PITTSBURGH — PPG recently announced the appointment of Meri Vainikka as Vice President, Architectural Coatings (AC), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), North and East, effective immediately. She will report to Tim Knavish, PPG Executive Vice President.

In this key leadership role, Vainikka will have full accountability for the AC EMEA north and east region, which includes the Tikkurila legacy business. She will work closely with the Tikkurila integration team to ensure an ongoing, effective transition over the coming months.

Vainikka joined Tikkurila in January 2017 as Director, Marketing Communications. She was appointed Senior Vice President, Offering in May 2017. In this role, she led strategic marketing, product management, and research and development (R&D) for the business.

Prior to joining Tikkurila, Vainikka had more than 15 years of increasing strategic and operational responsibility, leading business development, marketing, R&D and product portfolios in both B2C and B2B business environments, with strong global and domestic brands, including Hartwall, L’Oréal, Mars and MasterFoods.

Learn more at www.ppg.com.