Rust-Oleum

Ronaldinho was one of my football heroes growing up & somehow he is still on the pitch creating magic at BMO Field in a Rust-Oleum Canada sponsored kit. #SaveTheCaps

Thanks to American Coating for the opportunity to share insights drawn from more than 30 years in the chemistry and coatings industry. I was honored to represent Rust-Oleum, RPM International and be voice of our collective industry. Over the past six months, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with current and retired technology leaders and scientists across our field. By combining my experience with theirs—representing, collectively, thousands of years of knowledge and perspective—I sought to present not simply my view, but our view. The response was strongly positive and, more importantly, it underscored a clear call to action. My hope is that this work does not become “just another presentation” filed away, but instead serves as a catalyst for measurable progress. I’m urging the coatings and chemistry community to step forward now. We need leaders who are willing to engage, we need broader participation, and we need sustained, industry-wide collaboration to translate ideas into outcomes. We have seen it too often: promising ideas and technologies developed in isolation stall, lose momentum, or fail to scale. The moment to align, commit, and work together is now—and if we act with purpose, we can accelerate innovation and deliver lasting impact. If we do not invest in and adopt new chemistry and coatings development tools, we should expect an accelerating slide toward commoditization—more “me too” offerings, price-led competition, and shrinking margins. When differentiation erodes, so does the industry’s ability to fund R&D, attract and retain top technical talent, and sustain the next generation of innovators. Over time, that dynamic can force consolidation, reduce the number of viable players, and ultimately cause entire segments to contract—or, in the worst case, disappear. The path forward is to raise our collective capability: modernize how we discover, formulate, test, and scale; share learnings; and collaborate more deliberately so innovation is faster, more repeatable, and more resilient. As Henry Ford said, “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.” Let’s build on this beginning with urgency and follow-through—together— time to come together & act!