Bart De Groof has over 24 years in the automotive refinish industry, five of which were spent as a bodyshop manager, making him truly in touch with the industry. In his current role of Senior Global Segment Marketing Director, Axalta Refinish, he excels at understanding Axalta’s customers’ needs and helping them gain a competitive advantage through innovative and sustainable automotive aftermarket practices. De Groof leads a Global team of Segment and Regional Marketing Managers, as well as Repair Networks and a Strategy Execution Team in Europe.

Before joining Axalta in 2019, De Groof was the European CEO and Group Commercial Director for the Innovation Group and previously held other senior positions at Akzo Nobel for the Benelux region.

De Groof holds a Master of Science in Strategic Management, Business Administration and Management from the Cranfield School of Management, part of Cranfield University in the UK. As well as his native Dutch, De Groof is also fluent in English, French and German.

In his spare time, he enjoys cycling, hiking, music and travel.