This has been a summer of change for Paint & Coatings Industry(PCI) magazine, as we welcome a new Publisher and East Coast Sales Manager, Tom Fowler, to the team. Tom joins PCI from PennWell Media, a privately held media company primarily involved in the oil and gas industry. Tom was a Senior Vice President at PennWell, where he managed a variety of print and digital products, as well as managed six international oil and gas trade shows. Before PennWell, Tom was with Summit Business Media where he managed a portfolio of 16 magazines and websites in the financial sector. Tom brings a strong background in trade publishing to PCI, especially in the evolution of media to a digital world. He has spent the last 20 years developing new digital products while at the same time working to maintain the vitality and relevance of the core print magazines.

Tom is new to the coatings industry but is not new to the industrial and manufacturing sector, having been the publisher of such iconic brands as Iron Age, American Metal Marketand Qualitymagazines. “This is a fascinating industry,” Tom said. “One I am very excited to be a part of. The technology and innovation I have seen in just the past month rivals anything I saw in the oil and gas sector. I look forward to learning so much more.”

When I asked Tom what his goals are for PCI, he said, “My goals are to maintain its editorial excellence, which is tops in the industry, and to make PCI the must-read publication.  I also want to expand our digital footprint and grow our international audience through targeted editorial content and new products.  I plan to spend a lot of time in the market, learning and talking to our readers and our advertisers so I can bring your ideas back to PCI and make it even better.”

 The PCI team looks forward to working under Tom’s leadership. If you would like to share your ideas for PCI with him, or just welcome him to the industry, feel free to contact him at fowlert@bnpmedia.com.