PPG has announced that Tom Mariarz has been appointed to the position of Vice President, Automotive Refinish, Americas, effective March 1.

Mariarz, currently serving as General Manager, Marketing and Sales, Automotive Refinish, U.S. and Canada (USCA) at PPG, will be taking over from Greg Benckart, who is set to retire as of July 1.

Since he became a part of PPG in 1993, Mariarz has held several key sales management positions of increasing responsibility within the company. He has worked as the Director of Sales for PPG’s insurance and services business. Additionally, he has also served in several roles in the company’s architectural coatings business, Vice President, Stores and Dealers, Architectural Coatings USCA, being one of them.

“Tom’s broad PPG knowledge, commercial acumen and ability to build deep customer relationships will serve him well in his new role,” said Chancey Hagerty, incoming PPG Vice President, global automotive refinish, effective March 1, 2020. “We thank Greg for his many contributions over a fantastic 40-year career with PPG. He has combined outstanding marketing strategies, sales and people skills, and has long been recognized for his ability to develop longstanding relationships among key stakeholders across the automotive refinish industry.”

Outgoing Vice President, Automotive Refinish, Americas, Benckart joined PPG as a sales trainee in 1980 in the company’s earlier fibre glass business. Over the years, he held several key positions in marketing, distribution, sales and senior management in PPG’s fibre glass, automotive OEM glass and Chlor-alkali and derivatives businesses. In 2009, Benckart was appointed as the General Manager of Sales and Marketing, North America for the company’s automotive refinish division. He began serving as the General Manager, Automotive Refinish, USCA in March 2010. He took over as the Vice President, Automotive Refinish, USCA later in 2010. In July 2012, Benckart was named the Vice President, Automotive Refinish, Americas at PPG.