Axalta Coating Systems has announced that Mark Garrett has joined the company’s board of directors. Garrett is chairman of the executive committee and chief executive of Borealis AG, a leading provider of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, base chemicals and fertilizers with headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
“Mark’s broad experience and senior leadership positions in the petrochemical industry will enable him to make a strong contribution to the board,” said Charlie Shaver, Axalta’s chairman and CEO. “Mark will provide superb insights into ways we can enhance our supply chain which rely in significant measure on chemicals to manufacture our coatings. His global experience managing and expanding businesses around the world, including his most recent focus in the Middle East, also will help guide our growth in mature and emerging markets alike.”
“Coatings play such an integral role in so many industries both to improve customer productivity and extend the lifespan of the products they coat,” explained Garrett. “Axalta’s global scope and extensive product portfolio offer an exciting opportunity for me to contribute.”
Garrett has more than 30 years of experience in senior management roles in the chemical sector. After assuming his current position at Borealis, he set the company on a strong trajectory that included driving growth as vice chairman at Abu Dhabi Polymers Co. Ltd. (Borouge ADP), a leading provider of innovative, value creating plastics solutions, established in a joint venture with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC). Garrett also is a member of the board of directors of Nova Chemicals and chairman of its remuneration committee. Nova is one of world’s leading suppliers of plastics and chemicals. Through collaborative efforts, Borealis, Borouge and Nova have generated substantial value creation for investors.
Before assuming his current position at Borealis in 2007, Garrett was executive vice president, water and paper treatment, and a member of the executive committee at Ciba Specialty Chemicals, where he started his career and moved into positions of increasing responsibility. Garrett is a member of the board of directors at Umicore, a global materials technology and recycling group, and a member of the advisory board of Webster Vienna Private University.
Garrett holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Melbourne in Australia and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Information Systems from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He holds Australian and Swiss dual nationalities.
