AkzoNobel and Axalta Name Final Three Directors to Combined Company Board

AkzoNobel and Axalta Coating Systems have named the last three directors of the board that will govern the company the two are merging to create, completing an 11-member slate more than three months before the transaction is expected to close.

Stephan B. Tanda, Denise C. Johnson and Robert Schuchna have agreed to serve as non-executive directors of the combined company upon completion of the merger of equals, the companies said Aug. 31. The three, whom the companies identified as independent directors, fill the last seats in a governance structure fixed when the roughly $25 billion all-stock deal was announced Nov. 18, 2025: a single-tier board of 11 directors, four nominated by each company and three independent members.

“Stephan and Denise each bring significant senior executive experience driving growth at a variety of industrial businesses, and Robert’s deep investment background will reinforce the Board’s focus on long-term value creation,” said Rakesh Sachdev, chair of the Axalta board of directors, who will chair the combined company.

Johnson is a group president at Caterpillar responsible for its Resource Industries segment, which covers mining, heavy construction and quarry and aggregates products, services and technology. She is a director of ABB and worked at General Motors in managerial roles in the United States and as president and managing director of GM in Brazil before joining Caterpillar in 2011.

Tanda is president and CEO of AptarGroup, which has announced his retirement as chief executive effective Sept. 1, 2026. He spent 10 years as an executive managing board director at Royal DSM and earlier held roles at DuPont and Freudenberg Nonwovens Group. He serves as a director of AptarGroup and of Ingredion.

Schuchna is a partner at Cevian Capital, an active-ownership fund that invests in European public companies, and already sits on AkzoNobel’s supervisory board. He also serves on the board of Rexel.

They join a board that will include Sachdev as chair, AkzoNobel supervisory board chair Ben Noteboom as vice chair, AkzoNobel CEO Greg Poux-Guillaume as CEO of the combined company, Axalta CEO Chris Villavarayan as deputy CEO, Jaska de Bakker, Jan Bertsch, Wouter Kolk and Kevin Stein.

“With the Board now fully assembled, we are confident the combined company is well positioned to realize the full potential of the merger by accelerating innovation, strengthening customer relationships and delivering sustainable growth,” said Noteboom.

The three appointments are expected to be put forward for shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting later this year. Shareholders of both companies approved the merger Aug. 5, clearing the last shareholder condition on the transaction itself. Completion remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and the companies continue to expect the merger to close at the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027. The combined company will operate dual headquarters in Amsterdam and Philadelphia, remain domiciled in the Netherlands and list solely on the New York Stock Exchange after roughly 12 months of dual listing.