The Sherwin-Williams Company announced today that its Board of Directors has elected Heidi G. Petz to serve as president and chief operating officer effective March 1. Since 2020, Petz has served in senior leadership roles in The Americas Group, including the spending the last year as president. In her new role, Petz will be responsible for all of Sherwin-Williams’ operating segments, which includes The Americas Group, the Performance Coatings Group, the Consumer Brands Group and the Global Supply Chain organization. Petz will continue reporting to John G. Morikis, who will continue to serve as chairman and chief executive officer.
Since joining Sherwin-Williams, Petz has held numerous key leadership positions in connection with the acquisition of The Valspar Corporation in June 2017. Prior to her role as president of The Americas Group, Petz served as the group’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. She also held leadership roles in the Consumer Brands Group from 2017 to 2020. Prior to joining Sherwin-Williams, Petz served as vice president of marketing of consumer business at Valspar for four years. Prior to joining Valspar, she spent 15 successful years in marketing, sales and finance leadership roles at Newell Rubbermaid, Target Corporation and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
“The board could not be more pleased to elect Heidi as president and chief operating officer,” says Morikis. “Heidi is a tireless advocate for our employees, including our commitment to professional growth, engagement, inclusion, diversity and equity. Heidi’s energy, leadership capabilities, followership and ability to execute are highly aligned with our goals of delivering differentiated solutions for our customers and creating exceptional value for our shareholders.”
Sherwin-Williams also announced that the board has elected Justin T. Binns as president of The Americas Group, succeeding Petz, and Karl J. Jorgenrud as president of the Performance Coatings Group, succeeding Binns. Both positions will report to Petz and are effective March 1.
Binns joined Sherwin-Williams in 1997 as a sales associate. Since 2020, he has served as president of the Performance Coatings Group. He has held leadership roles in the Automotive Finishes Division, the Performance Coatings Group and The Americas Group.
“Justin brings 25 years of Sherwin-Williams experience to his new role, 20 of which were spent in The Americas Group, including leading the Eastern Division,” says Morikis. “He is highly prepared to serve as President of The Americas Group, with extensive knowledge of our paint stores, products and services, and a deep understanding of customer needs across our various architectural end markets.”
Jorgenrud joined Sherwin-Williams in June 2017 as part of the acquisition of Valspar, where he began his career in June 1994. Jorgenrud has served as president and general manager of the General Industrial Division and Performance Coatings Group since 2020. He previously served as president and general manager of the protective and marine division for the Performance Coatings Group from 2017 to 2019. Jorgenrud held several leadership roles at Valspar prior to Sherwin-Williams’ acquisition of the company.
“Karl is also highly qualified for his new role with 27 years of experience in the global industrial paint and coatings industry,” says Morikis. “Since joining Sherwin-Williams in 2017 through the Valspar acquisition, he has run two of our largest and most complex global industrial businesses, making him an ideal candidate to lead the entire Performance Coatings Group.”
“Heidi, Justin and Karl have demonstrated outstanding leadership capabilities throughout their careers, and these new promotions will allow John to enhance his focus on the long-term strategic direction of the company,” says Steven H. Wunning, lead director of the Sherwin-Williams Board of Directors. “The promotions also reflect the depth of talent we have within Sherwin-Williams and our ongoing commitment to management development and succession planning.”
Sherwin-Williams has also been embarking on several facility expansion projects in North Carolina and Ohio.
