Ben Hernandez

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Ben is Numat's Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, who has expanded the business from a concept into the growing company it is today. Ben is responsible for leading the development and execution of the company's growth strategy with an accomplished team who are grounded in Numat's mission to drive industrial efficiency through chemistry innovation. Ben is a recognized leader, named in 2021 and 2022 by Goldman Sachs as one of the “100 Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs.” Prior to Numat, Ben worked at a global private equity firm where he led board-level strategy, operations, and human capital initiatives to drive enterprise growth at portfolio companies. Prior to that, Ben was a strategy consultant, serving clients in the industrial technology and manufacturing sectors. He received an engineering degree from Northwestern University, a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and an MBA with distinction from the Kellogg School of Management.

Dr. Jeff Dysard

Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Dr. Dysard is Numat's Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. He is responsible for leading Numat's overall technology portfolio, including R&D and Operations to drive organizational transformation and growth. He brings nearly 25 years of experience in executive and senior R&D and operations roles at leading edge global materials technology companies in the semiconductor and energy industries. Prior to Numat, Dr. Dysard served as Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and President, Performance Materials, of CMC Materials, Inc., a publicly-traded, multinational specialty materials company that was acquired by Entegris, Inc. Prior to that, he held various leadership roles at CMC, including as the General Manager of the Electronic Materials businesses, and in the R&D organization. Before joining CMC, Dr. Dysard held senior scientist positions at Exxon Mobil Corporation. Dr. Dysard received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

Dr. Omar Farha

Founder and Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Farha is Numat's Chief Scientific Officer, President and co-founder. He is responsible for driving scientific direction and strategy across our development portfolio. Dr. Farha, also the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor in Chemistry at Northwestern University and an Executive Editor for ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, is globally recognized for his research accomplishments notably as a top cited chemist in the field of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). His research spans diverse areas of chemistry and materials science ranging from energy to defense-related challenges, specifically focused on the rational design of MOFs for applications sensing, catalysis, storage, separations, and water purification. Dr. Farha received his Ph.D. degree from University of California, Los Angeles and completed his postdoctoral at Northwestern University.

Andy Arboleda

Chief Financial Officer

Andy is Numat's Chief Financial Officer. He is responsible for the Finance organization, driving the development and execution of the company's strategic and financial initiatives, as well as the IT organization. Prior to Numat, Andy led the restructuring and recapitalization of a family business consortium as CEO and worked at Matrix Private Capital Group and Trust, formally SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, raising both debt and equity capital for private and public companies. Andy received his MBA from the Wharton School and his bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Florida.

Chip Leen

Executive Vice President, Industrials and General Counsel

Chip is Numat's Executive Vice President, Industrials and General Counsel. Chip is responsible for Numat's SENTINEL business portfolio as well as all legal, compliance and regulatory activities across the company. Chip brings over 20 years of experience leading international legal departments and managing corporate and strategic development initiatives. Most recently, Chip served as Managing Director, Integration and Strategy and Managing Attorney for CMC Materials, Inc., a publicly-traded, multi-national specialty materials company that was acquired by Entegris, Inc. Prior to CMC Materials, Chip held various senior legal roles at Aon plc and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. Before his legal career, Chip served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy where he completed multiple deployments in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. Chip received his B.A. in International Affairs from Marquette University and his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Carl Jackson

Executive Vice President, Electronics

Carl is Numat's Executive Vice President and International Head of Electronics. He is responsible for the international growth of Numat and business development opportunities in electronics. Carl is a technologist and business development executive with over 20 years’ experience spanning multiple industries, including semiconductor and nuclear. Prior to Numat, he was the Chief Technology Officer at Linde Electronics, part of the Linde Group, the world’s largest industrial gases and engineering company. Carl was educated in the UK, with degrees in engineering and business along with an EMBA from Oxford.

Jill Johnson

Chief of Staff

Jill is Numat's Chief of Staff. She is responsible for leading Numat's people and culture functions, administrative and financial operations, facilities and risk management and export compliance. Jill plays an integral role in facilitating the execution of Numat's strategic plan and driving operational efficiency across the company. Prior to Numat, Jill spent nearly 10 years in senior administration positions at Northwestern University in the Department of Chemistry. Jill received a B.A. in Journalism and Communications from Columbia College Chicago.

