Meet Our Board

Cerion Nanomaterials’ Board of Directors are leaders of industry; visionaries brought together by a passion for innovation and the role nanomaterials serve in transforming markets and creating new value. Together they thoughtfully support the strategic direction and growth of the company, enabling our executive management team’s relentless drive to deliver more for our customers, shareholders, employees and the industry.

Richard Sands

Chairman

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Theresa Mazzullo

Board Member

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Landon Mertz

Board Member

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Freddy Robinson

Board Member

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Alex Wasilov

Board Member

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Matt Winslow

Board Member

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Richard Sands

Chairman

Richard Sands is the executive vice chair of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ and STZ.B), the leading premium wine company in the world, and the #1 beer importer and the #3 beer company in the U.S.During the 1990s and 2000s, under his direction, Constellation acquired numerous wine companies that included such legendary brands as Robert Mondavi, Simi, Clos du Bois and Franciscan Estates. Over the course of this expansion, the company purchased wineries in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. Today, it retains its Canadian and New Zealand operations. In addition to growing its wine portfolio, Constellation expanded through acquisition to become the importer of the Modelo family of brands, which includes Corona Extra, the number one imported beer in the U.S. Additionally Richard led the acquisitions of key spirits brands including SVEDKA Vodka, Paul Masson Grande Amber Brandy and Black Velvet Canadian Whisky.In 2007 under Richard’s leadership, Constellation Brands entered into a joint venture with Grupo Modelo for the distribution of a number of imported beer brands including Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo, Pacifico and Victoria. In June of 2013, Constellation acquired the remaining portion of the beer joint venture along with a state-of-the-art brewery in Mexico and perpetual rights to produce the Grupo Modelo brands in the U.S. With the completion of this acquisition the company’s gross sales reach close to $6 billion, further cementing Constellation Brands as the largest multi-category supplier of beverage alcohol to distributors and retailers in the U.S.Constellation is headquartered in Rochester, New York where Richard resides with his wife and 6 children. He is actively involved in education and early childhood development organizations and serves as Chairman of Education Enterprises of New York. Richard serves on the board of trustees for the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology. He is also Chairman of the Friends of the Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center and Chairman of Cerion.

Theresa Mazzullo

Board Member

Theresa Mazzullo has been CEO of Excell Partners since 2006. She has a 30-year track record in business, finance and entrepreneurship. Having owned and sold a small business, she brings firsthand knowledge, unique skills, and proven experience to the seed stage investment arena. In her role as CEO, her duties include governance, compliance, reporting, community integration, finance and fundraising. In addition to her CEO position at Excell, Theresa co-founded Impact Capital NY, LLC. a privately-held VC Fund in upstate NY. Her fundraising ability has resulted in bringing over $60 million into the upstate ecosystem for investments in high tech startups.Theresa received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama and a Graduate Degree in Banking from Stonier, Delaware, MD. Her community activity includes: Treasurer & Member-Executive Committee, Greater Rochester Enterprise Board; Member of High Tech Rochester Board; Trustee, Farash Foundation; Member, NYS Governor's Regional Council and Co-Chair for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Subcommittee of NYS Regional Council; Member NYS's $100M Innovation Fund Investment Advisory Committee and MedTech Board Member. Theresa was named on the 2019 New York Tech Power 50 List by City & State NY magazine.

Landon Mertz

Board Member

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.

Freddy Robinson

Board Member

Freddy Robinson is a partner with Bernard Robinson & Company, a CPA and Advisory firm founded by his father in 1947. Although the firm’s focus has always been on quality as opposed to size, the firm has now grown to become the largest Triad-based accounting firm, with offices in Greensboro, Winston-Salem and now Raleigh with over 100 people/60 CPAs. Freddy has been an integral part of the growth for more than 30 years. He is responsible for tax-related services to individuals and closely held businesses. Freddy’s areas of specialty include complex income tax issues, Internal Revenue Service examinations, mergers and acquisitions, business valuations, succession planning, estates and trusts, S corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and investment planning. With great focus on creating tax strategies for high wealth individuals, their families and their entrepreneurial enterprises, he is able to identify opportunities and creative solutions that help clients realize the greatest return on their investments, while minimizing taxes. Outside of the office, Freddy is active in many professional and civic organizations. Freddy received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alex Wasilov

