LDP Spotlight: Matt Thompson

Meet Matt Thompson, a Mercer University graduate from Canton, Georgia who’s wrapping up his year in Sherwin-Williams’ Leadership Development Program (LDP).

The LDP, now in its fourth cohort, is a year-long initative designed to cultivate young talent across Sales, R&D and Facilities. Matt is part of the Sales track and was assigned specifically to Coil & Extrusion upon program acceptance. Based in Indianapolis, he has spent the past year shadowing colleagues, attending trainings and learning the business from the inside out.

"Sherwin-Williams really wants to invest in new talent and training," Matt said. "It was exactly the program I was looking for."

Throughout his LDP experience, Matt has been paired to work directly with Sales Director Bill Hartford to build an experience tailored to his track in Coil & Extrusion. He made numerous visits to Bowling Green, Garland and Kankakee, spending several days at a time shadowing lab teams and observing processes like color matching and panel requests from start to finish.

“As a sales rep, you’ll be putting in a lot of panel and color match requests,” said Matt. “Seeing how that work is done gives you a real appreciation for what’s happening in the labs and helps you know who to reach out to when you need something.”

Matt also participated in monthly Teams calls hosted by program leadership, where representatives—often from R&D—shared overviews of their division’s function and market space, including Automotive, Packaging, Protective & Marine and General Industrial. These sessions helped him understand how each group fits into the broader PCG structure and how they collaborate across functions.

The main requirement of the program is to complete a project relevant to each participant’s career track which is then presented to a group of leaders at the Leadership Show. Matt’s capstone project focuses on conversions to pre-paint coatings, a technical and strategic initiative that aligns with his chemistry background.

To research, Matt spent time with Jim Newton interviewing representatives from GE—one of the largest and most successful pre-paint conversions in recent years. Matt’s insights were compiled into an internal sales document, contributing real value to the organization.

“The project was a very engaging way to get involved because it led me to customer and site visits, not just observing but participating,” he explained.

As he prepares to transition into a full-time sales role, Matt reflects on the importance of staying curious and connected.

“You can only teach so much about this large and complex industry. Keep asking questions.”

His advice to incoming LDP participants?

“Throw yourself into the program,” said Matt. “Take thorough notes. Keep up with the people you meet. There is no sales organization without R&D, Operations and Facilities.”

Matt’s journey is a testament to the power of hands-on learning, cross-functional collaboration and a growth mindset—hallmarks of the LDP experience.