The WACKER ACADEMY Team of Instructors

Apriyani

Apriyani holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Mercu Buana University and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Parahyangan University in Indonesia. With years of experience in the construction industry, she joined WACKER in 2016, and is currently responsible for the technical service support in Indonesia.

Dr. Hartmut Ackermann

Dr. Hartmut Ackermann studied chemistry in Marburg an der Lahn, earning his PhD in inorganic chemistry. He joined WACKER in 2000 as a process chemist for the methyl resin plant. Alongside his work at WACKER, Dr. Ackermann was active in R&D support in the field of industrial coatings at Akzo. Since 2006, he has been technical marketing manager for Construction Chemicals, supporting customers in EMEA/LATAM. Dr. Ackermann also has several years’ experience as a customer-training instructor.

Jesús Acuña

Jesús is WACKER POLYMERS’ sales manager for the Andean region. He joined WACKER in 2015 after working for Esenttia as senior R&D engineer for polypropylene. Jesús is a chemical engineer and holds an MS degree (specializing in polymers). He is currently responsible for WACKER POLYMERS’ sales and market development in the construction, adhesives and coatings industries in Colombia and Ecuador.

Ruben Akopyan

Ruben Akopyan joined WACKER in May 2011 as a technical assistant in the Polymers division, working in the Moscow technical center. He has been a technical manager for Construction Polymers since January 2012. He is currently responsible for seminars, laboratory testing and customer support for customers in Russia and Armenia.

Dr. Udo Anders

Dr. Udo Anders studied chemistry at TU München earning his PhD in the field of polymer chemistry. From 2003 to 2015 he worked for Baerlocher GmbH and since 2015 he has been active for WACKER SILICONES. From 2015 to 2020 he worked as a Technical Marketing Manager at CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS. He was responsible for water-repellant treatments for concrete protection with a focus on surface treatment and integral waterproofing as well as for the new binder technology for concrete floor protection based on SILRES ® BS 6920. From 2020 to 2022 he worked as Technical Marketing Manager at INNOVATION HUB FIBER COMPOSITES. Since 2022 he has been active as Business Development Manager at CONSTRUCTION CHEMICALS & COATINGS with focus on surface protection.

Anna Artamonova

Anna Artamonova joined WACKER Russia in 2008 as a technical assistant for Construction Polymers. Since May 2018, she has been a technical manager for Polymer Dispersions at the Moscow technical center. She has an education in organic chemical engineering. With a focus on Coatings, she is responsible for technical support, laboratory trials and seminars for customers in Russia and CIS countries.

Gerardo Bautista

Gerardo is a chemical engineer from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where he holds a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering (with Bioengineering as a focus). He has more than 7 years’ chemical-industry experience of technical sales for industrial applications, personal care, the household sector and now construction. He joined WACKER in 2015 as sales manager for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Gerardo provides support to construction customers in the following markets: paints, coatings, maintenance and general construction. Also, he has participated as a speaker for associations such as Mexico’s ANAFAPYT (representing paint and printing ink manufacturers), where WACKER has a presence.

Kevin Chen

Kevin Chen joined WACKER in 2008. Now, as a technical manager at the Shanghai technical center, he is in charge of technical support and service in northern China for dispersible polymer powders supplied by Construction Polymers.

Il-Joon Choi

Before joining WACKER in 2013, Il-Joon Choi worked as a technical and sales manager in the construction industry for 9 years. Il-Joon Choi is a technical manager for construction dispersions and polymer powders at the WACKER Seoul technical center. In addition to dry-mix mortars, he also has extensive experience in infrastructure and concrete. Since 2018, he has worked on new concrete business development in the Asia region.

Anoop D’Souza

Anoop D’Souza holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and has been with WACKER since 2005 as a team leader for Construction Silicones. He heads the Construction Silicones business unit for the Middle East and Africa, with a focus on Construction Sealants, Adhesives and Construction Silicones. He has supported the WACKER ACADEMY training team since 2009 and has been involved in a variety of training activities for sales managers, consultants, contractors and end-users, where he has gained extensive experience in training norms and guidelines.

Vadim Epstein

Vadim Epstein holds a Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from the D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. In 1996, he took a position as R&D director at GLIMS Production. He has been a technical manager for Construction Polymers at the WACKER Moscow technical center since December 2013, where he is in charge of lab trials, technical support and seminars for customers in Russia and Ukraine.

