Akzo Nobel appoints new General Managers in Coatings

01-Mar-2004

Akzo Nobel has announced that Bill McPherson (56), currently General Manager of the Powder coatings business unit, will be appointed General Manager of the Marine & Protective Coatings business unit. He will succeed Leif Darner (51) who, as announced earlier, has been proposed for appointment to the Akzo Nobel Board of Management, pending approval by the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on April 22, 2004. Rob Molenaar (43), presently General Manager Car Refinishes North America, will succeed Mr. McPherson as General Manager of the powder coatings business unit. Both appointments are effective May 1, 2004. Mr. McPherson, a Maths and Chemistry graduate of the University of Aberdeen, started his career with Courtaulds (Research) in 1970. He joined Courtaulds Fibre Division in 1981 and served in various managerial positions in France and the United Kingdom, before he was appointed CEO of Courtaulds Chemicals in 1991. In late 1994 Mr. McPherson moved to Australia and later to Singapore to become CEO of Courtaulds Coatings Asia Pacific. Courtaulds was acquired by Akzo Nobel in 1998. In 2001 Mr. McPherson returned to the United Kingdom to take over the newly created Powder Coatings business unit. Mr. Molenaar joined Akzo in 1983 and progressed within Akzo Nobel Car Refinishes where he has held various international posts with increasing responsibilities. In 1995 Mr. Molenaar moved to South East Asia to become General Manager Car Refinishes Asia Pacific. He has held his current position as General Manager Car Refinishes North America since 1999. A native of the Netherlands, Mr. Molenaar graduated from the HTS Enschede with a degree in chemical engineering and completed various marketing management and advanced management programs at Mercer University in Atlanta and Harvard Business School in Boston.

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