Axalta Coating Systems announced that William M. Cook has been appointed to join its Board of Directors, effective immediately.  Cook will serve on the company’s Audit Committee and Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability Committee. 

“We are thrilled to add Bill to our Board of Directors,” said Charlie Shaver, Chairman of the Board for Axalta. “As a former chairman and CEO of a similarly-sized industrial manufacturing company, Bill is a proven executive with a compelling track record of driving growth, building a business and serving global customers across industries, while delivering substantial returns to shareholders. With his breadth and depth of experience, he brings a unique business perspective and invaluable insight to our board as we look to continue to grow our business and seek new opportunities to create and deliver shareholder value. Bill will add key expertise to Axalta’s board, and we look forward to his contributions.”

Cook most recently served as executive chairman of Donaldson Company, Inc. until 2016, and prior to that served as chairman, CEO and president of Donaldson for more than 10 years. During his 35-year career at Donaldson, Cook held various roles of increasing responsibility, including senior vice president, International; chief financial officer; and senior vice president, Commercial and Industrial. Cook also brings to the board strong public company board experience. Since 2008, Cook has been a director of IDEX Corporation, serving as lead director and a member of the Audit Committee. Cook has also been a director of Neenah, Inc. since 2016, serving as non-executive chair since May 2019 and on the Audit Committee. Previously, Cook served on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of Valspar Corporation from 2010-2017. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Master of Business Administration from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Cook’s appointment is the culmination of a robust and extensive search process conducted by the board to replace Andreas Kramvis following his decision not to stand for reelection at the 2019 annual general meeting.

Axalta also announced the departure of Lori Ryerkerk from the board following her appointment as CEO of Celanese Corporation. The board is deeply grateful for Ryerkerk’s exemplary service and meaningful contributions to the board, where she served as a director since 2015. 

With the appointment of Cook and resignation of Ryerkerk, Axalta’s board remains at eight directors, all with strong and diverse backgrounds and experience in areas important to Axalta’s business, including executive leadership, finance, audit, management consulting and operations.