Zhilian Zhou

Questioner
DISC Type : c

Chief Technology Officer at The Pittsburgh Paints Company

Sewickley, Pennsylvania, United States

Overview

Zhilian Zhou is the Chief Technology Officer for The Pittsburgh Paints Company, bringing a strong record of product development and commercialization. An R&D leader with a Ph. D. from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he excels at building and motivating diverse technical teams to achieve business growth.

Outside of his direct professional responsibilities, Zhilian maintains a connection to his academic roots. His listed interests include the University of Minnesota, where he completed his M. S. , and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, reflecting pride in his educational background and a potential interest in academic collaboration.

He has led global teams in the development and launch of cutting-edge battery coating and fire protection technologies.

Personality Overview

Value Seeker

Not Easily Convinced

Price-Sensitive

While they don't hesitate to ask questions, they are generally risk-averse and tend to be late adopters.  It is quite likely of them to ask for pricing or other concessions. They generally do not appreciate an overfriendly approach and prefer to stay to-the-point.

Topics They Care About

Battery Coatings
Led global research, product development, and commercialization for battery coating and fire protection technologies while at PPG, managing a global team and IP strategy in this area.
R&D Leadership
A dedicated R&D leader with a track record of building and motivating technical teams, reflected in his progression from Senior Scientist to Chief Technology Officer.
Product Commercialization
Has a demonstrated history of successfully taking products from feasibility to commercial launch, including leading cross-functional teams to solve customer issues and improve production.

Media Appearances

Zhilian has no verified media appearances

Work History

12-2024
Chief Technology Officer at The Pittsburgh Paints Company
5-2023 - 12-2024
Regional Technical Director, Architectural Coatings US and Canada at PPG
12-2020 - 4-2023
Global Technical Manager - Battery Coatings & Battery Fire Protection at PPG
7-2018 - 11-2020
Sr Group Leader at PPG
7-2013 - 6-2018
Sr. Scientist/Scientist / Sr. Project Chemist at Valspar/ Sherwin Williams

Education

2003 - 2006
Ph. D from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2000 - 2003
M. S. from University of Minnesota

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 19 Location : Sewickley, Pennsylvania, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief Technology Officer at The Pittsburgh Paints Company
URL has been copied!

Insights For Selling To Zhilian

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Share as much information as possible regarding your product
  • Back up any claims with data and numbers
  • If you have a lower priced product compared to the competition, call out the same

DONT's

  • Don’t depend too much on anecdotal evidence, it reduces their confidence
  • Avoid phrases like ‘do not worry about’, ‘no one compares to’ etc.
  • Don’t try to be too friendly or informal with them

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Zhilian is

  • Ensuring that the product delivers ROI, cost-effective pricing and process compliance are very important for them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Zhilian

  • It doesn’t come naturally to them but they can say no if they are not convinced.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Zhilian move?

  • If they have the information that they need, they can move fast at making their decisions.
  • Can Zhilian take some risk or not?

  • They can take risk if they are convinced that they have analyzed the circumstances well.


You And Zhilian

Personality Compatibility


More Profiles

Discover additional public profiles from our index.

Search more profiles

Looking for someone else? Search here for anyone.

Or visit Humantic AI to know more.