Dr. Paul Boone

Director of IT and Data Engineering

Dr. Boone is Numat's Director of IT and Data Engineering. He is responsible for using software and IT systems to accomplish two primary goals: ensuring security and compliance of all our data and systems, and driving innovation using ML, AI, and computational predictions of materials properties to accelerate the development of new products. Prior to Numat, Dr. Boone held various roles in data analysis, management and visualization, cloud computing, and embedded devices, as well as managing Engineering and Corporate Finance functions. Dr. Boone received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

Andy Farley

Director of Manufacturing & Operations

Andy is Numat's Director of Manufacturing & Operations. He is responsible for leading manufacturing operations and facilitating the scale-up of new commercial technologies. Prior to Numat, Andy worked at W.R. Grace & Company, a leading specialty chemical and advanced materials company, in engineering and operations management positions in their hydroprocessing catalyst business. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University and MBA from the University of Chicago Booth.

Volker Heilmann

Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Volker is Numat's Vice President of Sales and Marketing and is responsible for the global sales activities of ION-X®, Numat's sub-atmospheric delivery system for dopant gases used in the semiconductor industry. Prior to Numat, Volker served in several leadership roles at Matheson, a global supplier of bulk and specialty gases, most recently as Sr, Vice President overseeing Matheson's Equipment and Strategic Products businesses, which included its SDS product line. Before Matheson, Volker was Vice-President and General Manager at Bandgap Technology Corporation, a start-up focused on the development and sales of advanced gas and chemical precursors to the global electronics industry, culminating in a successful exit. Volker graduated in Industrial Business Management (Industriekaufmann) from the Kaufmännische Berufsschule in Frankfurt, Germany.

Dr. William Morris

Director of Technology

Dr. Morris is Numat's Director of Technology. He is responsible for acting as the interface between the technical and business team, driving the transition of Numat's products from the laboratory to industrial scale. Prior to this, Dr. Morris served in a variety of senior roles at Numat, including most recently as Director of R&D, where we worked as part of the team that successfully commercialized some of the first MOF products. Prior to Numat, he spent two years at Northwestern, developing skills in lithography, nanoparticle synthesis, and DNA-mediated assembly. Dr. Morris received his MChem from the University of Manchester and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

John Siegfried

Director of Research and Development

John is Numat's Director of Research and Development. He is responsible for overseeing discovery, product development and process scale-up programs. He drives technical direction and strategy, ensuring the delivery of high-quality products. Before joining Numat, John worked at Honeywell UOP, where he held roles in R&D and operations, focusing on commercializing new process technology. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University.

Dr. Nicolaas Vermeulen

R&D Director, Materials Discovery

Dr. Vermeulen is Numat's R&D Director, Materials Discovery and Development. He is responsible for growing Numat's technology portfolio by discovering and developing materials with desired structures and properties for specific applications. Before joining Numat, Dr. Vermeulen worked with Corteva (formerly Dow Agrosciences), a leader in agrochemicals, as a Discovery chemist where he worked to design and develop new pesticidal compounds. He received his Ph.D. in organometallic catalysis from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign followed by post-doctoral training in supramolecular chemistry from Northwestern University.

Sandy Weiss

Chief IP Counsel

Sandy is Numat's Chief IP Counsel. She is responsible for the management and development of Numat's patent and trademarks portfolios, its intellectual property strategy, and IP licensing and acquisition activities. Sandy brings over 30 years of experience in intellectual property law, including as Senior IP Counsel at Akzo Nobel, a global chemicals, paints and coatings company. Prior to Akzo Nobel, she held various senior roles at the United States Department of Energy. Sandy received her B.S. in Chemistry and M.S. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and Juris Doctorate from DePaul University.

Dr. Mitch Weston

R&D Director

Dr. Weston is the R&D Director, MOF Discovery and Development and a member of Numat's founding team. He is responsible for growing Numat's technology portfolio by aiding in the transition of novel MOF benchtop chemistries into commercial products. Dr. Weston has served in a variety of senior roles and is a co-inventor of Numat's ION-X®, SENTINEL™ and ARTEMIS™ platform technologies. Dr. Weston received his Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University of Calgary and completed his postdoctoral research at Northwestern University before joining Numat.