Wacker Chemical Corporation Under New Management

Munich, Apr 16, 2024

Christoph Kowitz, currently head of WACKER’s Corporate Research Department, takes charge of the Group’s U.S. subsidiary Wacker Chemical Corporation (WCC) at the beginning of May. He succeeds David Wilhoit who has been responsible for WACKER’s North and Central American business since 2015 and is now retiring.

11_Christoph_Kowitz — Wacker Chemical Corporation’s new President & CEO Christoph Kowitz will take up his new position at the beginning of May. He oversees WACKER’s North and Central America business. (Photo: WACKER)

WCC’s future President & CEO has headed WACKER’s Corporate R&D for six years. “I’m looking forward to my new job in the U.S.,” says Kowitz, a Ph.D. chemist, who, as a senior manager for WACKER SILICONES, has already been in close contact with silicone production and application technology at WCC sites in Adrian and Ann Arbor, both located in Michigan. “The U.S. is and will remain one of WACKER’s most important markets. With our products from all business divisions, we are ideally positioned to support the climate-neutral transformation of U.S. industry with innovative solu¬tions. The U.S. government is driving this development forward with several investment programs. My aim is to make the best possible use of these opportunities for our growth.”

Christoph Kowitz has already held various management positions. After obtaining his doctorate in organic chemistry and polymer chemistry, he began his professional career as a product developer at BASF AG in Ludwigshafen in 1996. From 1997 onwards, he worked for several years as a management consultant for McKinsey in Asia and Europe. After several management positions in the chemical industry, including Germany-based specialty chemicals manufacturer Cognis, Kowitz moved to WACKER in 2013, where he headed the Performance Silicones unit within the WACKER SILICONES division. Since 2018, he has been Head of Corporate R&D and thus also responsible for innovation management within the Group.

Wacker Chemical Corporation

Founded in 1965, Wacker Chemical Corporation (WCC) is respon¬sible for the WACKER Group’s business activities in North and Central America and the Andes region. Since 2022, the subsidiary has been headquartered at the WACKER Innovation Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Administration, marketing and sales and several technical competence centers for the healthcare, pharmaceutical, construction, automotive and food industries are located here. The North American headquarters is also home to the WACKER ACADEMY, where customers and business partners are trained on the latest product developments and technology trends. WACKER’s U.S. based subsidiary has a staff of 1,000 people.