Axalta Coating Systems Names CEO, President

Axalta Coating Systems, a global coatings company, appointed Chris Villavarayan its chief executive officer, president and member of its board of directors, effective Jan. 1, 2023. Rakesh Sachdev, Axalta, interim CEO and president, is succeeding Bill Cook as non-executive board chair. Cook continues to serve as an independent director, and he will become chair of the board’s Compensation Committee while also continuing to serve on the Audit Committee.

Villavarayan is a global executive with more than two decades of diverse operational and management experience in industrial sectors. He brings a track record of driving growth, expanding margins and managing complex global operations resulting in significant shareholder value creation. Most recently, he served as CEO and president of Meritor Inc., positioning Meritor as a globally established industry provider of commercial vehicle drivetrains and engineered systems with OEM and aftermarket customers. This included pioneering the company’s expansion into electric power trains, thereby paving a path for the evolution toward zero emissions for commercial vehicles.

“I am excited to join Axalta, a company with a proud 150-year history that I have long admired. I am eager to leverage my experience to build on the team’s work to position the business for accelerated growth and market leadership,” says Villavarayan. “I look forward to working alongside the board, Axalta’s management and the global team to lead the company toward realizing its strategic value to benefit all our stakeholders.”

Villavarayan held many positions of increasing responsibility over the course of his 22 years at Meritor and has extensive international experience. Prior to serving as Meritor’s CEO and president, he served as chief operating officer, overseeing Meritor’s global operations for its Global Truck and Aftermarket & Industrial business segments, and serving as board lead with executive oversight of the company’s four largest joint ventures.

Villavarayan currently serves as a director on the board of Franklin Electric and Focus: HOPE, a nonprofit organization based in Detroit. He earned his bachelor’s degree of civil engineering at McMaster University and completed the Wharton Executive Education Advanced Finance Program.