AkzoNobel and Axalta have named three additional non-executive directors to the board of their planned combined company, with the appointments subject to shareholder approval later this year.
Stephan B. Tanda, Denise C. Johnson and Robert Schuchna are expected to join the board once the companies complete their pending merger of equals. Their appointments are expected to be put forward for approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting later this year.
The combined company’s board will be chaired by Rakesh Sachdev, current chair of the Axalta Board of Directors, with Ben Noteboom, chairman of AkzoNobel’s Supervisory Board, serving as vice-chair.
The full board is expected to consist of Sachdev, Noteboom, CEO Greg Poux-Guillaume, Deputy CEO Chris Villavarayan, Jaska de Bakker, Jan Bertsch, Johnson, Wouter Kolk, Schuchna, Kevin Stein and Tanda.
Johnson is currently a group president at Caterpillar, responsible for its Resource Industries business, which includes mining, heavy construction, quarry and aggregates products, services and technology. She also serves as a director of ABB and previously held several management roles with General Motors, including president and managing director of GM Brazil.
Schuchna is a partner at Cevian Capital and currently serves on AkzoNobel’s Supervisory Board and the board of Rexel. His investment experience includes the chemicals, consumer goods, industrial and pharmaceutical sectors.
Tanda is president and CEO of AptarGroup, which has announced his retirement from the CEO role effective Sept. 1, 2026. He previously served for 10 years as an executive managing board director at Royal DSM and has held leadership positions with DuPont and Freudenberg Nonwovens Group.
The appointments are part of the companies’ preparations to combine their coatings businesses. The proposed merger remains subject to the required shareholder and regulatory approvals before closing.
