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Wacker Chemical Corporation To Have Christoph Kowitz As New Head

• By  Textile Excellence
• April 16, 2024

Christoph Kowitz, currently head of WACKER’s Corporate R&D, to take charge of the Group’s U.S. subsidiary Wacker Chemical Corporation (WCC) at the beginning of May 2024. He succeeds David Wilhoit who is retiring.

“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 solutions. 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 held various management positions across several organisations 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 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 responsible for innovation management within the Group.

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 solutions.