Lorenzo Paul Ferrari, a highly regarded and widely respected member of the Chemical Institute of Canada (CIC), passed away unexpectedly on May 13, 2016 in London, Ont. Ferrari contributed enormously to the CIC, serving as president of the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC) in 2014/15. He brought outstanding leadership and charisma to his executive roles and was especially known for his passionate support of Canada’s younger generation of chemists as they strove to establish careers. While serving as past president, he was able to put this into practice by leading the career development program at the CSC. Always willing to take on extra responsibilities, Ferrari most recently assumed the position of Chair of the Society for Chemical Industry SCI Canada Council and had plans to further this initiative. As past chair of the CIC, David Fung, said, “To lose such a young leader is a loss for the country.”
In his business life, Ferrari, 48, held the role of Manager, Market and Customer Development at BASF Canada. Prior to that he was with LANXESS Inc. (formerly Bayer Inc.) as the Manager of Material Research-Innovation Partnerships for Butyl Rubber Global Research and Development in London. Lorenzo obtained his B.Sc. in 1991 and M.Sc. in 1995 in chemistry at McMaster University, where he continued on, completing his MBA in 2000 in the management of innovation and technology program.
Throughout his career, Ferrari exhibited a passion for technology and marketplace innovation, a priority he maintained throughout the various positions he held within the chemical industry, including roles in New Product R&D, Business Development and Sales at LANXESS Inc., Dow Chemical, Standard Products and Louisiana Pacific. He was an executive member of the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division (MSED) of CIC as well as a member of the R&D Network committee of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC). He held eight granted patents and was a winner of the 2004 Fall American Chemical Society (ACS) Rubber Division Best Paper Award. Ferrari had a passion for history, the culinary arts and was a die-hard Hamilton Tiger Cats and Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
Ferrari is survived by his wife Iole and son Giancarlo. It with great sadness that his many friends at the CIC as well as his colleagues say goodbye.