Leadership Team

Aaron Erter was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) in September 2022.

Mr Erter brings over 25 years of experience in the consumer and industrial sectors, with extensive expertise in strategy development, marketing, sales, and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining James Hardie, he served as CEO of PLZ Corp and held prominent roles such as Global President of the Consumer and Industrial businesses at Sherwin-Williams, and Senior Vice President and General Manager of North America Consumer Products at Valspar. Additionally, he spent 15 years in various leadership positions at Stanley Black & Decker, where he managed sales and marketing for the Black & Decker and DEWALT brands.

Mr Erter serves on the Board of Directors for Ball Corporation and Chicagoland Habitat for Humanity. He is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame National Advisory Board, a member of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies and First Tee. 

Mr Erter holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.  

Rachel Wilson was appointed Chief Financial Officer in August 2023.

Ms. Wilson has a 30-year track record of driving stakeholder value for global technology, business services and consumer companies. Ms. Wilson has executed dozens of multi-billion transactions as an agent or principal and managed highly impactful finance functions including FP&A, investor relations and treasury. Prior to JHI plc,

Ms. Wilson served as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of R1 RCM, a healthcare IT company that services hospitals and health systems across the United States. Ms. Wilson also previously served as the SVP Finance and Treasurer for Iron Mountain, a global enterprise information management company, and later, as its Chief Financial Officer, Data Centers.

Prior to her corporate career, Ms. Wilson worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and spent over a dozen years in the industry, culminating as a Managing Director, Corporate Finance. Ms. Wilson was appointed to the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) inaugural Fixed Income Market Structure Advisory Committee in 2017, and was named “Best Investor Relations Professional, Sell Side,” by Institutional Investor in 2016.

Ms. Wilson holds a joint B.A. and M.A. in international economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Farhaj Majeed joined James Hardie as Chief Human Resources Officer (“CHRO”) in February 2023. 

Mr. Majeed is an accomplished global human resources professional with experiences in North America, Europe, Asia & Middle East Africa. Prior to James Hardie, Mr. Majeed held a variety of HR roles with top-tier companies such as Kraft Foods, Mondelez International, Abbott Laboratories and, most recently, Whirlpool Corporation where he led the Europe and Middle East Africa region as VP & CHRO.

In his career spanning over 25 years, Mr. Majeed has built cutting edge People,Talent and Culture strategies and practices. His experiences include enabling high complexity business turnarounds and growth initiatives, Organizational design and transformations as well as driving a high-performing culture amid focus on inclusion, engagement and change management. Mr. Majeed has also led business integrations, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and spin-offs.  

Mr. Majeed holds an MBA from the Institute of Business Management with an emphasis on Human Resources and Marketing.

Tim Beastrom joined JHI plc in January 2023 as Chief Legal Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer.

Mr. Beastrom’s resume includes 25 years of in-house legal counsel focusing on corporate governance, securities law, environmental, social and governance risk oversight, mergers and acquisitions and commercial law.

Before starting at JHI plc, Mr. Beastrom was Chief Securities Counsel and Associate General Counsel at Ecolab, Inc.

Mr. Beastrom received his Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota Law School and holds a Bachelor of Arts in business administration and management from Gustavus Adolphus College.

Joe Liu serves as James Hardie’s Chief Technology Officer (“CTO”), a role he’s held since January 2022.

In his role, Dr. Liu leads the firm’s global research and development and innovation efforts. Before taking over CTO duties, Mr. Liu was general manager for James Hardie’s Asia Pacific business.

Prior to James Hardie, Dr. Liu had an impressive 26-year career with 3M where he held a variety of senior leadership roles in research and development as well as commercial and international management.

Dr. Liu holds a Bachelor of Science and a Ph.D. in thermal energy and power engineering from Xi’an Jiaotong University in China and an additional Ph.D. in mechanics from the University of Minnesota. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2023.

James Johnson II is James Hardie’s Chief Information Officer (“CIO”), a position he’s held since December 2021.

With a proven track record of developing effective, leading-edge technology solutions that create business value, he is responsible for all aspects of information technology and cyber security globally.

Mr. Johnson brings over 25 years of relevant and progressive IT experience, including 15 years as CIO for businesses in a variety of industries, including chemicals and metals companies. Most recently, Mr. Johnson held the role of CIO at Carpenter Technology and has also held IT roles with Honeywell International, Performance Fibers and Trinseo.

Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the University of Maryland.

Ryan Kilcullen is Executive Vice President of James Hardie’s Global Operations, a position he’s held since January 2022.

Mr. Kilcullen joined the company in 2007 as a PcI/PdI Engineer. Since then, Mr. Kilcullen has worked for the company in various manufacturing and supply chain roles including Process Engineer, Production Manager and Supply Chain Engineer.

Mr. Kilcullen was appointed Executive Vice President – North America Operations in 2016, where he was responsible for the company's supply chain, manufacturing, engineering and environmental and health & safety operations.

Mr. Kilcullen holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Engineering in logistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Joel Wasserman joined James Hardie as VP of Corporate Communications and Global Brand Management in January 2023.

Mr. Wasserman is responsible for the company’s global marketing and communications initiatives. He has more than 35 years of progressive communications and marketing experience that includes work at integrated marketing agencies and consumer products companies.

