BASF Coatings has announced its leadership team for when it becomes an independent company on July 1, following the transaction between BASF SE and private equity firm The Carlyle Group LLC. Jens Luehring was named CEO of BASF Coatings on March 26.
BASF Coatings has appointed Michael Pontzen as CFO, Ewout van Jarwaarde as CTO, Frank Naber as executive vice president of surface treatment, Patrick Zhao as executive vice president of mobility coatings, Steve Arndt as executive vice president of refinish coatings, Nils Lessmann as executive vice president of operations for mobility and refinish, and David Johnston as chief digital and information officer.
“Some of these leaders have spent their careers building this business over many years; others bring hard-won expertise from across the industry. Together, they give us the continuity to keep serving our customers at the highest level and the strength to think bigger and move faster,” Luehring said.
Pontzen joins from Nobian, a chemical company owned by The Carlyle Group and GIC, where he spent three years as CFO. Prior to that, he spent 18 years at Lanxess, where he served as CFO and previously led controlling, corporate finance and investor relations.
Van Jarwaarde joins from Brenntag Essentials, where he was CEO and a member of the board of management of Brenntag SE.
Naber has been with BASF for more than two decades, holding leadership roles in coatings and surface treatment across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, most recently as senior vice president of global surface treatment.
Arndt has more than 30 years of automotive refinish industry experience, spanning both manufacturing and distribution across North America and Europe. He previously spent six years at Axalta Coating Systems as global distribution sales director.
Lessmann has been with BASF since 2009 and has held senior business, technical and operations roles across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Americas, most recently as senior vice president of global operations for paints and resins.
Johnston joins with more than three decades of global IT leadership experience across the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Most recently, he served as CIO at Messer Americas.
by Jameson Croteau
Source: chemweek.com
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