Personnel Changes at BASF
BASF has announced a number of personnel changes. Bernhard Nick, currently
president, Verbund Site Management
Europe, will become head of the strategic planning and controlling division effective July 1, 2013. He succeeds Walter
Gramlich, who is retiring on June 30,
2013 following a 34-year career at BASF.
Friedrich Seitz, currently president,
process research and chemical engineering, will succeed Nick as head of
the Verbund Site Management Europe
division effective June 1, 2013. Peter
Schuhmacher will succeed Seitz as president of the process research and chemical engineering division effective May 1,
2013. Schuhmacher is currently senior
vice president strategic planning.
Nick
Gramlich
Seitz
Schuhmacher
AkzoNobel Announces
Management Changes
AkzoNobel has announced that Graeme
Armstrong will become managing direc-
tor Surface Chemistry and country di-
rector for North America. Armstrong is
currently executive committee member
responsible for Research, Development
and Innovation (RD&I). He succeeds
Bob Margevich, who has chosen to go
into retirement.
Armstrong will assume his new responsibilities on April 1 and will work
alongside Margevich during the first two
months to ensure a smooth transition. A
process to find a successor for Armstrong
in RD&I is ongoing. Armstrong will
continue his RD&I responsibilities until a successor is announced. Armstrong
joined AkzoNobel in 2008 following the
acquisition of ICI, where he led the company’s RD&I function.
DuPont Makes Leadership
Changes for Engineering
and Investor Relations
DuPont has named Karen A. Fletcher
chief engineer and vice president of
Engineering and Carl J. Lukach vice president of Investor Relations.
Fletcher, previously vice president of
Investor Relations, has held a range of technical and business leadership roles since
joining the company in 1982 in DuPont’s
Engineering Field Program. She worked extensively in the Protection Technologies and
Titanium Technologies businesses and has
been in her current role since 2008.
Lukach, previously president, East
Asia, DuPont Asia Pacific, led the company’s activities in Japan, Korea, ASEAN,
Australia and New Zealand. He has
served in several business and corporate
leadership positions.
HMG Paints Hires New
Sales Consultant
HMG Paints has signed new sales consultant, Chris Vickers. The new signing will
strengthen HMG’s sales team and also
assist in providing technical expertise
and helping to expand the organization’s
nationwide coverage. Vickers is the new
sales consultant for the region covering
the South West and Wales, and has been
brought on board by HMG to utilize his
wealth of experience in the coating industry and provide on-site customer support
to HMG’s growing network of distributors and customers in the area.
Sartomer Appoints Senior
Business Director
Sartomer USA, LLC, has appointed Heather
Rayle as senior business director. Rayle will
be responsible for marketing, sales and finance. She reports directly to Douglas Sharp,
Sartomer’s global president, and will assume
the commercial responsibilities of Al Tuccio,
who has transitioned to a new position within Arkema. Rayle has a well-established
career in materials manufacturing, serving in several managerial positions for
Rohm and Haas and The Dow Chemical
Company.
Takac Joins Rudd Company
as VP Sales and Marketing
The Rudd Company appointed Jeff Takac
vice president of sales and marketing. Takac’s
focus will be leading both the sales function
as well as building strategic customer partnerships throughout Rudd Company’s business units including: Rudd Wood Finishes,
Glitsa Wood Floor Finishes and SkimStone
Decorative Concrete Systems.
Takac has more than 20 years’ experience in the coatings and wood finishes
industries including several leadership
positions for Valspar, Benjamin Moore’s
wood finishes business unit and Sherwin-Williams. He most recently worked as
the national sales manager for Valspar’s
NA wood finishes business unit.
Lansco Colors Hires New
Senior VP of Sales
Lansco Colors has hired Christine Gehres
as senior vice president of sales. She will
lead Lansco’s sales efforts and support
the company’s continued growth. Gehres
is a highly accomplished business executive with a wealth of international experience in the pigment industry gained over
more than 20 years at global chemical
companies including Hoechst (Clariant),
Engelhard (BASF) and Ciba. CW
