Father’s Day Celebration: Q&A Session
It’s Friday, and everyone is gearing up for the weekend. But this weekend, it’s all about Dad!
To celebrate and honor Father’s Day, we sat down with some of the working father’s from our team to get their perspective on family traditions, navigating work-life balances, the triumphs and turbulence of being a parent, and how they think 3D Printing impacts their children.
Read on to learn more about these working dads, their roles at Henkel, and their unique insights on parenting.
Brian Durand
Brian Durand is one of our Business Development Managers for 3D Printing. Brian has been with Henkel for three years and is responsible for managing key accounts, as well as the mid-west territory of the US. Currently, Brian is a father to one daughter who is 3 and half years old, but a second baby is due in December! Being a father has been an incredible experience for Brian, and has shaped with into the man he is today.
What’s your favorite tradition that you’ve developed with your child?
“My wife is a nurse who occasionally works weekends. On Saturdays when she works, I make my daughter pancakes, turn on Spotify and will dance to my jams while my daughter dances and laughs. We have a blast.”
How has being a father changed your perspective on your career and business?
“Spending as much time with my daughter right now is important. She is growing up fast. 3 ½ years old is an amazing time and I’m enjoying every moment, even though shes getting sassy. I love every minute of it.”
How are you and your children adjusting back into a more traditional schedule after the pandemic?
“Working from home has given me more time to spend with my daughter after work. She knows when I have to work during the day, and will even pretend to “go to work” as well. I just hope one day she can be proud of what I do and the effort I put in to take care of my family. Leading by example is the best teaching I can provide.”
What’s your favorite way to spend free time with your children?
“My favorite thing to do with my kids is to( try) and engage them in fixing things and understanding how to work with your hands. I believe a mechanical aptitude is important in self-sufficiency, but I am not sure they have yet bought into that.”
Do any of your children have existing knowledge of 3D Printing?
“My kids don‘t really understand 3D Printing beyond making a few interesting parts. I did have the chance recently to take them to our manufacturing plant and that was a fun experience, and I think connected them more to what I do. Their first bring your kids to work day!”
How are you and your children adjusting back into a more traditional schedule after the pandemic? How has being a father changed your perspective on your career and business?
“My perspective has changed just as my family and their needs have changed. As a family, you constantly need to re-prioritize and that also includes your career and likely your spouses as well. I spend more time now with my children as the day is getting closer to when they go out on their own.”
Sam Bail
Sam Bail, Head of Sales for 3D Printing at Henkel, joined the company back in 1999. Sam currently has two daughters, ages 10 and 16. Sam was 41 when his first daughter was born, so he was well into his career. At that time, Sam was managing Apple as a key account for Henkel and faced many challenges balancing work and family, especially when he had to travel overseas for two weeks at a time 4 to 5 times a year.
Maarten Adolf
Maarten Adolf is a Senior Business Development Manager for Loctite 3D Printing based in the Netherlands. He married his wife, Hannie, back in 2001, and they have developed a wonderful family since then. Their family consists of four chhildren, ages 19, 16,11 and 2! Although Maarten’s role requires regular travel, he maintains a strong relationship with his family based on their mutual sense of humor and love for outdoor adventures!
What is your favorite tradition you’ve developed with your children? How do you like to spend free-time with them?
“We are a close family with strong mutual ties and humor with a lot of self-mockery. We are all ski and snow fanatics and love family board games. [When we can] we do various activities such as camping, hiking, swimming and cycling. [I also like] reading books to the little ones and try to look through their eyes.”
Do any of your children have existing knowledge of 3D Printing?
“Basically every Dutch primary school has an FDM printer, so they grow up with it. We do have a DLP printer at home and that is of course magic to play around with papa!”
How are you and your children adjusting back into a more traditional schedule after the pandemic? How has being a father changed your perspective on your career and business?
“I admire how they handle this, it’s important to keep talking. You put things into perspective much better and have a greater eye for society and the well-being of others.”
What is your favorite tradition you’ve developed with your children?
“My kids love all things trains right now so we‘ve visited many train museums and have electric trains in our basement. I also set up electric trains with my father when I was little, so I‘ve been able to carry that forward.”
What’s your favorite way to spend free-time with your children?
“Going to our local parks, the pool and the Bronx Zoo are our favorite weekend activities.”
How has being a father changed your perspective on your career and business?
“Being a father has had a strong influence on how I view and manage time. With two small kids, there aren‘t many free time breaks anymore. It‘s been useful to also view our team‘s time from that perspective because we always have more to work on than we have resources at Loctite 3D!
Otherwise, I think the future of AM will belong to those companies that find ways to best collaborate with other industry partners. Loctite 3D has been a leader in open DLP materials and I believe the results are telling.”
Aric Yackly
Aric Yackly joined Henkel in 2017 as one of the first Business Development Managers in North America for the 3D Printing business. Aric is located in the NYC area, and is primarily responsible for managing all strategic accounts on the east coast. He has two kids, ages three and four!
Alex Siu
Alex Siu has been with Henkel for over 17 years, with hands-on experiences in various areas of the business. In his current role, he supports the 3D Printing business in the APAC region as a Business Development Manager. He has two boys, a five year-old and an eight year-old.
What is your favorite way to spend free-time with your children?
“Bringing them to playground is the best way to use up their excessive energy (especially for boys). I can just sit aside and take a rest.”
Do any of your children have existing knowledge of 3D Printing?
“My elder kid has learnt some 3D printing technologies (FDM) at school during his extra-curriculum activity which is actually part of their STEM education. He is so surprised that a 3D printer can be used to print any shape of object. 3D printing technology is the easiest way of demonstrating to the kids how a plastic object can be made in school. 3D printing does stimulate my kids’ interest in science.”
How are you and your children adjusting back into a more traditional schedule after the pandemic?
“My kids have already returned to their normal school life which actually gives me more free time. Being a father, you always worry about the kids‘ health, especially during a pandemic. [I] hope that everything returns to normal and [that there is] no more threat to everyone‘s health.”
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