Mr. Kazuyoshi Matsuura

Current President International

Mr. Kazuyoshi is actually the Director and Managing Executive Officer of Zeon Elastomers and Chemical Business.

He joined Zeon in 1993. In 2013, he was appointed General Manager of Sales and Marketing of Electronic Materials. In 2014, he was named General Manager of Sales of the Synthetic Rubber Division.

In 2017, he held the position of Corporate Officer Division Manager of the Synthetic Rubber Business, and in 2019, he held the position of Director and Corporate Officer Administrative HQ, Division Manager of Human Resources, General Manager of Human Resources, and General Manager of Chinese Business Administration. Last year, he was appointed Director and Managing Executive Officer of Elastomers and Chemical Business HQ.

Mr. Dan P. French

IISRP General Award 2024

For more than 30 years, Dan has been in charge of the Chairman and CEO position at French Oil Mill Machinery Company, but his history with the company started more than 50 years ago. He began his professional career as a machine operator and has since advanced to the position of president, president, and CEO, all of which he has held for more than half a century.

The history of the family company, founded by his grandfather over 120 years ago, has influenced his professional career. Dan began his tradition of service and giving back in 1966 when he joined the US Air Force as a second lieutenant. He was on active duty for five years before joining French Oil, which involved service in Vietnam. Dan continued military service in the USAF Reserves until he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1994 after joining the company full-time.

Under Mr. French's leadership, the family-owned company has experienced successful growth through emphasizing its core values of customer first and continuous innovation. These values are achieved by supplying customized equipment built to last in customer plants worldwide. His business experience is recognized by his peers and clients, who have benefitted from his services throughout his professional career; the lives of the family company’s employees and the productivity of many synthetic rubber production plants have been improved by his business management and efforts.

For several decades now, the global synthetic rubber industry has benefited from receiving superior-value products and services that aim to improve its customers' productivity and reduce their production costs through all the technological innovations driven by Dan. All of the above can be seen in the improvements in the finishing lines that are operating in many plants and through the hydraulic presses for molding rubber and rubber compounds, in the rubber mixers, and in the screw presses for synthetic rubber processing and in equipment for separating liquids from solids.

Dan advocates for the partnership between industry and market stakeholders. Dan’s active involvement, leadership, and support have been beneficial to many businesses, industry associations, and civic organizations.

The IISRP is no exception. Its continuous support and active participation have benefited the Institute. He will be remembered for participating in numerous AGMs organized by IISRP, which demonstrates his interest in collaborating in the activities and projects of the IISRP.

Dan graduated from Princeton University in 1966 and completed a post-grad program at Harvard Business School in 1977.

Dr. Sven Thiele

IISRP Technical Award 2024

Dr. Thiele is Senior R&D Leader, Process & Product Development for SSBR Synthos Synthetic Rubber.

Citation

Dr. Sven Thiele is nominated for his outstanding technical contributions that have played a pivotal role in shaping the global synthetic rubber industry. His influential body of research, particularly his pioneering work in the field of functionalized synthetic rubber materials, has brought about transformative changes. This work has set new standards for the growth in the production of advanced synthetic rubber grades and directly contributed to innovation in the tire sector, with significant improvements in tire performance and sustainability.

Professional Background

Dr. Thiele earned his PhD in Chemistry from Westfaelische Wilhelms University in Muenster, Germany. His postdoctoral activities included research projects with industry leaders such as Solvay and DSM. He has held significant industrial R&D positions since 1997 at Trinseo, Dow, and DSM. In 2021, following Synthos’ acquisition of Trinseo’s synthetic rubber business, he joined Synthos. This transition has further established his leadership, driving the SSBR process and product development activities of Europe’s largest synthetic rubber producer toward more advanced and sustainable commercial materials.

Key Impacts and Contributions.

Fundamental contributions – Dr. Thiele’s R&D inventions form the foundations for all commercial functionalized rubber grades produced at Synthos’ manufacturing facility in Schkopau, Germany, which are used across the global tire and industrial rubber product manufacturing sectors.

SSBR production advancements – Dr. Thiele's pioneering work in the field of elastomer functionalization for nearly two decades has been critical to the success and growth of commercial production of solution styrene butadiene rubber (S-SBR). The expansion of S-SBR production from one train to four production trains by 2023 in Schkopau, Germany, making it the world's largest S-SBR production site, can be directly attributed to his innovative contributions.

