Sharon Harte is the first female president in the 111-year history of the British Coatings Federation.
During the 2023 British Coatings Federation (BCF) Annual Conference held in Derby, over 150 senior business leaders and decision-makers belonging to the UK-based association representing paints, coatings and printing ink sectors have elected Sharon Harte as new president. She is the first female president in the 111-year history of the BCF and its predecessor organisations.
“We are all looking forward to working with Sharon in her new role as president. She is a great servant of and advocate for the industry. We know we have so much more to do in terms of addressing diversity issues in our industry but this marks another step in the right direction. We have more female BCF Board members than ever before too and we have, collectively, pledged to do more to prioritise further progress in terms of diversity and inclusion across the sector as a whole,” has commented Tom Bowtell, the CEO of the British Coatings Federation.
The conference also marked the close of the two-year tenure of Guy Williams, the current president of the British Coatings Federation, who thanked the Board and stated that it had been an honour to serve the industry.
“BCF has developed considerably over the last 10 years and I have no doubt it will continue to grow and thrive. Looking back, I take immense pride in the achievements of BCF in recent years. Starting with the new HQ in Coventry, we have seen the Federation strengthen significantly and has twice been named Trade Association of the Year,” has affirmed Williams. “Financially, we are on a very sound footing now and Corporate Governance is exemplary, ratified with the Trade Association’s Good Governance Award in February this year, with high engagement at Board Level and a clear strategy for the years ahead.”
“I would like to personally thank Guy for his fantastic leadership throughout his presidency which must be one of the most turbulent periods in the industry’s history. Looking forward, the BCF, like many others, will face significant challenges ahead. However, the BCF is continuing to punch above its weight on key issues such as UK REACH, Net Zero, and changes to packaging and building regulations,” has concluded Harte.