The WACKER ACADEMY Team of Instructors
Theoretical expertise and practical experience are the cornerstones of the WACKER ACADEMY team. With backgrounds in sales or technology, our experts come to the table with extensive application knowledge. They are also trained instructors and moderators with a sixth sense for current trends and market developments.
Instructors for Composite Materials and Molding
Adolfo Larrazabal
Adolfo joined WACKER in 1999 as a textiles sales manager and for 13 years was responsible for various WACKER SILICONES market segments. He developed the region’s personal care business and, in 2008, lived in Colombia, where he helped establish the Colombia office by conducting a market study of the region. In 2012, he moved to Brenntag Latam (a champion WACKER distributor) for 4 years, developing the silicone and polymer markets. Adolfo rejoined WACKER in 2016 and is currently the senior sales manager for rubber and elastomers in the Middle Americas region. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Jaydeep Patel
Jaydeep Patel holds a Bachelor of Engineering and a Master of Technology (Rubber Technology) from India. He has been with WACKER since 2015 as Technical Manager for Engineering Silicones across the MEA region. He has worked as a Senior Manager for Technical Services and applications at Dow Chemicals in India for more than seven years and as a Research and Development Manager for CEAT Tires in India for more than two years.
Norman Riley
Beginning his career with Wacker in 1984, Norm served in technical roles for companies such as Wacker, Applied Silicone, Rhodia, Inc. and Bluestar Silicones over the 31 years that followed. He rejoined WACKER in 2015 as Technical Manager in Silicone Rubber responsible for providing technical service and training to silicone rubber fabricators and end-users as well as formulation and applications development for LSR and HCR. Norm attended California Lutheran University and holds a BA in Organic Chemistry.