Executive Team

Landon Mertz is the Chief Executive Officer of Cerion Nanomaterials and is a member of its Board of Directors.  Under his leadership for over 10 years, he has overseen a period of expansive business growth and investment into innovations to make advanced expertise in custom nanomaterial design, scale-up & manufacturing accessible and cost-effective for use by industry.Landon has been frequently recognized for his work and is a passionate champion of advancing the growth and maturity of the nanomaterials industry.  He is the Chairman and board member of the Nanomaterial Industries Association (NIA), the leading trade association representing users and makers of nanomaterials.  He is also a frequent keynote speaker, moderator, panelist and contributor within the industry to organizations including the National Nanotechnology Initiative, Nanotechnologies Industry Association, Advanced Material Show, Nanotechnology Show and Ceramics Expo.  He is also regularly featured in industry magazines such as Wired, R&D Magazine, Specialty Chemicals Magazine and others.Mr. Mertz has over 20 years of experience building and monetizing new, innovative businesses across a diverse set of industries.  Prior to Cerion, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Festival Network, a firm who develops and acquires large-scale, multi-day music festivals in geographically unique destinations around the globe.  Prior to Festival Network, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Intermedia, an experiential event marketing firm that produces events, meetings and product launches on behalf of Fortune 500 and 1000 companies.Send a message

Mr. Stewart is the Chief Operating Officer of Cerion, where he oversees operations to ensure successful delivery of customer’s nanomaterial research, development, scale-up and manufacturing programs.Mr. Stewart is a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, with a B.S. degree in Chemistry and a M.B.A. His experience includes a 30-year career with the Eastman Kodak company, including 15 years of hands-on and leadership roles within its analytical operations, along with 15 years of management experience overseeing a variety of applications from chemical synthesis and scale-up, manufacturing, packaging operations and silver reclamation. During his time at Kodak he received several certifications in leadership and lean manufacturing as well as becoming a lead auditor for ISO Quality compliance and certification as a Six Sigma Black Belt Practitioner. Prior to joining Cerion, Mr. Stewart was the General Manager for Rochester Silver Works, widely regarded as the largest silver recovery and recycling operation in the United States. During this period, he was instrumental in the carve-out and sale of this integrated organization from Kodak to a private owner and served as the Chief Executive Officer for 6 years, while expanding sales to over $20M annually.Send a message

Chris Skipper is Executive Vice President of Commercial Sales for Cerion, where he oversees sales and provides technical consultation for companies seeking to access Cerion’s advanced expertise in nanomaterial research, development, scale-up and industrial manufacturing for their product or system. Previously, Mr. Skipper served as the company’s Director of Business Development overseeing global business development initiatives, direct sales and marketing campaigns.Chris received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University at Buffalo in 2010 and an MBA from the William E. Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester in 2015. Prior to joining Cerion, Chris spent 3 years as a Territory Sales Manager for Fortune 500 tobacco company Altria, and then enjoyed a brief stint with Auburn, NY based food service and cleaning solutions company Johnston.Send a message

Dr. Sandford received a B.S. in Chemistry (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from Hope College in 1990 and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. After graduation, he joined Eastman Kodak Co. as a research scientist precipitating and sensitizing photographic emulsions with controlled particle sizes and morphologies resulting in improved film performance. Subsequent projects included synthesis, characterization and commercialization of novel antimicrobial actives, nano particulate metal oxide catalysts and silver-based battery materials resulting in new business, spin-off and licensing opportunities in addition to 4 U.S. Patents and 9 recently filed patent applications. Dr. Sandford provided technical support and guidance to new business ventures within Eastman Kodak including use of nanoparticles for medical imaging, high refractive index plastics for lenses and improved materials for longer life batteries. Most recently, he led the technical team for the Specialty Materials business that over the past two years commercialized several new antimicrobial products for the textile and plastics markets, provided technical support for new and existing products and developed novel technologies to address new market segments.Send a message

Mr. Singer is part of the original group that founded Cerion in 2007 and is currently Executive Vice President in charge of Manufacturing with responsibility for chemical plant operations, new product scale-up, and capital programs. Prior to Cerion, Mr. Singer spent 16 years at Eastman Kodak as an R&D/Manufacturing project manager in imaging nanoparticle production, attaining certification as a Lean Manufacturing Six Sigma Black Belt Practitioner. He has managed startups and accreditation of chemical manufacturing operations on-site at Kodak plants in the USA, Canada, England, and China. In addition, he has led million-dollar cost reduction programs, new equipment design projects across eight countries, and new product commercialization efforts. As part of his product-process research, Mr. Singer has received three U.S. Patents in chemical process technology. Mr. Singer is a graduate of Lehigh University (highest honors, Phi Beta Kappa) with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.Send a message

As the Executive Vice President of Marketing for Cerion, Tracy Gay leads all global brand, public relations and strategic marketing initiatives. Her passion for a customer-focused, multi-disciplined approach to marketing has driven strong results for large, mid-size and start-up companies alike. Tracy joins Cerion with more than 20 years’ experience. Most recently, Tracy was the marketing lead for Panasonic’s Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Solutions Group. She has also served as the vice president of marketing for Omni-ID, a global provider & manufacturer of industrial RFID solutions and has held senior-level positions at Frontier Communications, Citibank and others. She is currently the President of the Rochester Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Tracy received her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina.Send a message

Kenneth Slack is the Controller of Cerion Nanomaterials where he oversees all accounting and finance. Mr. Slack is a graduate of Le Moyne College, with a B.S. in Accounting and a Masters of Information Systems and Business Administration. Prior to Cerion Nanomaterials, he was the Controller of Vinco Ventures, a media and entertainment company, focused on developing and monetizing content through social media, live events and ad sales. Prior to Vinco Ventures, he worked in public accounting at Ernst & Young in Manhattan and The Bonadio Group in Syracuse, NY.
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