Karla R. Lewis, a certified public accountant, was named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in January 2002. She became Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company in February 2000 after serving as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company since January 1999. From 1995 to 1999, Ms. Lewis served as Vice President and Controller of the Company. Ms. Lewis was Corporate Controller of the Company from 1992 to 1995. For four years prior to joining the Company, Ms. Lewis, a certified public accountant, was employed by Ernst & Young in various professional staff positions. Upon the advice of a local CPA, Karla Lewis decided to become an accountant when she was in elementary school. She stayed the course, leaving the small farming town in which she grew up to earn a BS in Business at Ohio State University, and later became a certified public accountant. A turning point came when Karla - unlike her peers, who opted to stay local or go to the East Coast - chose to do an internship in Los Angeles. When she graduated, the company (Ernst & Young, LLP) hired her full time, and she made her permanent move west. One of her first clients was Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. Working on-site while conducting the independent audit, Karla had the opportunity to interact with many Reliance employees, both at the corporate headquarters and at some Reliance divisions. The insight she gleaned into Reliance's unique culture influenced Karla's decision to accept the position of Corporate Controller in 1992. Reliance was attractive not just because of the quality of people, but the opportunities for ongoing learning and development. In her two decades with Reliance, Karla has done just that. From Vice President and Corporate Controller, she progressively moved to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and, since 2002, has served Reliance as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Additionally, Karla sits on the Board of Directors of the Metals Service Center Institute.