Dr Weiguang Yao is the Chief Technology Officer for Asia Pacific R&D. He is responsible for Asia-Pacific R&D Strategy to make sure Asia-Pacific Resources align with regional growth opportunities. He represents Dow R&D in Asia-Pacific region. As Global Director for New Ventures in Asia Pacific, Middle East and African regions, he identifies and prioritizes Dow's long-term new ventures and technology opportunities in the regions, helping define how Dow can further expand its value capture in these markets by building on existing capabilities. He also takes responsibility as Board Director of East China University of Science and Technology and Board Director of Queensland University-Dow Sustainable Engineering Center. Yao is based in Shanghai.

Yao joined Dow in April, 2007 as Sr. R&D Director for Dow Core R&D in Asia-Pacific, he was responsible for building AP core and business aligned research capability and strategy at Dow, driving AP core R&D innovation for regional growth.

Yao is a graduate of Yamagata University in Japan with a doctorate in polymer science and engineering, a master degree in chemical engineering from East China University of Science and Technology, and a bachelor degree in physics from Yancheng Normal University in China. He holds 17 patents and a patent application, including 7 US granted patents, and is the author of numerous publications.