Stephen Falder has been appointed as the new secretary general of the Nova Paint Club following the retirement of Peter Lovell, who has been in the role since 1993. Lovell stood down at the recent Nova meeting in Tel Aviv after 21 years as the key executive at the international coatings organization.

Lovell has worked in the global paint industry for more than 42 years and was a founder member of Nova, having been present at the inaugural meeting in Cannes in 1983. During his time as secretary general, the group has expanded from six members in 1993 to its current membership of twelve, with a focus on new growth markets in South and Central America and Asia. Nova has also broadened its horizons – expanding on its original technical remit to encom-pass knowledge-sharing and cooperation on everything from raw materials suppliers to marketing initiatives. Recently, he led the development of the virtual Nova clubhouse – a unique online portal for the exchange of ideas and information between members.

Michael Dayan, Nova president and CEO of Tambour, spoke at the meeting in Israel of  Lovell’s unique contribution to Nova: “Peter can take great credit for our organisation’s growth to its current position of strength and global reputation. His commitment to Nova is recognised by everyone who has been involved with the group since its  inception over 30 years ago.”

“I’m honored to have been so closely involved in such a unique and significant organization,” said Lovell. “Although the global coatings industry has been through some difficult times in recent years, I believe Nova has offered vital support to our member companies. The ability to share best practice and innovation has given Nova members a network of friends across the globe which is the envy of independent paint companies everywhere.”

Lovell officially handed over to Falder on May 1. Falder is also an experienced coatings professional who began helping with the family paint company, HMG Paints Limited, as a boy. Since that time he’s been involved in starting 18 new business in the UK including Byotrol PLC, which was floated on London’s AIM market in 2005. He has a passion for skills and training and was chairman of Proskills – the UK government funding body for skills development for over 500,000 process industry workers – for eight years. In addition, he was made the youngest ever chairman of the British Coatings Federation in 2000.

“I’m proud and delighted to be taking over from Peter at this particularly exciting time for Nova,” said Falder. “Peter has served the group with great distinction and I can only hope to build on his legacy as we look to the future. His will be big shoes to fill, but I relish this opportunity to work with the extraordinary members of Nova from around the world.”

Lovell retires to Kent, UK, where he is married with two children and four grandchildren. He hopes to devote more time to playing golf, learning to paint and travel.