The WACKER ACADEMY Team of Instructors
The WACKER ACADEMY team is available all over the world to further your professional development. We offer customized seminars and education solutions for your business needs – in theory and practice, and in keeping with the state of the art. Our certified instructors and moderators will share their knowledge, bringing to bear their curiosity, expertise and comprehensive understanding of new trends and markets.
Instructors at the WACKER ACADEMY of Central America and Northern South America (Mexico City)
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.
Gloria Alzate
Gloria joined WACKER in 2018 as a sales manager for Construction Silicones in the North Andean region (Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela). She holds a BS in Architecture and has studied Management. With more than 15 years in the construction market, Gloria previously worked for Sika and Henkel, where her responsibilities included not only technical sales, but also training architects, engineers, construction workers and other construction-related people on how to use construction chemicals in projects and at construction sites.
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.
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.
Guillermo Lopez
Guillermo is the sales manager for Mexico at the Performance Materials business unit. He has had two periods of employment at WACKER, initially from 1988 to 1992 and then from 2000. He has more than 36 years’ experience of the chemical industry, mainly with epoxy resins, polyurethanes, plastisol and release agents based on silicone fluids. At WACKER, Guillermo has been responsible for elastomers, pyrogenic silica, sealants, silanes and fluids, plastics, textiles, defoamers and industrial coating resins. Earlier, he worked for Hysol de Mexico, a company focused on epoxy resin compounds. He has a Chemical Engineering degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
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.
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.