Steve Arndt appointed Senior Vice President, Global Automotive Refinish Coatings

BASF Coatings today announces that Steve Arndt will succeed Chris Titmarsh as Senior Vice President, Global Automotive Refinish Coatings, effective July 1, 2026. 

Chris Titmarsh has decided to step down after a distinguished 20-year career with BASF, eleven of which he spent in Refinish. He served as Senior Vice President in Refinish for more than six years, first leading the EMEA business and then the global organization. During his tenure, he advanced the business's customer focus, innovation agenda, and global collaboration across key markets worldwide. 

Steve Arndt brings more than 30 years of automotive refinish industry experience spanning both manufacturing and distribution across North America and Europe. He spent six years at Axalta Coating Systems as Global Distribution Sales Director, responsible for distribution strategy across more than 140 countries. Before that, he served as President and COO of FinishMaster, the leading independent automotive refinish distributor in North America. 

Uta Holzenkamp, President of BASF Coatings, said: “We thank Chris wholeheartedly for his strong commitment to our customers and our business at BASF Coatings. We wish him well in the future. Steve brings a rare combination of manufacturing and distribution experience at the highest level of this industry. We are delighted to welcome him to the team.” 

Steve Arndt said: “I have a deep appreciation for the strengths of this business. The technology is world-class, and the company has built strong, enduring customer relationships. There is a lot we can achieve together.” 

 
About BASF Coatings 

BASF Coatings is a global expert in the development, production and marketing of innovative and sustainable automotive OEM and refinish coatings as well as applied surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries. We create advanced performance solutions and drive performance, design and new applications to meet our partners’ needs all over the world. We share skills, knowledge and resources of interdisciplinary and global teams for the benefit of customers by operating a collaborative network of sites in Europe, South America, Middle East, Africa, North America and Asia Pacific. In 2025, our businesses achieved global sales of about €3.7 billion.  

BASF Coatings – Driven by passion and science, we always go beyond the surface. For more information, visit www.basf-coatings.com and follow us on LinkedIn. 

About BASF 

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 108,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €60 billion in 2025. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.

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