American Coatings Association, in partnership with Vincentz Network, announced that Bedri Erdem, chief technology officer at Rust-Oleum Corporation and RPM Consumer Group, will deliver the keynote address at the 2026 American Coatings Conference.

Erdem’s keynote, titled “Reimagining Chemistry as the Catalyst: Driving Innovation, Sustainability, Performance to Fuel Growth in the Coatings Industry,” will focus on innovation, collaboration and the evolving role of chemistry in advancing performance and sustainability across the materials and coatings sector.

Erdem joined Rust-Oleum in 2017 as vice president of research and development and corporate quality and has served as chief technology officer at RPM Consumer Group since 2022. Prior to that, he spent 17 years in technology and management roles at Hexion and Dow. He holds a Ph.D. in polymer science and engineering from Lehigh University’s Emulsion Polymers Institute.

The 2026 American Coatings Conference will take place May 5–7 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis and will be held concurrently with the American Coatings Show. The conference program will include approximately 96 technical sessions spanning multiple topical tracks.

This announcement reflects ongoing engagement across the Events landscape supporting the paint and coatings technical community.