Enhanced tire performance - SSBR architecture and functionalization significantly improve the balance between key performance properties of passenger car tires. Dr Thiele’s research on novel functionalized synthetic rubber has directly translated into enhanced tire performance. These innovative rubber grades he has developed for use in tire tread compounds offer reduced rolling resistance, superior traction, and handling combined with a balanced grip on various road surfaces, leading to improved road safety.

Sustainability - Dr Thiele's R&D work has consistently aimed to advance material solutions that are both sustainable and highly efficient. His functionalized SSBR grades have played a significant role in the development of fuel-efficient tires, directly aligning with global sustainability goals.

EV tire applications - Recently, Dr Thiele has shifted his focus to the development of new SSBR grades to meet the performance demands of EVs. This includes efforts to reduce rolling resistance further and enhance tire wear and durability. With tire wear emerging as a source of environmental microplastics, the most efficient way to reduce microplastics is to improve tire abrasion. Dr Thiele’s efforts are directly contributing to reducing the environmental impact.

Awards

Ammar Master

Director, South Asia, Automotive, - Global Data

Ammar’s work experience includes six years of covering the automotive markets in India and Thailand as a journalist. As a senior manager for Global Data (former LMC) Automotive’s Asia Pacific automotive forecasting division, he is currently responsible for monitoring, analyzing and forecasting the automotive market in India and Pakistan. He also previously analyzed and forecasted the automotive market in ASEAN and South Korea, as well as the powertrain forecasts for India. Prior to joining LMC Automotive, Ammar spent two years in India as an automotive journalist and worked for a leading trade magazine and a business newspaper. At Mint Newspaper in Mumbai, he covered the automotive beat with responsibilities to write breaking news stories and identifying trends in the sector. At Autocar Professional Magazine, he covered Mumbai- and Pune-based vehicle manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, DaimlerChrysler, Bharat Forge and a host of component makers. Ammar was Features Editor at ASEAN Autobiz in Bangkok where his works included writing articles related to the motorcycle industry, company profiles, and human resources and community development in the region. There, his responsibilities involved researching the regional automotive industry, attending press conferences as well as conducting interviews for the featured articles. The magazine was published by Grand Prix International, Thailand’s leading automotive publisher and organizer of the Bangkok International Motor Show. He has a Bachelor of Commerce H.R. College of Commerce & Economics in Mumbai, India. Ammar is fluent in English, Thai, Hindi and Gujarati.

Bill Hyde

Vice President of Olefins and Elastomers in Chemical Market Analytics, a Dow Jones Company

Bill began his career with Union Carbide Corporation in 1990 where he had various positions, including engineering, optimization, planning, and logistics. In 2000, he joined Texas Petrochemicals as a Business Analyst. Bill joined CMAI in the Olefins Consulting practice in 2002. He assumed responsibility for CMAI’s Global C4 Olefins and Elastomer Practice in 2006. In 2011 he was promoted to Senior Director Olefins and Elastomers in IHS Chemicals, Now IHS Markit, with responsibility for the global suite of Olefins and Elastomers Services. Currently is Vice President of Olefins and Elastomers in Chemical Market Analytics, a Dow Jones Company. He has published several papers on the Olefins and Elastomers industries as well as presented at Olefins and Elastomers Conferences around the world. Bill has B.S. and M.S. Degrees in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. from Tulane University.

Boonrod Yaowapruek

The Creagy Company

Mr. Yaowapruek has more than 20 years of experience in climate change, clean energy, and green financing. In 2010, he founded Creagy, of which he is a Managing Partner. This company offers sustainability consulting focused on climate and environmental solutions. Its focus is on balancing global environmental needs with the business objectives of its clients, guaranteeing responsible and realistic strategies. He works closely with government agencies, international organizations, and businesses to address the urgent issue of climate change. Likewise, in 2022 I founded the company Planeta A, which is a subsidiary of Creagy, which specializes in the development of GHG management software, and offers consulting to companies on their path towards net zero emissions. Since 2022, Mr. Yaowapruek has been a board member of the Thailand Carbon Neutral Network (TCNN), which leads cooperation between the government, the private sector, and local sectors to promote carbon neutrality and net zero emissions. Since 2021, he has been an instructor at Chulalongkorn University on climate change from science to action. From 2018 to 2023, he was an evaluation ambassador in the Energy Evaluation Asia-Pacific (EEAP) community, supporting the evaluation of energy policies and programs with the aim of meeting sustainable development goals and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Sr. Yaowapruek obtained a degree in environmental engineering from Chulalongkorn University and a Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology. He also studied at Central European University on climate change and Creativity and innovation at Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship.

