A native of Union City, Tenn., Mr. Sterling graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. Mr. Sterling progressed through various employee relations positions in Pittsburgh before he became vice president-labor relations, steel and related resources for the former U. S. Steel Group of USX Corporation in 1984. In 2000, Mr. Sterling was elected president of Transtar, Inc., now a wholly owned subsidiary of U. S. Steel, which owns the following operating companies: Birmingham Southern Railroad; Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway; The Lake Terminal Railroad; McKeesport Connecting Railroad; Union Railroad; and Warrior & Gulf Navigation. He served in that position until June 2003, when he was elected to the position of senior vice president-human resources. In October 2004, his area of responsibility was expanded to include Business Services, which includes the newly integrated Business Service Center, an internal organization that manages administrative and information technology services company-wide.
