Experienced Business Leaders with Proven Success

John van Leeuwen is the CEO, CTO, and Co-Founder of Universal Matter. A proven cleantech entrepreneur, John brings deep experience building and scaling technology companies from early-stage innovation to commercial success. He previously co-founded EcoSynthetix and has built and exited multiple businesses, raising significant capital along the way. At Universal Matter, John leads the company’s vision to transform advanced graphene materials into practical, scalable solutions for global industries.

Dru Kefalos brings decades of global leadership experience across operations, commercial strategy, supply chain, and advanced materials commercialization. Before joining Universal Matter, Dru spent nearly three decades with ExxonMobil Chemical, where he held executive roles across multiple businesses and helped lead major business transitions and turnarounds. At Universal Matter, Dru helps guide the company’s commercial growth, operational discipline, and customer-focused execution as it scales Genable™ products across key markets.

Guy Hoffman serves as Chief Financial Officer of Universal Matter, bringing more than two decades of investment, finance, and energy-sector experience to the company. As a co-founder and partner of Chambers Energy Capital, Guy has helped build and manage investment platforms focused on energy and industrial markets. At Universal Matter, he supports the company’s financial strategy, capital planning, and disciplined growth as the business moves from innovation to commercial scale.

Dr. James Tour is a Co-Founder and Advisor to Universal Matter and one of the world’s most recognized scientists in nanotechnology, chemistry, and graphene innovation. Based at Rice University, Dr. Tour’s work has helped shape the scientific foundation for Flash Joule Heating and advanced carbon materials. His record as an inventor, researcher, and scientific leader provides Universal Matter with deep technical insight as the company scales graphene-enabled products into real-world applications.

Eytan Mazor leads Research and Development at Universal Matter, bringing more than two decades of experience in materials engineering and global product development. He has directed international technical teams and helped launch products in highly regulated sectors with significant commercial value. With expertise spanning nanomaterials, industrial management, patents, and applied innovation, Eytan plays a central role in turning Universal Matter’s graphene platform into market-ready Genable™ solutions.

Cheryl van Leeuwen leads Universal Matter’s global people strategy, talent development, and organizational culture, partnering with leadership to build a high-performing, people-first organization. With more than 25 years of leadership experience across human resources, business operations, sales, training, and organizational development, she previously served as Co-Owner of Pinty’s Premium Foods. A dedicated community leader and volunteer for over 25 years, Cheryl believes investing in people is essential to building innovative, resilient organizations and creating lasting positive impact for future generations.

Mike D’Agostini leads Marketing and Business Development at Universal Matter, bringing 15 years of brand, marketing, sponsorship, media, and commercial strategy experience. Before joining Universal Matter, Mike led campaigns and growth initiatives across major consumer brands within the AB InBev and Labatt portfolio. At Universal Matter, he helps translate technical product value into clear market positioning, customer engagement, and commercial growth for Genable™.

Andy Gent leads Universal Matter’s UK and European business, bringing more than 25 years of experience across coatings, polymers, technical leadership, sales, and business management. His career includes senior roles with Clariant, Evonik, Invista Textiles, and Applied Graphene Materials, where he advanced from commercial leadership into broader market development. At Universal Matter, Andy helps expand customer partnerships and commercial opportunities across the UK and Europe.

Dr. Peter van Ballegooie leads strategic planning for Universal Matter, bringing extensive experience in cleantech, corporate development, market strategy, and industrial innovation. His career includes leadership roles with Pansophy Consulting, EcoSynthetix,

DuPont, DuPont Dow Elastomers, and Dow Europe. With a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA, Peter brings a rare combination of technical depth and commercial strategy to Universal Matter’s growth across advanced materials markets.

Vinayak leads Business and AI Excellence at Universal Matter, translating product innovation into focused strategy, stronger operations, and scalable growth while embedding AI across the business. Before joining Universal Matter, Vinayak spent nearly seven years at Boston Consulting Group, helping clients develop AI strategies, build AI models and products, and drive organization-wide adoption. Vinayak holds a PhD in Medical Biophysics, combining scientific depth with strategic thinking and practical execution.

Charles Okorie leads Supply Chain at Universal Matter, bringing decades of experience and best practices across supply chain planning, procurement, and logistics. His career includes extensive leadership exposure and senior management roles with AB InBev, Unilever, PZ Cussons, and, most recently, Coca-Cola Canada Bottling. 
At Universal Matter, Charles plays a key role in strengthening and optimizing the company’s supply chain, including managing the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process, with a focus on product availability, exceptional customer service, and input cost excellence.

Ram is a Chartered Professional Accountant with more than 10 years of progressive financial leadership experience in the consumer packaged goods industry. Most recently, he served as Director of Operational FP&A at PFX Group, where he developed a strong track record of optimizing inventory, strengthening financial controls and driving process improvements in fast-paced organizations.
Ram holds an Honours Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management from the University of Waterloo and is a CPA with CPA Ontario.

Dr. Duy Xuan Luong is a core inventor of the Flash Joule Heating process behind Universal Matter’s graphene platform and first author of the original Nature publication introducing the technology. His work connects scientific discovery with practical process development, advancing graphene synthesis and manufacturing innovation. Drawing on expertise in applied physics and graphene chemistry, Duy helps translate foundational research into scalable processes and next-generation materials.

Garrett Hutchinson brings more than 25 years of experience across manufacturing engineering, plant operations, maintenance, project engineering, and engineering leadership. His background includes progressive responsibility for manufacturing systems, equipment, process improvements, and capital projects, with a strong focus on improving plant reliability and operational performance. At Universal Matter, Garrett applies this experience to support plant projects, equipment implementation, and the scale-up of manufacturing capabilities required for commercial graphene production and dispersions.

Ty Church manages Universal Matter’s GNP and dispersion plant operations, bringing hands-on experience across process engineering, technical plant management, and operational leadership. Over more than a decade with Universal Matter, Ty has held progressive roles and helped commission graphene pilot plant operations. His work supports the company’s ability to produce consistent, scalable, application-ready graphene materials for commercial customers.