Latin America. In an effort to better meet the needs of Latin America and Spain, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has hired Rafa Yañez, an experienced business development and electrical safety executive, to work with customers, suppliers, instructors and new NFPA training partners in the region.
Yañez will report to NFPA's business operations team and work closely with the organization's international operations team to share NFPA information and knowledge in the region.
Yañez, a native of Mexico, brings the local strategy and perspective, and the technical and operational approach to NFPA's training program for Latin America. He worked for 20 years at Schneider Electric before becoming director/owner of CBC-Electrotechnology, a global business consulting firm. During his career, Yañez has collaborated with regional and international industry sectors, customers, key distributors, associations, universities and public and private entities – experience that will serve him well in this new role of training intermediary for NFPA.
"NFPA is a key resource for codes and standards, research, training, education, community outreach and support. We are always striving to better understand the needs of our stakeholders to share information and knowledge that reflect cultural considerations, performance-based designs, emerging issues and other market indicators," says Olga Caledonia, executive director of NFPA's international operations department. "With Rafa on our team, and above all integrated into the market, NFPA can provide relevant, well-organized and professionally executed fire protection and electrical safety training programs for our Spanish-speaking customers."
Working with independent resources in Latin America and Spain, NFPA has connected with industry influencers and has created a strong foundation for training in Latin America and Spain over the past fourteen years. In the coming months, Yañez will assess educational trends, local training needs, course requirements, market territories and operational structure in Latin America and Spain, while simultaneously strengthening NFPA's relationships with suppliers, instructors and customers.
For more information on current training courses, visit NFPA's Spanish language training website here