Lee Fagg

NexantECA

From February 2004 onwards, Mr. Fagg has been working at NexantECA, Energy and Chemicals Advisory. He is currently Vice-President Consulting Services and the leader for chemicals consulting in Asia and provides comprehensive consulting services to the energy and chemical value chain. Previously, he covered regional markets in the Middle East and Europe. Before working at NexantECA, he worked as a business Manager at Tecnon OrbiChem from 2000 to 2004, where he served as a lead consultant for styrenics and maleic anhydride. Integrating global chemical industry intelligence with strategic analysis and consulting. Products covered: olefins (propylene, ethylene, butadiene), aromatics (benzene, paraxylene, xylenes), monomers (styrene, phenol, acrylonitrile, acrylic acid, etc, and polymers (polycarbonate, PP, PE, PS, ABS, nylons, PET). Mr. Fagg obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry and Business from the University of Leeds.

Liqun Zhang

Xi'an Jiaotong University

Title: Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering President of Xi'an Jiaotong University Affiliate: Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China Educational Experience: Ph.D. (Materials Science), Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT), 1995; Master of Engineering, BUCT, 1992; Bachelor of Engineering, BUCT, 1990. Professional Experience: 2024-: President/Professor of Xi'an Jiaotong University; 2022–2024: President/Professor of South China University of Technology; 1998–: Professor, College of Materials Science and Engineering, BUCT; 2020–2022: Vice President/Professor, BUCT; 2000–2001: Post Doctor, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University (USA); 1999–2000: Visiting Scholar, Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron (USA); 1996–1998: Associate Professor, College of Materials Science and Engineering, BUCT; 1995–1996: Assistant Professor, College of Materials Science and Engineering, BUCT. Research Interests: Rubber Science and Engineering; Polymer Nanocomposites; Bio-based and Bio-medical Materials; Polymer Processing Engineering. Service to International Professional Societies: Executive Committee Member of the International Rubber Conference Organization in China; Vice Chairman of The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China; Standing Director of Chinese Materials Research Society; Honorary Director of Chinese Society for Composite Materials. Chairman of the 10th Presidium of China Rubber Industry Association, Chairman of the Expert Committee of China Synthetic Rubber Industry Association, and Chairman of the Expert Committee of China Natural Rubber Association. Awards and Honorary Titles: 2 Second Prizes of China’s State Technological Invention Award and 1 Second Prize of China’s National Science and Technology Progress Award as the ranking first winner, over 500 SCI articles, 2 books, and over 200 patent authorizations (China). Youth Innovation Award of Prize for Ho Leung Ho Lee Scientific Technological Innovation (China), 9th Youth Award of Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Prize (China). Sparks-Thomas Award of Rubber Division of American Chemistry Society, The SCEJ Asian Research Award of The Society of Chemical Engineers of Japan, Morand Lambla Award of International Polymer Processing Society, IRCO Medal of International Rubber Conference Organization, and Colwyn Medal of The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (UK).

Roxanna Bauza-Petrovic

General Director of Programs of the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers, Inc. based in Houston, Texas.

Her career began at INSA in 1999 (Mexico) where she held several positions until 2003 when she transferred to Dynasol, LLC (Houston) as their marketing specialist. She holds a BS in chemical engineering from ITCM (Mexico) and she completed her MBA in digital marketing at CEREM International Business School in 2018. Roxanna served as Dynasol’s representative on the Americas Section Statistical Committee and as the Institute’s Statistical Committee Chair in 2009. In her current role, Roxanna is accountable for the IISRP’s Statistical Programs including data collection, reconciliation, systems design, and analysis and reporting. Also, she is responsible for the preparation of all statistical publications. Has direct responsibility for the Statistical Committee activities and serves as principal liaison for this Committee to the Managing Director. Assists the Managing Director for policy planning, development and implementation. Roxanna has more than 20 years of experience in engineering, supply chain, procurement, quality systems, project management, commercial intelligence and international business development support.

