Reliance known for internal promotions?
Yes. All current C‑suite executives were promoted internally, reflecting a strong internal pipeline.
Sources
- 8-K Filing, Oct 2025
- SEC EDGAR: Reliance, Inc. DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: Reliance, Inc. 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.
APA 7th
Creately. (2026). Reliance, Inc. organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/reliance/MLA 9th
"Reliance, Inc. Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/reliance/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "Reliance, Inc. Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/reliance/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
Reliance, Inc.. DEF 14A. Filed 2026-04-02. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/861884/000110465926039140/tm2531976-2_def14a.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/reliance/ · last updated 2026-04-01