SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 FORM 8‑K CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

DATE OF REPORT - July 15, 2013 (Date of Earliest Event Reported)

AK STEEL HOLDING CORPORATION (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Commission File No. 1-13696

Delaware 31-1401455 (State of Incorporation) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

9227 Centre Pointe Drive West Chester, OH 45069 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (513) 425-5000

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below): q Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) q Solicitation material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) q Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) q Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

(b) On July 15, 2013, Albert E. Ferrara, Jr., Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations, gave notice of his retirement from the AK Steel Holding Corporation (the “Company”), effective August 31, 2013. The Company issued a press release with respect to Mr. Ferrara's retirement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated by reference herein.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibit: Press Release dated July 16, 2013. SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

AK STEEL HOLDING CORPORATION

By: /s/ David C. Horn David C. Horn Secretary

Dated: July 16, 2013 EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No. Description

99.1 Press Release dated July 16, 2013

EXHIBIT 99.1 News Release

Contacts: Media – Michael P. Wallner, General Manager, Communications and PR (513) 425-2688 Investors – Albert E. Ferrara, Jr., Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations (513) 425-2888

AK Steel Announces Executive Retirement

WEST CHESTER, OH, July 16, 2013 - AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) said today that Albert E. Ferrara, Jr. has announced his retirement from the company, effective August 31, 2013. For more than a decade, Mr. Ferrara has served AK Steel with distinction, principally as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and, most recently, as Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations. James L. Wainscott, Chairman, President and CEO of AK Steel commented, “Al has been an integral part of AK Steel's senior management team which engineered the company's turnaround in years past and, more recently, he has focused on strategy and investor activities. On behalf of AK Steel's Board of Directors, our Executive Officers and all of us at the company, we wish Al a long and happy retirement.” Mr. Ferrara has served the steel industry for more than 40 years, and joined AK Steel in June 2003. He had previously been recognized by Institutional Investor Magazine as one of America's best CFO's. Prior to his AK Steel career, he held a number of executive-level positions with NS Group, USX Corporation and United States Steel Corporation. In addition, Mr. Ferrara is a member of the Advisory Board of FM Global, and he previously served as a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce. He is a past Board Member of the Upper St. Clair () School District, the Regional Industrial Development Corporation, , Pennsylvania, and the Metropolitan Development Board, Birmingham, Alabama. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Middletown Area. Mr. Ferrara attended the University of Virginia on a football scholarship. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance, with Distinction, and a Juris Doctor, both from UVA. He has been licensed to practice law since 1973. Following Mr. Ferrara's retirement, the company's Investor Relations activities will be managed by Roger Newport, AK Steel's Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (513) 425-5270, with assistance from Doug Mitterholzer, AK Steel's Assistant Treasurer (513) 425-5215.

AK Steel AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steels, primarily for automotive, infrastructure and manufacturing, construction and electrical power generation and distribution markets. The company employs about 6,100 men and women in Middletown, Mansfield, Coshocton and Zanesville, ; Butler, Pennsylvania; Ashland, Kentucky; Rockport, Indiana; and its corporate headquarters in West Chester, Ohio. Additional information about AK Steel is available on the company's web site at www.aksteel.com. AK Tube LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AK Steel, employs about 300 men and women in plants in Walbridge, Ohio and Columbus, Indiana. AK Tube produces carbon and stainless electric resistance welded (ERW) tubular steel products for truck, automotive and other markets. Additional information about AK Tube LLC is available on its web site at www.aktube.com. AK Coal Resources, Inc., another wholly-owned subsidiary of AK Steel, controls and is developing metallurgical coal reserves in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. AK Steel also owns 49.9% of Magnetation LLC, a joint venture headquartered in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, which produces iron ore concentrate from previously mined ore reserves.

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