Axalta Coating Systems’ board of directors has named Robert Bryant CEO on a permanent basis, effective immediately. He had been serving as interim CEO since October 2018, following the resignation of Terrence Hahn, who had only been in the role a few months.
Bryant also was appointed to serve on Axalta’s board of directors. Before serving as interim CEO, Bryant had been executive vice president and CFO of Axalta since 2013. He was previously CFO and senior vice president of Roll Global LLC. Before joining Roll Global in 2007, he was executive vice president of strategy, new business development, and information technology at Grupo Industrial Saltillo, S.A.B. de C.V. Bryant graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Florida and received his Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Business School.
Charlie Shaver, Axalta’s chairman of the board, said, “Over the past two months, Robert has seamlessly stepped into the role of interim CEO and led the company in a challenging market environment. Having worked closely with him over the past six years, I am extremely confident in his ability to lead Axalta effectively as our permanent CEO. The board and I look forward to seeing Axalta build on its success and continue to thrive under Robert’s leadership.”
Bryant added, “I appreciate the Board’s confidence in me and am honored to continue working alongside a talented management team and dedicated employees to build on Axalta’s well-deserved reputation for customer service and innovation.”
Axalta also announced that Sean Lannon has been named chief financial officer (CFO) on a permanent basis, effective immediately. He had been serving as vice president and interim CFO since October 2018. Before that, he served as vice president, corporate finance and global controller of Axalta since 2016, and was vice president and global controller from 2013 until that promotion.
Lannon was previously vice president, global controller of Trinseo. Before joining Trinseo in 2011, he was the senior manager, financial reporting at Endo Pharmaceuticals. Lannon began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he spent more than nine years within the organization’s Audit Practice. Lannon graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from Philadelphia University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Bryant concluded, “Sean’s business and financial acumen, years of experience working in increasingly senior finance roles at Axalta, and extensive background in financial reporting make him a great fit to succeed me as Axalta’s CFO. I am very excited to continue working with Sean to grow Axalta and build shareholder value over the long term.”