Sharmistha Ghosh

Sharmistha Ghosh has been associated with WACKER as a technical service executive at the Mumbai Technical Center since 2021. She is responsible for customer training, formulation development and application development in Construction Chemicals. She holds a master’s degree in Polymer Science from CIPET Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Dr. Hardy Herold

Dr. Hardy Herold studied Chemistry at the Friedrich-Alexander University, Erlangen (Germany), and obtained a doctorate in the field of geophysics. After spending two years at KWU (Siemens subsidiary), he started at WACKER POLYMERS in October 1989, working in Technical Marketing, where he supported customers around the world. During this period, he spent substantial periods abroad, including as technical center head in both Moscow (Russia) and Allentown (USA). Since November 2021, Dr. Herold has been a trainer at WACKER ACADEMY Europe.

Malik Jamal Jaffar Ali

Malik holds a Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from National University of Singapore and had co-authored several patents. He joined WACKER in 2011 and is currently heading its Technical Centers in Southeast Asia. He is a frequent speaker at symposiums and seminars related to his area of expertise on the advantages of polymer modified drymix mortar applications.

Chul-kyu Kang

Before joining WACKER in 2010, Chul-kyu worked at Henkel & Lucky Silicone since 2003. He is currently the Application Development & Technical Support manager for the Construction Sealants & Adhesives business team in Asia. He has 15 years of experience with construction silicone sealants & adhesives – including hybrid materials.

Abbas Kanisan

Abbas Kanisan holds a Bachelor Degree in Chemistry and Bachelor in Physical Science. He has been with WACKER since 2008 as a Technical Manager for the construction polymer division across the MEA region. Since 2009, he supports the WACKER ACADEMY training team and has been involved with customer training and seminars for the past few years. He is a certified ISO 9001:2000 auditor and has supported our ISO 17025 accreditation.

Saulat Khan

Dr. Marion Killat

Dr. Marion Killat studied and received her doctorate in chemistry at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. Following a post-doctoral stay in the USA, she started her career at WACKER in research and development at WACKER POLYMERS. Shortly after the founding of WACKER ACADEMY, she became a member of the trainer team with a focus on various products and applications of the POLYMERS division. In 2020, she took over the management of WACKER ACADEMY Europe.

Michael Killermann

Michael Killermann joined WACKER in 1992 in the analytical department. From 1996 to 2008, he worked as a lab technician in the Building & Coatings business team, where he was in charge of technical distributor support for industrial coatings. He was recruited to the WACKER ACADEMY training team as a practical instructor in May 2008.

Kyoungmo Koo

Kyoungmo Koo joined Wacker Chemicals Korea in 2017 as part of the Construction Silicones team. From 2009 to 2017, he worked as a researcher in the Insulation & Fire-Resistance development team. There he took part in the development work of fire-resistance paint and the testing of water-repellents in insulating materials. He has worked as a technical manager for Construction Silicones at Wacker Chemicals Korea since March 2017.

Woo-Jae Lee

Woo-Jae Lee joined AD/TS team of industrial coating polymers team of Wacker Chemicals Korea of 2012. He had a master degree of organic systhesis and experenced various waterbone dispersion on his 15 years. Currently he taking care of NEA/SEA/ANZ technical manager for adhesive / Carpet & Paper.

Pedro Marani

Technical Manager for Construction Silicones in South America, Pedro Marani is a Bachelor in Chemistry from University of São Paulo, Master in Polymer Chemistry from University of São Paulo and MBA in Innovation Manager from Business School Sao Paulo, with more than a decade of experience in the Construction Chemicals industry in companies such as Dow Chemical and MC-Bauchemie. Working in Wacker Brasil since 2013, his main activities are in silicone specialties for the construction and coatings industry, developing new applications and solutions for the local market.

Peer Mohammed

Peer Mohammed holds a Master Degree in Chemistry from American College in India and worked as Technical Manager for Construction Silicones across the MEA region. He has more than 20 years of diversified experience in R&D, Product Development, Technical Service in Paint & Coating Industry.

Andreas Peic

Andreas Peic joined SILICONES after completing his chemical training at WACKER in 2008. As a member of the Construction Chemicals business team, his responsibilities have included technical support for gypsum, boards and insulating materials. Since 2010, he has been a trainer for SILRES® construction applications at the WACKER ACADEMY. Alongside his job at WACKER, he is currently training to become a certified chemical technician.

Christian Putz

Christian Putz is senior technical manager for industrial coatings at WACKER SILICONES.

The certified paints and lacquers engineer has been with WACKER since 1998 in various functions in R&D and technical marketing.

He has been working as senior technical manager for industrial coatings since 2021.

