CEPE has elected Roald Johannsen, Vice President of PPG, as the new Chairman of the CEPE Board. Johannsen joined the Board in September 2018 and has served as Vice Chairman for the past year. He replaces André Vieira de Castro, CEO of Argacol – Tintas e Vernizes, S.A, who successfully served since 2015 as Member of the Board and since October 2020 as CEPE Chairman.
Johannsen, who is based at PPG’s European Headquarters in Rolle, Switzerland, has more than 30 years’ experience in coatings across several geographies and industry sectors.
On his appointment, Johannsen commented: "I am honoured and privileged to assume the role of CEPE Chairman. I have a real passion for this great industry of ours and I want to ensure the best possible representation for our entire industry so that paints, coatings, printing inks and artists’ colours are seen as part of the solution to enhance and enable sustainability.”
With regards to his key priorities, Johannsen said: "I am looking forward to working together with the CEPE Board and team, and all our stakeholders, to raise the image, relevance and importance that our coatings sector plays with innovative products and processes in supporting the carbon neutral ambitions of the EU Green Deal, a Circular Economy and the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability.
Our biggest challenge going forward is to ensure that our sector stays ahead of the fast-changing regulatory environment and ensuring that we remain competitive.”
As outgoing Chairman, André Vieira de Castro remarked: "It was an honour for me to represent our entire industry, including the many SMEs. It has been a demanding time, marked by a persistent shortage of raw materials and inflated transportation costs that are weighing on our industry. I welcome Roald Johannsen and believe he is the right person to take our sector forward. I wish him the best of luck for the coming period.”
The General Assembly has also re-elected to the Board Paula Salastie, Teknos. Newly joining the Board will be Rachel O’Connor, General Paints Group, and Andreas Bubenhofer, Karl Bubenhofer AG. Leaving the Board will be Daniel Llinas, Industrias Titan (ES) after successfully serving since 2017.
