Matt Pullen, managing director of AkzoNobel Decorative Paints U.K. and Ireland and U.K. country director since January 2015, announced his departure from the company at the end of May.
He will be succeeded by U.K. & Ireland Sales Director Alistair McAuley. 


Pullen joined AkzoNobel in 2010 from Norfolk turkey farming business, Bernard Matthews. His first role was marketing director for the UK & Ireland, adding the Northern Europe region to his portfolio in 2011.

He helped launch a state-of-the-art Customer Center, a dedicated Customer Experience Team and a range of digital tools, including the Dulux Visualizer. In 2016, Pullen established the Dulux Academy, an industry-first training center for decorators. At the end of 2017, while overseeing the closure of the Slough Manufacturing factory, he was able to celebrate the opening of the world’s most advanced and sustainable paint factory in Ashington.

McAuley joined the organization in 2000 when his family business was acquired by ICI. He has held senior roles in marketing, sales and the Dulux Decorator Centre (DDC). McAuley co-authored the company’s new three-year strategy with Pullen, launched earlier this year, with an ambition to connect and leverage the rich bank of assets created in the ‘Inspire’ era. 


“Matt made a vital contribution to AkzoNobel over a critical time. He steered the U.K. through an unprecedented period of change across the market, in the U.K. economy and within the business,” said Jan-Piet van Kesteren, managing director, Decorative Paints, Europe and Africa. “AkzoNobel’s U.K. market share continued to grow throughout this time against enormous pressures. “In Alistair McAuley, we have a worthy successor with significant industry experience in a very wide variety of roles across the business.”

“I always saw my role as being to leave the business in a stronger position than it was when I arrived, and I am delighted at what has been achieved. I know that I am leaving AkzoNobel U.K. in the safest of hands,” Pullen said. “Alistair knows the U.K. paint industry inside out and with him at the helm, I am confident that the business will continue to thrive.”

Added McAuley: “I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead the U.K. and Ireland business into the next phase. My ambition is to truly embed customer experience at the heart of the business and quite simply make us the easiest people to do business with.” 

 
 (Matt Pullen/Courtesy Medium/AkzoNobel UK)