PPG Names New President/CEO, Executive Chairman

PPG has elected its chief operating officer, Tim Knavish, to president and chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1, 2023. Knavish is set to join the company’s board of directors in late October 2022.

Knavish has served as PPG’s COO since March 2022 and will succeed chairman and CEO Michael McGarry. McGarry has served as CEO since September 2015 and is set to become executive chairman, effective Jan. 1, 2023.

“I want to thank Michael and the PPG board of directors for their trust and confidence as we continue to drive PPG forward,” Knavish says. “I look forward to continuing to work with the more than 50,000 PPG people across the world to support our customers, deliver excellent business performance and create additional shareholder value.”

Knavish joined PPG in 1987 at PPG’s global headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He advanced through roles of increasing responsibility in several key businesses and functions, including serving as plant manager for the architectural coatings manufacturing facility in East Point, Georgia. In 2005, Knavish moved to Australia as managing director, Australia and New Zealand coatings, and general manager, automotive refinish. In 2007, Knavish returned to the U.S. where he assumed responsibility for automotive coatings, Americas, and in early 2010, he was named a vice president. In 2012, he was appointed global vice president, protective and marine coatings and in 2016 became senior vice president, automotive coatings.

Knavish was named senior vice president, industrial coatings in 2017. In addition to global leadership of PPG’s industrial coatings, packaging coatings and coatings services businesses, Knavish was responsible for the global procurement function and for PPG’s Asia Pacific region. In January 2019, he was appointed senior vice president, architectural coatings and president, PPG Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Prior to being named COO, Knavish served as executive vice president beginning in October 2019, where he was responsible for PPG’s global architectural coatings businesses, the global automotive refinish business, the Latin America region and the digital and information technology functions.

A native of Pittsburgh, Knavish earned both a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. He currently serves on the board of directors of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“Tim is a highly respected business leader who has played an instrumental role in PPG’s growth across the markets we serve,” McGarry says. “Tim’s proven ability to lead the implementation of our global business strategies and his focus on continuously strengthening our operations and energizing our diverse workforce will be important in delivering on our growth strategy.”

During McGarry’s more than 40 years with PPG, he has served in a variety of key business and functional leadership roles in the U.S., Europe and Asia and led several strategic actions that transformed PPG’s business portfolio. McGarry currently serves on the board of directors of United States Steel Corp., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. and the National Association of Manufacturers. He is a former member of the board of Axiall Corp. and former chairman of the board of directors of The American Coatings Association (ACA).