Leading the way / GRI 2–9, 2-10, 2-11, 2-12, 2-13, 2-14, 2-15, 2-16, 2-17, 2-18, 2-19, 2-20, 2–24

Meet our Board of Directors and Executive Committee

Beckers Group is owned by Lindéngruppen, a Swedish family business with a focus on the long-term development of industrial companies.

Board of Directors

‍

The Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for the management of the business. The owner and Chair of Lindéngruppen is responsible for the nomination and selection of the highest governance body. As part of this process, the Chair also ensures that conflicts of interest within the Board are prevented and mitigated. The Board is made up of owner representatives as well as independent external members who establish the strategic direction of Beckers Group. It is responsible for ensuring that the company drives forward its long-term, sustainable business plans, protects its assets and meets its financial targets. Continuously monitoring the financial standing of Beckers Group, the Board also evaluates and decides on investments. Furthermore, it appoints and evaluates the CEO.

“At Lindéngruppen, when we talk about value creation we think of total value. It is not just the financial value but also the value that we create for people, the planet and the society. We want our companies to become leaders in the transition to a sustainable society.”

Paul Schrotti | Chairman, Beckers Board of Directors

The Chair of the Board of Directors is Paul Schrotti, CEO of Lindéngruppen. The CEO of Beckers and selected Executive Group members participate in the Board’s four annual meetings, which take place in person or online. One of these meetings is dedicated to long-term strategic direction and planning. At each ordinary board meeting the following items are always discussed:

‍

Financial review/Earnings trend/Net debt position
Investments and/or other decision items
Update on HR and organization
Sustainability progress and performance review
Business review and CEO update

‍

Executive Committee

‍

The Executive Committee consists of the CEO, CFO, CHRO, COO, CTO, and Presidents of all business regions. It holds monthly meetings – either in person at Beckers’ sites, online or in hybrid format. The CEO and the Executive Committee are responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the company. The CEO is also responsible for informing the Board of Directors of the company’s market position and strategic status, and for executing the strategy and the instructions received from the Board of Directors.

Each of the Lindéngruppen companies operates independently, but in order to create efficiency and economy of scale, all companies follow an annual business cycle, and a number of processes are coordinated within the entire Group. These include sustainability, strategy, budget and audit processes, financial reporting as well as financing and cash management.

In 2022, Beckers completed the Executive Committee with two new members. Beckers appointed Dr. Pia Götze as the new President, Northern Europe & Americas, and Eric Gaertner as the new COO.

‍

Find out more Beckers stories

Meet Beckers Group

Sustainability governance structure

Value creation with impact

Our value chain

Sustainability

‍

Sustainability is a key part of the Executive Committee’s agenda, where the final responsibility lies with the CEO, Christophe Sabas. Beckers’ sustainability strategy is divided into three work streams, each of which falls under the responsibility of an Executive Committee member.

People with Impact: Judith Jungmann (CHRO)
Products with Impact: Gavin Bown (CTO)
Operations with Impact: Eric Gaertner (COO)

A dedicated Sustainability Team led by the Global Sustainability Director, Nicklas Augustsson, gives further drive and support to the sustainability agenda. The Sustainability Council, which is chaired by the Global Sustainability Director, is responsible for strategy development, stakeholder engagement and alignment. It consists of representatives from all key functions and regions. See also ➜ Sustainability governance structure

Beckers' sustainability progress and performance are reported to the Board of Directors by the CEO and the Global Sustainability Director on a quarterly basis or immediately if any material non-compliance or critical concern is reported. The Integrated Annual Report is approved on an annual basis and the 2030 Sustainability Goals have been approved by the Board of Directors. Lindéngruppen is currently developing the Value Creation Model that quantifies true value creation of a company by also taking into account externalities such as carbon emissions, waste, health and safety and diversity.