Wanwipa Siriwatwechakul

Vectors Capital

Ms. Siriwatwechakul is a chemical engineer by training, graduated from MIT(BS) and Princeton (PhD). Her journey began in academia, leading high impact studies at Thammasat University, focusing on bio- and chemical technology to extract value-added chemicals from waste. She has published in top-tier journals, exploring sustainable chemical production via bioprocesses and innovative protein extraction methods. After more than 10 years in academia, she transitioned into corporate innovation at RISE, where she delivered outcome-driven programs, nurtured intrapreneurs, and facilitated deep-tech startup spin-offs, achieving 50X returns on investment. Currently, as a partner @ Vectors Capital, she shapes investment theses at the Bio-innovation and Climate intersection, steering our investments in transformative verticals like SynBio, circular economy, waste-to-value and more. She led the investment team, meticulously evaluating ClimateTech startups, resulting in a diverse portfolio of companies driving impactful change.

Runguo Wang

Beijing University of Chemical Technology

Professor Runguo Wang works in the College of Materials Science and Engineering of Beijing University of Chemical Technology. He is the deputy director of the Center of Advanced Elastomer Materials, and deputy director of the Elastomer Materials Energy Conservation and Resource Utilization, Engineering Center of the Ministry of Education. His main research directions are the design and synthesis of novel bio-based elastomer materials, and development of green rubber additives. He has published more than 60 papers and authorized more than 20 invention patents. He has won the "China Rubber Technology Innovation Award" in 2019 and the "Green Mountain Science and Technology Award" in 2021.

Joseph Adelegan

IRSG

Professor Adelegan is the Secretary-General of the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) based in Singapore, the biggest worldwide community in the Rubber Industry. He is a C-Suite Executive and an international development expert, a Professor of Practice of Environmental Science and Engineering and a practitioner-scholar in management with over three decades of distinguished professional trajectory across 24 African Countries, Europe, North America, and Asia. His work experience spans several organizations including the United Nations, development finance institutions, international organizations, government, non-governmental organizations, education, innovation, and research institutions among others. He has extensive experience in the sustainable investment, disruptive innovation, and circular economy of the elastomer products. He has held Senior Roles at the United Nations as the Team Leader at the United Nations Technology Innovation Lab, the first European Lab in Finland and as a Senior Advisor at the United Nations Office of Project Services in Denmark. Professor Adelegan was the Division Chief at the Office of the Vice President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, an International Development Financial Institution established by ECOWAS Treaty and covering 15 ECOWAS Countries. He was a representative of Africa and the Middle East at the Climate Investment Trust Fund at the World Bank, Washington DC, United States. His portfolios have included programs and projects funded by the European Union, World Bank, Green Climate Fund, Climate Investment Fund, African Development Bank, ECOWAS, African Union, NEPAD Agency, Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), Australian Aid, several United Nations agencies, and funds among others. Professor Adelegan have held several board appointments, created strategic partnerships, and mobilized resources from development agencies, development finance institutions and several donor agencies. He was a Member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council, Geneva, Switzerland, and Non-Executive Director of the European Sustainable Development Organization among others. He was a Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at Universities in Africa, Europe, and North America. He was a Professor of the Practice of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Venda, South Africa. He was a Visiting Professor of Water and Energy Engineering at the Pan African University, Institute of Water and Energy Sciences (including Climate Change), Tlemcen, Algeria established by the African Union. He was a Visiting Professor of Environmental Management at the Commonwealth University, London, United Kingdom and a Professor of Environmental Leadership at the Missional University, North Augusta, South Carolina, United States. Professor Adelegan is a recipient of several global awards including: 2006 Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland; recognition in 2007 as an Inventor Social Entrepreneur and Ashoka-Lemelson Fellow by the Ashoka Innovators for the Public and the Lemelson Foundation based in United States; 2009 Technology Pioneer of the World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland; 2009 Technology Award Laureate and Prize Recipient of the Technology Museum of Innovation, San Jose, California, United States; 2010 Member of the Crans Montana Forum of New Leaders of Tomorrow, Geneva, Switzerland and 2010 Member of the Clinton Global Initiative, New York, United States among others. He is in high demand as a regular speaker at international conferences in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, North America, and Australia. He has made appearance in CNN as 2008 Principal Voices on the “Economics of Energy” by CNN in association with Shell, Times, and Fortune Magazine. He has travelled to over 120 countries in this regard. He has written over 30 publications on several topical issues. Professor Adelegan earned Two Doctorate Degrees. He earned a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Degree from the Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States. He also gained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Nigerian Premier University of Ibadan. He is an alumnus of several executive programs including the United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan; the University of California, Berkeley, United States; Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, United States; John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Harvard Business School, Harvard University, United States among others.