Daniela Querci

Daniela joined WACKER in 2019 as WACKER POLYMERS commercial manager for the Middle Americas region. Her previous employers included Stepan, Grupo Petroquímico Beta, Akzo Nobel/Comex and Hercules-Aqualon. She has over 15 years’ solid experience, covering market analysis, R&D, quality control and a wide range of applications (in construction, paints, architectural coatings, oilfields, personal care and the household sector). Daniela has a Chemical Engineering degree from the Technological University of Mexico and several certificates from organizations such as the IMCYC, ACI and UNAM.

Jayne Ramos

Jayne holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Mapua Insitute of Technology in Philippines. With years of experience in architectural and industrial coating in Philippines and Singapore, she joined WACKER in 2016 and is responsible for the technical service support in Singapore, Philippines and Myanmar.

Mohammed Sanaobar

Mohammed Sanaobar is the Regional Technical Director and Head of WACKER ACADEMY. He has been with WACKER since 2006. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering and Master’s Degree in Project Management.

Hector Sanchez

Hector is the senior technician for the Construction Polymers business unit at Wacker Mexicana. He has been with WACKER since 2012 and has more than 16 years’ experience of paint development and manufacturing processes (for automotive repainting) and of dry-mix-mortar technology. Hector manages the lab at the Construction Technical Center in Mexico and is responsible for offering technical support to WACKER POLYMERS’ customers throughout the Middle Americas & Caribbean region. He has a BS in Industrial Engineering and Administration from the Technological University of Mexico. He joined WACKER after working for Dupont in R&D and production, where he monitored the automotive repainting sector.

Nelson Sastoque

Nelson joined WACKER in 2016 as a Construction Polymers lab technician for the Andean region. He has more than 15 years’ experience of the polymer chemical industry, working in technical and R&D/innovation departments. He has led the development, innovation and design of new industrial products, mainly in coatings, construction, adhesives, paper, packaging and graphic arts. Nelson has extensive knowledge of polymerization processes, polymer science, surface modification and product testing techniques. He Holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Colombia and a postgraduate certificate of expertise in coating technology from the Ramon Llull University. He currently manages the Construction Polymers lab for the Andean region in Bogota and is responsible for providing technical support to customers in that region.

Mark Sha

Mark Sha is a technical manager at WACKER’s Shanghai technical center. He is in charge of technical service and support for silicone oligomers in coatings and for water-resistant products in China. Mark Sha has worked in production, R&D and technical service for coatings since 1995. He joined WACKER’s Shanghai technical center in August 2005.

Takuya Tabata

Dr. Abhijit Tarafdar

Dr. Abhijit Tarafdar has been associated with WACKER as a technical service manager in Amtala, West Bengal since 2014. He is responsible for leading the technical service team, customer training and the formulation and application development of Construction Silicones and Decorative Coatings. He has a Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal.

George Tessier

George is the Technical Service Manager for Wacker Chemical Corporation’s Construction Polymers Business Unit – Americas. George has been with WACKER since September 2009 and has more than 38 years of experience in the construction chemicals industry. George manages a Team of Chemists and Technicians in the Allentown facility responsible for the technical support of WACKER POLYMERS customers throughout North America. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Chemistry from the University of Vermont. He came to WACKER from BASF where he was the Group Leader for Cementitious Products & EIFS. Previously, he was the R&D Manager for Harris Specialty Chemicals/Thoro Systems.

Fouzan Thakur

Fouzan Thakur has completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering, as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree with a specialization in Operations Management. He has held 2 positions at Wacker Chemicals Middle East, having joined as an Application Engineer in 2013, and currently holds the position of Technical Manager for the construction polymers business unit. He serves as the Quality Management Officer, overseeing the implementation of ISO 17025 guidelines in the activities of the technical center, and conducting & organizing internal & external audits, as the Management Representative.

Dr. Sergei Udra

Sergei Udra graduated from the Moscow State University, Chemistry Department. Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry. He joined WACKER’s Silicones for Construction in December 2016 as Technical Manager. He is responsible to provide lab trials, trainings, seminars and technical support for customers in Russia and CIS countries. Main topics are Hybrid materials for adhesives, sealants and coatings.

Jerry Zhang

A technical manager at the WACKER Shanghai technical center, Jerry is in charge of technical service and support for polymer powders in Central and Eastern China. He has many years of experience with dry-mix mortar. His activities are currently focused on promoting the application of polymer powders in ceramic tile adhesives.

John Zhu

John Zhu is a senior technical manager at the WACKER Shanghai technical center. He has been responsible for technical service and lab management for Silicone Construction Chemicals since July 2016. Before that, he had worked for several years as a Silicone Construction Chemicals sales manager at WACKER China.