Public Director Philip K. Bell is president of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), based in Washington, D.C. His three-year term on the ASSP Board of Directors began July 1, 2024, and he provides a corporate perspective from outside the occupational safety and health profession. Bell is also a trustee of the ASSP Foundation, the Society’s charitable arm, in his dual leadership role.
Over his 30-year career, Bell has held executive-level positions in operations, human resources and public affairs. At SMA, he counsels the U.S. government as a member of the Department of Commerce International Trade Advisory Committee on Steel (ITAC 11). He advises the Department of Commerce and Office of the United States Trade Representative on international trade-related matters that benefit U.S. businesses, workers and the economy.
Prior to leading SMA, Bell was director of external communications and public affairs for Gerdau North America in Tampa, FL. He developed an interest in manufacturing and the steel industry in the late 1980s while working in maintenance and operations at Elementis Chromium in Corpus Christi, TX.
Bell is on the board of directors of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and chairs ASAE’s audit committee. He is on the Council of Manufacturing Associations board of advisers at the National Association of Manufacturing, and is a member of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology. He is also on the board of trustees of Hamline University in St. Paul, MN.
Bell earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi and holds a master’s degree in global strategic communications from the University of Florida. He and his wife, Linda, reside in Bethesda, MD, and Riverview, FL.