Author Description

In late 1996, Sherwin-Williams CEO John Breen sat at his desk, preparing for another meeting with his board of directors. The room was dark except for a small stream of light that escaped the curtains hung heavily over the windows. Outside, rain was falling onto the company s corporate headquarters and on the streets of Cleveland. Breen stared at the portraits of company founders Henry Sherwin and Edward Williams that loomed above him on the wall. What would they think about the company s direction under his watch? Both had invested their life savings to create Sherwin-Williams in 1870. More than 125 years later, a market shift was taking place. Some paint companies were experimenting with new formulations using different materials to make paint that would send fewer toxins into the air. Would the founders agree with the decisions Breen had made as he guided the company into this new era?