Published in The Treasurer

AkzoNobel CFO Keith Nichols’ colourful career spans treasury, transformation and taking tough decisions, writes Sally Percy 

It seems fitting that Keith Nichols, the CFO of Amsterdam-based paint and coating manufacturer AkzoNobel, has built his career on transforming companies. “In a lot of jobs that I’ve been in, change has been a red thread,” he observes. “Whether it was the reorganisation at Storehouse in the early 90s, BET being a turnaround, selling pharma, buying ICI… a lot has been transformation and changes. As CFO, that has stood me in good stead. I really enjoy the more adventurous side of the job where there are projects, initiatives and deals. I would probably be no good if everything was ticking like a Swiss watch and all I had to do was fine-tune the quarterly results.”

That’s just as well, then, since AkzoNobel has not been ticking like a Swiss watch for a while.