Management Team at Nano-C

Management Team

The Nano-C Team has a broad range of business, technology and science experience. The management team is supported by a strong Board of Directors with expertise in corporate and intellectual property law, technology development, along with industrial and entrepreneurial management. In addition, we have assembled a formidable group of Technical Advisors from academia and industry.

Viktor Vejins - President and CEO
Viktor brings over 20 years of international general management experience with a successful track record in building new businesses, repositioning, and turning around under-performing companies. He was the General Manager of an advanced materials start-up funded exclusively by Cabot Corporation that created millions of dollars in shareholder value. He had global P&L responsibility, managed a global sales team, launched a new manufacturing process in Malaysia and was successful in commercializing new business with key accounts in automotive, military, aerospace and rail applications. Prior to joining Cabot, he was a management consultant with Arthur D. Little, Inc. and AT Kearney. As a consultant, he provided guidance to senior management on issues related to strategy, product development, operations improvement and organizational development with the end aim of fundamentally improving bottom line performance. Through this consulting work, he developed a broad background in chemicals, materials, pharmaceutical chemicals, medical device and service industries. Immediately prior to joining Nano-C, Mr. Vejins assisted two early stage materials start-ups in strategy, market development, implementation planning, business valuation and fund raising. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering (UWM ’80) and a SM in Materials Engineering (MIT ’82).

Donald Wallroth - Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Wallroth brings over 25 years of financial and general management experience successfully financing, scaling, and monetizing technology related businesses.  Mr. Wallroth has raised over $300 million as CFO for multiple private and public technology companies and was directly responsible for acquiring, merging, integrating and completing the sale of numerous entities.

From 2011 to 2019, Mr. Wallroth was CEO and CFO of Everyday Solutions, Inc., a $5 million venture-backed telematics software company that he successfully merged and integrated with its largest competitor to form Synovia Solutions, Inc.  As Executive Chairman of the combined SaaS entity with an EBITA of $12 million, he completed a strategic relationship with its largest hardware vendor and was directly responsible for initiating, negotiating, and completing the cash sale of the company to CalAmp, a $400 million company which is traded on NASDAQ, for a significant multiple.

He was also Vice President, COO and CFO of Avery Dennison’s New Growth Ventures Division where he was responsible for investing $90 million annually in a diverse set of technologies including solar, alternative energy, membranes, RFID, healthcare, materials, and packaging technology.  Mr. Wallroth was a Partner at Arthur D. Little, Inc. in charge of the Financial Consulting Practice, a Partner with Accenture, and a Partner of Arthur Andersen Worldwide where his focus was on strategy, finance, corporate development, and mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Wallroth holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from The George Washington University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Dr. Henning Richter - Vice President, Research and Development
Henning joined Nano-C in 2001, while working with Jack B. Howard, Nano-C’s Founder, in the Department of Chemical Engineering of MIT. For more than 15-years, Henning has been working extensively on combustion generated fullerenes and nanotubes. His understanding of combustion based systems led to the creation of complex kinetic models with which Nano-C optimizes its core combustion based manufacturing processes. In addition, Henning has developed novel purification and chemical functionalization processes for both fullerenes and SWCNT. He is particularly interested in the design of fullerene derivatives with selected physical, chemical and electronic properties. Henning is co-inventor of several patents and patent applications for the production, separation and purification of fullerenic materials as well as their use in organic photovoltaics and photo-detectors.

He was co-editor of “Organic Solar Cells: Fundamentals, Devices, and Upscaling”, published in 2014 and today a recognized must-have in OPV. Henning is also responsible for the development of Nano-C’s intellectual property portfolio. He is a member of the Scientific Board of LOPE-C, the Executive Advisory Board of the Nanomanufacturing Center at the University of Massachusetts in Lowell and represents Nano-C in the Industrial Coordination Committee of the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies at MIT along with Ramesh Sivarajan. He also represents Nano-C at Solliance, a network of major players in the area of thin film photovoltaics.

Previously, at the University of Namur (Belgium), Henning focused on the optimization of fullerene yield in combustion processes as well as the effects of metal and halogenated additives. He gained his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the Chemistry Department of the Technical University of Darmstadt (Germany) and his Doctorate from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). He has authored many papers and has been ‘Invited Professor’ at the Universities of Rouen, Lille and Mulhouse.

