Luke Lu has joined Axalta Coating Systems, a leading provider of liquid and powder coatings, as Vice President and President, China. In this new position at the company, Mr. Lu will report to Axalta Chairman and CEO, Charlie Shaver and be responsible for all of the company's operations across its OEM, refinish and industrial businesses in the China market.
"China is a key growth market for many of Axalta's global products," explained Shaver. "It's the fastest growing automotive market in the world and we're committed to continuing our market leadership. Luke will also enable us to leverage our entire global portfolio of products to reach new customers. The breadth of Axalta's products serves China's growing heavy duty truck, rail and energy insulation sectors, for example, as well as the collision body repair refinish business where we have been expanding our footprint."
Before joining Axalta, Mr. Lu held a number of positions at Johnson Controls, Inc., most recently as Vice President, Power Solutions Asia Pacific, and served the automotive industry in both the OEM and aftermarket segments. Over the course of his career there his roles spanned business development, marketing and sales and included responsibility for managing relationships with the company's joint venture customers. Between 2007 and 2013, Mr. Lu led Exide Technologies as President, Asia Pacific where he managed the company's efforts across the industrial transportation and energy sectors. From 1994 to 1999, he held a number of positions at GE, most recently as Greater China Marketing and Application Development Manager for GE-Toshiba Silicones where he drove business growth with customers in both the automotive and energy industries.
Mr. Lu holds a PhD from Georgetown University and a bachelor's degree from Nankai University. He will continue to be based in Shanghai where Axalta's China and Asia Pacific Regional headquarters are located.
