RPM International Inc. recently announced that Lee A. Bowers, who had served as the company’s vice president-operations for the Performance Coatings Group (PCG) since 2018, has been appointed vice president-environmental, health and safety (EHS), effective December 1. Mirroring RPM’s center-led MAP to Growth program, EHS will become center-led under his direction. Bowers will succeed Kenneth M. Armstrong, who will retire from his role at the end of RPM’s fiscal year on May 31, 2022.
Bowers joined RPM’s Stonhard operating company in 1998 as a regulatory compliance coordinator and has held multiple roles within PCG, including director, environmental, health and safety; director, environmental and regulatory affairs; and vice president, environmental and regulatory affairs. In addition, he was formerly an adjunct professor at Saint Joseph’s University, where he provided graduate-level instruction in the environmental protection and safety management program.
“Over the course of his tenure with the Performance Coatings Group, Lee has exhibited strong leadership, most notably in his development and implementation of multiple compliance programs that have positive impacts across the globe,” said Frank C. Sullivan, chairman and CEO. “His extensive background in environmental safety and management, combined with his regulatory experience, make him an ideal candidate for this role. I welcome Lee to our corporate management team.”
Armstrong was elected vice president of environmental, health and safety in 2015, holding responsibility for the protection of RPM’s assets, including property, plants, and equipment, and the safety of employees. Previously, he served as senior director of environmental, health and safety. Before joining the company in 2006, Armstrong was an independent consultant for RPM.
“Ken has been an integral member of our team for more than 15 years,” Sullivan said. “His leadership and expertise were imperative in keeping RPM’s associates safe and our plants running during an unprecedented global pandemic. On behalf of the entire RPM leadership team, I wish him all the best as he soon enters a well-earned retirement.”
Learn more about RPM at www.rpminc.com.