International. Villavarayan is a proven global executive with more than two decades of diverse operational and management experience in industry sectors.
Effective January 1, 2023, Chris Villavarayan will serve as Chief Executive Officer and President, as well as a member of the Board of Directors, of Axalta Coating Systems. This was announced by this coatings company.
Rakesh Sachdev, who served as chief executive officer and acting chairman, will succeed Bill Cook as non-executive chairman of the board.
Cook will continue to serve as an independent director and become chairman of the Board's Compensation Committee, while continuing to serve on the Audit Committee.
Villavarayan is a proven global executive with more than two decades of diverse operational and management experience in industry sectors.
Most recently, he served as CEO and President of Meritor, positioning it as a global leader in the commercial vehicle powertrain industry and engineered systems with OEM and aftermarket customers.
This includes pioneering its expansion into electric powertrains, thus paving the way for the evolution towards zero emissions for commercial vehicles.
"On behalf of Axalta's entire board and management team, I am thrilled to welcome Chris as our company's next CEO, and I want to thank Rakesh for his leadership during the transition period," said Cook.
"Chris' appointment follows a comprehensive search process to identify a strong leader for the company, and he joins Axalta with the full support of our Board," added Cook, who noted that Chris is an experienced executive who will bring his expertise to Axalta.
