BASF Coatings has appointed Chris Titmarsh as its new head of Global Automotive Refinish Coatings Solutions business unit, located in Muenster, Germany, effective 1 August 2023. Most recently, Titmarsh was Senior Vice President Automotive Refinish Coatings Solutions EMEA, based in Germany.
Titmarsh studied chemistry from 1992 and completed his postgraduate studies of business management in 1999. In 2006, he started his career at BASF as a polymer research chemist, holding various positions in marketing and business management before moving to the Asia Pacific Automotive business located in Hong Kong in 2015.
Along with Titmarsh’s appointment, BASF announced a reorganisation of other global units, also effective 1 August 2023.
Patrick Zheng Yu Zhao will take charge of the new Global Automotive OEM Coatings Solutions business unit, based in Hong Kong. Prior to this role, he was Senior Vice President of Coatings Solutions Asia Pacific.
Zhao started his career at BASF in 1999 in the Polyurethane business and held various positions across different divisions. He has an MBA from Donghua University and a bachelor’s degree in polymer science from East China University of Science and Technology.
Frank Naber will assume responsibility for the Global Surface Treatment business unit, which operates under the Chemetall brand, in Frankfurt, Germany. In this position, he succeeds Christophe Cazabeau who will prepare for a new assignment. Prior to this role, he was Senior Vice President of Automotive OEM Coatings Solutions EMEA.
Naber studied business administration at the University of Muenster and began his career at BASF in 2004. He worked in various regional and global roles in the Polyurethane division in Germany and Belgium. In 2012, Naber joined the Coatings division, where he took on various account and business management functions in the Automotive OEM Coatings business unit in Muenster and Hong Kong.