Board Member

Alex is currently an investor, strategic advisor and member of Cerion’s Board of Directors. He is also Chairman of Clear Water Greens a controlled environment agricultural company that develops and manages Hydroponic greenhouses to grow produce throughout the eastern United States as well as the managing partner of Volis AW a real estate investment fund focused on commercial as well as residential developments.Alex Wasilov is formerly President and CEO of Intrawest, a Vancouver, Canada based global leader in the development and management of experiential destination resorts. Intrawest was a public company that was sold to Fortress Investments in 2008.Prior to Intrawest Alex was President and COO of Hirtle Callaghan, an asset management firm providing outsourced Chief Investment Officer services and alternative investment opportunities for institutions and high net worth individuals.Alex was also President and COO of Rosenbluth International, a privately held global travel company providing comprehensive corporate travel management, meeting, event, incentive travel technology and procurement solutions to over 50% of Fortune’s top 100 companies. Rosenbluth was sold to American Express in 2003. Prior to being a leader in the travel industry Alex was President Emerging Markets for Xerox and EVP/COO Consumer Imaging at Eastman Kodak.

Matt Winslow

Board Member

Matt serves on the board and manages direct investments in the hospitality, technology and luxury furniture industries for WildStar Partners, a prominent single family office based in Rochester, New York.Prior to joining WildStar, he spent 9 years as Chief Operating Officer at Cerion, a leading nanotechnology company founded in 2007. At Cerion, Matt cultivated and managed strategic partnerships with global customers in the specialty chemical, coatings, consumer electronics, pharmaceutical and defense industries. In his role, he also supervised research & development, marketing and sales functions and led the strategic evolution of the company from an emerging start-up to the global leader in nanomaterial design, development and manufacturing.A seasoned strategist and business development executive, previous to joining Cerion Mr. Winslow led the creation and development of The Dreaming Tree Wine brand for Constellation Brands, the world’s leading premium wine company. A collaboration with renowned musician Dave Matthews, The Dreaming Tree became the most successful celebrity-associated wine brand launch in history, doubling estimates while surpassing 200,000 cases sold in its first year alone. The Dreaming Tree has received numerous industry awards including being named 2012’s Best New Wine Product by Market Watch along with a Top 30 Momentum Wine Brand by Symphony IRI.Before his time with Constellation Brands, Mr. Winslow was the Senior Vice President, Brand Partnerships for Generate, a production company in Los Angeles founded by Jordan Levin, the former CEO of The WB Network and funded by Fuse Capital, an investment group led by former AOL Chairman Jonathan Miller and former Yahoo! CEO, Ross Levinsohn. While at Generate, Mr. Winslow was responsible for developing strategic partnerships with companies such as Taco Bell, Absolut Vodka, and Unilever along with digital distributors such as YouTube and MSN.Previously Winslow was one of the earliest employees of Los Angeles- based ad agency Ignited Minds where he served as Vice President of Business Development, leading the growth of the agency from 15 people and $17 million in billings to 125 people and over $100 million in billings in only four years. While at Ignited Minds, he initiated and developed relationships with brands such as Nike, Jose Cuervo, Cadbury Schweppes, Motorola, NBC Universal, 20th Century Fox, THQ, Levi Strauss, Sony Electronics, and Turner Broadcast Station (TBS) among numerous other nationally and internationally respected companies.He began his career as a Senior Account Executive at Eric Mower & Associates in Rochester, NY. Winslow received his B.S. in Advertising and Communications from the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College.Outside of work, Matt serves on the executive committee at The Harley School in Brighton, New York and enjoys spending time with his wife Courtney and his three children Cash, Mae & Knox.