Editor’s note: The following industry professionals have recently received promotions or appointments. To submit your company’s personnel news for possible publication in CoatingsTech, email publications@paint.org with “Names in the News” in the subject line.
BASF Coatings has announced that Jens Lühring will be appointed CEO once the transaction between BASF and the Carlyle Group has been completed and a stand-alone coatings company established. He succeeds Uta Holzenkamp, who has led BASF Coatings since 2022, and will continue in that role until the closing, expected to take place in the second quarter of 2026.
Covia announced that Laura Riquelme has been appointed executive vice president and CFO. Riquelme joins Covia from Zep Inc., where she served as CFO since 2022. Prior to Zep, Riquelme served as CFO of Cooper Lighting Solutions. Previously, she held numerous finance leadership roles at General Electric Company in both domestic and international assignments.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.
NUCOAT North America, a provider of high-performance coatings for windows and doors, has announced two executive appointments. Connor Krings has been named business development manager. In this role, he will focus on expanding the company’s customer base, supporting strategic accounts and strengthening relationships across key markets. Stefanie Dennis has been appointed senior manager of internal administration. Dennis will oversee internal operations, customer support, and administrative systems.
Houston-based chemical specialty product distributor Third Coast Chemicals has named Juan Gayton as president. With many years of experience in petrochemical marketing and sales, Gayton most recently served as vice president, MS Polymers, for Kaneka North America.
RadTech, the nonprofit association for the advancement of ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) technologies, has promoted Mickey Fortune to chief strategy and operations officer. Fortune, who has been with the organization for over 20 years, most recently served as associate executive director for education and outreach.
In his new role, Fortune will continue to help the group meet the evolving needs and advancement opportunities for the UV+EB community. His expanded responsibilities include strategic growth, operational excellence, and continued industry collaboration.
Evonik has appointed Jonas Niedballa as global head of Research & Development–Formulation Technology. He most recently served as head of R&D–FPE. Niedballa earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf.
Kyocera Hardcoating Technologies Europe has appointed Arunprabhu Sugumaran as Hardcoating Technologies lead engineer where he will provide operational leadership within the coating department while driving R&D to enhance coating performance across industrial sectors. He joins the business following doctoral research at the Materials and Engineering Research Institute, Sheffield Hallam University, where he developed advanced nanostructured physical vapor deposition coatings for orthopedic knee replacement joints using industrial-scale high power impulse magnetron sputtering technology.