Mary Xu

Bachelor of Rubber Engineering

Mary Xu Bachelor of Rubber Engineering, graduated from Qingdao University of Science & Technology in 1994. From August 1994 to February 2006, she worked in China United Rubber (Group) Corporation and served as Manager of The Advisory Cooperation Department, Manager of Conference & Exhibition Department and Assistant of General Manager. Since January 2007 till now she has been working in China Rubber Industry Association, she successively had the former posts of Director of Information Department and Conference & Exhibition Department, Chairman of Rubber Materials Committee, Deputy Secretary General and Executive Deputy Secretary General. Now she is the Chairman of China Rubber Industry Association.

Tareq Hossian

Director 0f PhD Program at Thammasat Business School

Dr. Tareq Hossain is a dedicated and enthusiastic educator with over ten years of experience teaching in different ASEAN countries. Currently, he is serving as an Assistant Professor at Thammasat Business School in Thailand, where he is also the director of the PhD program. Previously, he held the Assistant Dean position for Accreditation at Thammasat Business School. Prior to starting work with Thammasat University, he used to work with Prince of Songkla University (PSU), Thailand, and University Malaysia Perlis (UniMap) as an academician since 2012. With a decade of experience in the ASEAN region, his expertise lies in teaching and researching corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability, modern management, and international business. Dr. Hossain earned his PhD with a focus on CSR within supply chains. He has secured several research grants, authored numerous academic papers, and received wide citations for his work, highlighting his influence in academia. Dr. Hossain's notable achievements include chairing sessions at AIB-USA, Southeast Chapter conferences, conducting webinars with Georgia State University, Atlanta, and so on. He has been invited to multiple conferences as a keynote speaker or presenter, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference, and APEC Voices of the Future, among others. He also participates as a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Business and Technopreneurship, and as a reviewer for several publications, such as the British Journal of Educational Research, the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada, and Business Ethics, among others. Dr. Hossain has received multiple recognitions and awards, among which we can mention the “Outstanding Young Researcher Award for 2022,” and “Outstanding Business Case Publication.”

Raymon Krishnan

The Logistics & Supply Chain Management Society

Raymon has over twenty five years experience in the Logistics industry as an end user and service provider. This includes senior management, government linked and academic positions in a variety of international companies and institutions based in Asia, the US, Europe and Australia. His experience covers the full Logistics spectrum, from raw material procurement to physical distribution and eventually Customer Service and care, with a strong grounding in Quality and Six Sigma. His last commercial role was as Global Commercial Director of APL Logistics and prior to this as Director Asia Pacific Logistics & Trade Compliance for W R Grace Inc. Dr Krishnan, holds a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree, focused on the concept of Combined Distribution Networks. He also holds a degree in Logistics from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and a Master of International Business from the University of Wollongong. Raymon is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and The Australian Logistics Academy, an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and was an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wollongong, where he was responsible for teaching and representing the interests of the University in the region. He has also been the Programme Director for the University of Wales, Masters in Supply Chain Management offered in Singapore along with a number of other senior academic positions. Raymon is currently the President of the Logistics & Supply Chain Management Society and under his stewardship the Society has been nominated the Best Logistics Education Provider in ASIA in 2003 & 2004, In 2008, the Society won the Supply Chain Asia Education Award and was again nominated for the award in 2010. This recognition was in part du gion’s first and only physical warehouse training facility.