Robert Ferris has joined Axalta Coating Systems as vice president of corporate affairs and chief communications officer.
As chief company spokesperson, Ferris will be responsible for developing and executing the internal and external communications strategy and will oversee the company’s global corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
Coinciding with Ferris’s appointment, Matthew Winokur, formerly vice president of corporate affairs, has been named Axalta’s vice president of sustainability. In the new position, he will partner closely with Axalta’s business leaders, customers and other stakeholders to integrate, optimize and communicate the company’s sustainability initiatives associated with its supply chain, manufacturing, coatings, product application technologies and CSR programs.
Over the course of nearly 13 years at Honeywell, Ferris was chief spokesperson on all global corporate and financial media. He also developed and executed a corporate thought-leadership strategy and was a member of its global communications leadership council and global government relations team.
Before joining Honeywell, Ferris served as a senior vice president at the GCI Group, a global PR Agency in New York City, providing counsel to firms on corporate and capital-market strategic issues including M&A, IPOs, crisis communications and regulatory compliance.
Winokur joined Axalta in 2013 and has been responsible for the company’s external- and internal-facing communications including the website, corporate responsibility programs, corporate marketing and external and internal communications strategy.
Prior to Axalta, Winokur was executive vice president of Ogilvy Public Relations, where he managed global reputation campaigns for government and corporate clients. Previously, he held a series of positions at Philip Morris International and the Altria Group.