Prior to his role with James Hardie, Mr. Wasserman spent ten years with Sherwin-Williams and Valspar where he was responsible for strategic planning and brand management for all paint brands in the consumer brands group. During his career, Mr. Wasserman has supported marketing and communications efforts for dozens of global companies and brands including Citibank, Kellogg’s, Kraft Foods and Black & Decker.

Mr. Wasserman holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Northern Illinois University.

Sean Gadd serves as President of North America for James Hardie, a position he’s held since January 2022.

Mr. Gadd began his career at James Hardie in 2004 as a Regional Engineering Manager for the Asia Pacific business and progressed to Plant Manager for both the Carole Park and Rosehill facilities in Australia. Mr. Gadd then moved to the U.S. in 2006 as a Manufacturing Manager for various manufacturing facilities across the United States.

Since then, Mr. Gadd has had a variety of roles with increasing levels of responsibilities. In October 2015, he was appointed Executive Vice President, Markets and Segments, North America, with responsibility for strategic marketing and development. In December 2018, Mr. Gadd was appointed Executive Vice President, North America, Commercial, where his responsibilities included sales, product development and marketing prior to his current appointment as President, North America.

Mr. Gadd holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of New South Wales and an MBA from its business school, the Australian Graduate School of Management.

Jonathan Skelly serves as President – AZEK Residential. He previously served as SVP of Customer Experience and SVP of Strategy and Execution. Mr. Skelly has 20 years of general management, sales, customer service, strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and business development experience.

Prior to joining The AZEK Company in January 2018, he served as Vice President of Corporate Development for W.W. Grainger, Inc., an industrial supply company from 2010 to December 2017. During that time, Mr. Skelly was responsible for all global and domestic corporate development and mergers.

Prior to that, he held a variety of leadership positions, including Director of Strategic Business Development for The Home Depot Inc. and Director of Mergers & Acquisitions for Hughes Supply, Inc.

Samara (Sam) Toole joins James Hardie as Chief Marketing Officer, AZEK brands and previously served as AZEK’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer since 2021. Before joining AZEK, Ms. Toole had over 20 years of experience driving growth and building brands for purpose-driven companies in the home, lifestyle and consumer products industries.

Ms. Toole served as Chief Marketing Officer of California Closet Company, Inc. from November 2014 to April 2021, where she drove significant growth by developing a sophisticated multi-touchpoint marketing strategy, up leveling ecommerce and marketing software tools, and overseeing the production of award-winning content.

Prior to that, Ms. Toole served as the Senior Vice President of Serena & Lily, Inc., a luxury lifestyle brand, from January 2006 to November 2014, and Ms. Toole held other senior-level roles in the lifestyle and consumer product categories prior thereto.

Chris Russell serves as VP, Global Strategy and Corporate Development for James Hardie. He brings over two decades of leadership experience in strategy, corporate development and capital markets across the building materials, industrial and technology sectors.

Prior to joining James Hardie, Mr. Russell held senior roles at The AZEK Company, including as Head of Corporate Development, Investor Relations, and Capital Markets where he led multiple inorganic growth initiatives and modernized the company’s capital structure. His earlier career includes roles at The Home Depot Inc.and Novelis as well as investment banking and private equity experience at Macquarie Group, Prometheus Partners and Prudential Capital Group.

Mr. Russell holds degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Anderson School of Management.

Jeff Wrobel serves as Vice President of the James Hardie Integration Management Office. Mr. Wrobel joined James Hardie in August 2009 where he began his work as Pricing Manager, later transitioning into Operations with various roles in Customer Experience and Supply Chain.

Prior to his role in the IMO, Mr. Wrobel served as Vice President of Supply Chain in North America where he worked on major transformation projects, implementing end-to-end supply chain processes and technology solutions in demand and supply planning as well as production scheduling and transportation.  

Before joining James Hardie, Mr. Wrobel worked for Electro-Motive Diesel looking after Pricing Analytics in their after-market business.

Mr. Wrobel holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Purdue University and has completed post-graduate study in Supply Chain at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

John Arneil is President of James Hardie’s Asia Pacific operations, a role he’s held since February 2023.

Since joining the company more than 20 years ago, Mr. Arneil has built an impressive career, having worked in James Hardie’s European, North American and Asia Pacific businesses in a variety of commercial and operational roles.

Mr. Arneil has enjoyed exposure to multiple markets in different phases of business maturity and complexity, enabling him to fully understand value creation from a consumer and customer perspective and how that translates end-to-end through innovation, manufacturing, commercialization and supply chain management. 

Mr. Arneil has a Bachelor of Business Management from The University of Queensland in Australia and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Leicester in the UK.

Christian Claus is the President of James Hardie’s Europe business, a position he’s held since January 2023.

Prior to James Hardie, Mr. Claus held multiple leadership positions at Tarkett, a leading sustainable flooring and sports surface firm based out of Paris. Mr. Claus also held senior leadership positions at Air Liquide, the world’s leading manufacturer of industrial gases, as well as various commercial and international management roles at 3M.

Mr. Claus holds both an undergraduate and Master’s degree in business from Heinrich Heine University in Duesseldorf, Germany. He is also an alumni of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and has completed numerous executive education programs at Harvard Business School, London Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.