Our team

Where?

SpecialChem is headquartered in Paris, France and has subsidiaries or representatives in the USA (Atlanta, Los Angeles and New Jersey), in India (New Delhi) and in Japan (Tokyo). Our team is international and multicultural with more than 7 nationalities represented, which enables us to adapt ourselves to local cultures and customs.

Who?

Most of our employees and management team have a double background in chemistry and marketing. They have gained significant experience from the industries SpecialChem serves, working previously for chemicals suppliers or formulators recognized for their leadership in marketing and innovation.

Christophe Cabarry,
Chief Executive Officer, Founder

Christophe Cabarry began his career with Elf Atochem (now Arkema), as Supply Chain Manager in a new compounding plant in Eastern Germany. Then he was in charge of defining and implementing the commercial and industrial strategy of Elf Atochem Vinyl Division in Central and Eastern Europe.

Two years before founding SpecialChem, Christophe was appointed to the department of strategic planning where he was in charge of competitive watch, the evaluation of investment opportunities as well as international M&A opportunities.

Christophe holds a Master Degree from the Ecole Centrale de Paris and an MBA from the ESC Toulouse Business School.
Aldric Tourres,
Executive Vice President, Head of Sales and Marketing

Aldric is heading SpecialChem's Sales & Marketing Department. He is leading the company’s global commercial strategy.

Aldric brings his mixed technical and marketing background to SpecialChem to bridge the gap between technical innovation and market trends.

After obtaining his MBA in B-to-B Marketing in 1998, he joined Bayer AG (now Lanxess) and was responsible for the market launch of new specialty chemicals. In 2003, he moved to GE plastics (today Sabic IP) and was responsible for business development of performance polymers at key European accounts involved in various industrial markets.

Aldric holds an Engineering Degree in Polymer Science from ESCOM (France) and a B-to-B Marketing Degree from E.M. Lyon Business School.
Catherine Bouhier,
Head of User Engagement

Catherine is leading SpecialChem's User Engagement Department, aiming at providing a great user experience to the community members to make them loyal.

Over years, she has developed a profound understanding of the chemical industry challenges and an expertise in the design of effective training contents. Passionate about webmarketing and digital psychology, Catherine contributes in maintaining the SpecialChem team focus on innovation and performance.

She holds a Master of Science in Chemistry from ENS Chimie Montpellier (France), with a major in Materials Science.
Dr. Duane Priddy,
Global Vice President, Business Development

Duane Priddy has more than 20 years experience in chemicals, with a strong focus on plastics and innovative businesses. He has worked internationally for both Dow Chemical and Bayer AG.

As one of the original founding members of Omnexus, Duane is driving the SpecialChem business development with his experience from multiple perspectives including research, technical marketing, product/sales management and technology.

Duane has a Ph.D. in Organic Polymer Chemistry from Virginia Tech. He also holds 8 patents and has authored 25 scientific publications. Duane lives in Atlanta, GA, USA.
Dr. Raphael Mestanza,
Chief Innovation Officer

Dr. Raphael Mestanza is SpecialChem's Chief Innovation Officer. As one of the founding employees, Raphael drives all of the SpecialChem processes to master new business development.

Prior to SpecialChem, Raphael started his career with Solvay (Belgium) in reactive extrusion. He then moved to GE Plastics Europe (now Sabic IP) in charge of Polycarbonate Compounding and technical development. Then, he continued with Polytechs SA, a company specialized in toll compounding and masterbatches as Sales and Marketing Manager for France and South Europe.

Raphael holds a Ph.D and an Engineering Degree in Polymer Science from the University of Strasbourg (France) and a Masters Degree in Organic Chemistry. Raphael holds 10 patents and lives in Paris, France.
James M. Weatherall,
Vice President, Global Business Development, Coatings Adhesives and Sealants

Mr. Weatherall brings more than 30 years of management and marketing strategy consulting experience in specialty chemicals and materials, having managed his own marketing consulting firm, as well as having served as Senior Vice President of Kline & Company, a leading global management consulting and market research firm based in the greater New York City area.

Mr. Weatherall holds a MS in Management and a BS in Chemistry, both from the Stevens Institute of Technology. He is an Executive Committee Board Member of the Société de Chimie Industrielle, based in NYC, and is a Board Member and Program Chair of the Chemical Marketing and Economics Group (CM&E) of the American Chemical Society (ACS), NY Section.
Akio M. Koma,
Vice President, Japan

After his long carrier at Ube industries, he established a consulting company to connect Japanese and overseas companies by utilizing his global business carrier at Ube including the stay in Germany covering total European market for plastics and chemical products.

He graduated from Hitotsubashi University in Japan majored in commerce and economy and learned International business and finance for one year at International Institute for Studies and Training sponsored by MITI and the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations.

Through his business carrier as GM of Engineering Business Unit and VP of Chemical & Plastics Company of Ube, he has deepened the knowledge of chemical and Plastics industries over the world.
Alison Warner,
Corporate Communication Director

On top of her role of Program Manager, Alison manages SpecialChem’s corporate communication.

With over 20 years of experience in both marketing and communications roles in the chemical and materials industry with such companies as Celanese, Ticona, and Ausimont (now Solvay), Alison brings her expertise in aligning sales and marketing actions to feed new business development pipelines. She also serves as Senior Account Director for U.S.-based clients including DuPont, Milliken, Eastman and others.

Alison has Bachelor in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing and has a Professional Certification in Business Communication from the Business Marketing Association (BMA).
Christophe Cazes,
Chief Financial Officer

Christophe Cazes is in charge of SpecialChem's Administration, Finance and Reporting.

His extensive background in financial activities, mainly in Audit and Transaction Services allows continuous improvement of the company performance, in a fast-paced and innovative environment.

Christophe holds a master of Finance from IAE de Paris, the Business school of La Sorbonne, prior to this, he studied Mathematics and Economics at Dauphine University in Paris.
Sonia Vij,
General Manager SpecialChem India

Sonia assisted SpecialChem with the creation of its subsidiary in India and is now responsible for the management of the local SpecialChem team in charge of all back-office tasks related to website content editing, management and telesales.

As a creative quality-oriented professional, Sonia brings to SpecialChem her strong business skills and knowledge of the chemical industry.Before joining SpecialChem, she worked as a content editor at Innodata Isogen.

Sonia holds a Masters degree in Chemistry from Delhi University (India).