Dr. Ramesh Sivarajan - Vice President, Applications Development
Ramesh has more than 15-years of experience with nano-materials including ceramics, metals, polymer-inorganics and carbon nanomaterials. In the last 10-years in particular, he has focused on the development of industrial applications for single walled carbon nanotubes.  Prior to joining Nano-C, Ramesh was the manager of the Advanced Applications Group at Nantero, Inc. where he pioneered the development of CMOS® compatible carbon nanotube formulations and  deposition methods critical for their wafer scale integration.

Prior to Nantero, Ramesh served as a research scientist at Rice University, working with Prof. Richard Smalley (winner of the chemistry Nobel Prize in 1996) with whom he co-authored several research publications and a co-inventor on a number of patents. At Rice, his work on CNT dissolution in super-acids led to the patented invention of the world’s first, macroscopic, neat carbon nanotube fiber; today this is leading to ultra-high strength fibers. Ramesh is an inventor on 31 issued US patents and several more issued and pending applications worldwide.

He was a visiting scientist at Cornell University prior to Rice. He holds a PhD in Materials Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and has received post-doctoral training in the area of nano-materials in Israel on a joint project of Bar-Ilan University, Technion and the Israel Aircraft Industry. For about five years, Ramesh has served on the industrial advisory board of the manufacturing engineering department at Boston University and is currently a visiting scientist at Northeastern University. Along with Henning, Ramesh serves as Nano-C’s liaison to the Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies at MIT.

Tom Lada - Vice President, Operations

Tom is responsible for the fullerene production, purification and derivatization activities at Nano-C. Since joining Nano-C in 2002, he has been active in nearly all aspects of fullerene manufacturing, from fuel delivery system design and reactor operation, to extraction and chromatography of fullerenes on scales ranging from analytical to preparative and beyond. In addition, he is a key contributor to the development of novel fullerene derivatives for applications in organic electronics and semiconductor processing. He has published several papers and is co-author on a number of Nano-C’s key product and process patents.

A graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his MS degree in Chemical Engineering Practice and subsequent professional experience have allowed him to provide significant insights into the operational and business aspects of Nano-C’s continued growth. Of additional note, Mr. Lada is also the safety officer at Nano-C and oversees all aspects of Nano-C’s Quality programs.

Kerin Perez Harwood - VP, Business Development, Fullerene Materials and Specialty Chemicals
Ms. Perez Harwood has >10 years of global industrial experience in bringing new materials and chemicals to market. She has a diverse professional background spanning commercial, operations and development roles. Prior to joining Nano-C, Ms. Perez Harwood was Business Development Manager for Merck KGaA / EMD Performance Materials covering Photovoltaics, LED and OLED Lighting, Display Technologies, and related materials for printed electronics. She successfully built and managed relationships with customers and strategic partners with major U.S. solar and lighting manufacturers, leading U.S. technology companies and high-tech startups. With a focus on driving multi-million-dollar sales growth and market expansion, Ms. Perez Harwood led and executed commercial agreements driving diversification of Merck’s product pipeline. With her years of corporate experience, she brings a unique and valuable perspective to Nano-C, as she views negotiations and strategic initiatives through the corporate lens. Ms. Perez Harwood managed all commercial activities related to customer programs from early stage to mass production, including communications strategy, price negotiation, forecasting and demand planning. Prior to Merck, she was with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (now Siemens Healthineers). She also is a business, marketing and systems consultant to small local businesses and has spearheaded entrepreneurial ventures in women’s healthcare and wellness. Ms. Perez Harwood holds an MBA from F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.

Darren Bischoff - VP, Business Development, Carbon Nanotubes and Advanced Materials
Darren has 20+ years of global experience bringing advanced materials and electronics from R&D to commercialization in roles spanning business development, marketing, product management and operations. As an early employee with electronic paper display pioneer E Ink, Mr. Bischoff launched multi-million dollar products with companies Lexar Media and Motorola as well as managed engagements with companies such as Philips, Sony, Nokia, Logitech, Seiko Epson, Fossil, Microsoft, Apple, RSA, Flextronics, NXP, DARPA and NASA. Beyond displays, he led product strategy and business development for MC10 (printable semiconductors), and Boston-Power (Li-ion batteries). In these roles, Mr. Bischoff has successfully built partnership eco-systems for launching new technology platforms and driving revenue growth.  Based on his experiences in start-ups, he has consulted with emerging technology companies in displays, photovoltaics and energy storage. He is a mentor for technology startups at Northeastern Venture Mentor Network. Mr. Bischoff holds an MBA from Boston University.