Executive Committee Members 2022

Christophe Sabas
CEO

Olivier Laune
Chief Financial Officer

Judith Jungmann
Chief Human Resources Officer

Gavin Bown
Chief Technology Officer

Eric Gaertner
Chief Operations Officer

Paul Menezes
President, Asia & Middle East

Pia Götze
President, Northern Europe & Americas

Eric Fouissac
President, Southern Europe & Africa

Board of Directors 2022

Paul Schrotti
Chairman
‍
Nationality: Swedish
Tenure: Owner representative (As of 2018 until further notice)
Other positions / Commitments: Chair of Becker Industrial Coatings Holding AB and Colart International Holdings Ltd. Board member of Höganäs AB, Axel Johnson International AB and Senior Advisor to Keyhaven Capital Partners Ltd.
‍
‍

Jenny Lindén Urnes
Owner
‍
Nationality: Swedish
Tenure: Owner (Board member as of 2001 until further notice)
Other positions / Commitments: Chair of Färgfabriken Foundation. Board member of Becker Industrial Coatings Holding AB, Colart International Holdings Ltd, Alex Begg Group Ltd, Uppstart Helsingborg, Helsingborgs IF and Museum of Artistic Process and Public Art, Lund University (Skissernas Museum).

Christophe Sabas
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Beckers Group
‍
Nationality: French
Tenure: CEO (As of 2020 until further notice)
‍Competencies: Joined Beckers in 1999. Served as President Coil Coatings Europe, Africa, Americas, President Europe & Africa, and Managing Director Beckers France. Previously worked for AGA Gas AB, responsible for BU Chemistry.

Mark Hamlin
Chair, Organisation Resource UK
‍
Nationality: South African
Tenure: Independent (As of 2017 until further notice)
Other positions / Commitments: Board member of Beckers Group, Colart, CPP Group. Board member of the Hamilton Commission. Chair of Globiva and Project 44. Member of Board of Trustees, Gloucestershire Everyman Theatre Company.

Malin Persson
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and owner, Accuracy AB
‍
Nationality: Swedish
Tenure: Independent (As of 2013 until further notice)
Other positions / Commitments: Board member of Beckers Group, Hexpol, Peab, Getinge Group, Ricardo, Ahlström Capital and Universeum. Chair of FFI, Vehicle Strategic Research and Innovation and Chair of the program committee for SSFs (Stiftelsen Strategisk Forskning), Member of Ruter Dam and IVA.

Suzanne Thoma
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), BKW AG
‍
Nationality: Swiss
Tenure: Independent (As of 2013 until further notice)
Other positions / Commitments: Board member of Becker Industrial Coatings Holding AB, OC Oerlikon and Valora Group. Vice Chair of Avenir Suisse Foundation, member of Economiesuisse Board.

Päivi Kukkonen
‍Labor Representative
‍
Nationality: Finnish
Tenure: Labor representative (As of 2018 until further notice)

Collective knowledge of the highest governance body

‍

‍The Board updates its collective knowledge, skills, and experience on sustainable development on an ongoing basis. Lindéngruppen’s strategic partnerships are to a large extent focused on sustainable development and the Board has at least one meeting per year with a special focus on sustainable development. Stakeholder opinions and engagement are considered by the Board of Directors and input is drawn from Lindéngruppen’s as well as Beckers’ materiality analysis as well as from interactions that the Board of Directors and Executive Management have with different stakeholder groups in their own capacity.

Remuneration and performance evaluation for the highest governance body

‍

Throughout the Group, remuneration for Executive Management includes variable pay that is set in relation to the overall achievement of targets. Depending on the employee’s position between one third or half of their remuneration is based on meeting targets related to sustainability. Members of the Board of Directors are remunerated through a fixed amount that varies between the different companies within the Lindéngruppen Group. The performance of each Board of Directors for the Lindéngruppen companies is evaluated annually through a process managed by the Chair of each Board. Lindéngruppen’s sustainability impact is included in the evaluation process.