AkzoNobel announced that Maarten de Vries, who had planned to retire at the end of his second four-year term as CFO and member of the Board of Management in April, has agreed to extend his tenure as CFO for one year to support the planned merger with Axalta. The extension of his term as a member of the Board of Management will be proposed for shareholder approval at the April 2026 AGM.

Fredrik Westin, who had been announced as the company’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective January 1, 2026, will no longer join AkzoNobel. The company is grateful to Fredrik for his understanding of the change of circumstances as it works towards closing the proposed merger in late 2026 to early 2027.

Greg Poux-Guillaume, CEO of AkzoNobel says, “Maarten has been a great partner to me over the past three years. I appreciate his dedication to AkzoNobel, exemplified by his willingness to delay his announced retirement from AkzoNobel to accompany us to closing of our proposed merger with Axalta.”

Ben Noteboom, Chair of AkzoNobel’s Supervisory Board, says, “We were excited to welcome Fredrik Westin as CFO, but both parties realized that making a change for such a short period, while the merger is proposed for shareholder approval and goes through regulatory clearance, was not optimal. We wish Fredrik the best in whatever comes next. We know he will be successful. The Supervisory Board thanks Maarten for his loyalty and dedication.”

As previously announced, the CEO of the merged company will be the CEO of AkzoNobel, and its CFO will be the CFO of Axalta.