SRG Global is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of chrome-plated plastic parts for the automotive and commercial truck industries. Gaunt directs the company’s operations around the world to advance the vision and culture and drive the strategy for long-term sustainable growth.
Gaunt takes over for Dave Prater, who announced his retirement earlier this year.
Gaunt was most recently vice president, Africa, Middle East, India and Asia (AMEIA) for Guardian Glass, a Guardian company. Gaunt joined Guardian Industries in 2013 as managing director of Corporate Development and was later named vice president of Operations for Guardian Glass before assuming the role in AMEIA.
“Merritt is prepared to take SRG Global to the next level by applying Market-Based Management® to achieve superior results for the company, its customers, employees and other strategic partners,” said Ron Vaupel, president and CEO of Guardian Industries. “This is a time of change and opportunity for the company and the automotive industry. We’re excited for the future of SRG Global under Merritt’s leadership.”
Gaunt has more than 16 years of operations, finance, marketing and business development experience. He held various positions at Koch Industries in the Koch Equity Development Group, and in 2006 he joined the strategy and business development group of Georgia-Pacific, a leading manufacturer of consumer products, packaging and building products. In 2007, he was named vice president of Finance and Business Development for GP’s European operations. In 2010, he took on responsibility for the company’s consumer brand paper towel business and was then named vice president and general manager for the skincare category and new category development at Georgia-Pacific before joining Guardian.
Guardian and GP are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Koch Industries.
Gaunt earned Bachelor of Science degrees in entrepreneurship and accounting from Wichita State University, with minors in physics and French.
For more information, visit srgglobal.com.
About SRG Global
SRG Global®, a Guardian company, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high value coatings on plastic for the automotive and commercial truck industries with a manufacturing presence in major world regions including North America, Western and Central Europe and Asia. SRG Global is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, USA. Through its Research and Development Center in Taylor, Mich., USA, and its global advanced development process, SRG Global works to enhance manufacturing processes and accelerates development and delivery of the next generation of coating technologies and sub-systems. SRG Global engineers solutions for greater surface durability, structural integrity, enhanced functionality, vehicle efficiency and design flexibility. The result is the development of innovative exterior and interior products and processes that create value for customers and consumers and a positive impact in our environment and society. Beyond the finish™.