Our Team
Our Leadership
Learn more about our executive team and the board of directors.
LAWRENCE J. WALDMAN
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS | CHAIRMAN OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE
Lawrence J. Waldman was appointed a member of the Board of Directors in October 2016 and currently serves as Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Audit Committee. Mr. Waldman has over 40 years of experience in public accounting. Mr. Waldman is a member of the board of directors and Lead Independent Director of Comtech Telecommunications Corporation and serves as the chairman of its Audit Committee. Mr. Waldman is also a member of the board of directors and Lead Independent Director of Apyx Medical Corporation and serves as chairman of its Audit Committee. Comtech and Apyx are both Nasdaq listed companies. Through October 2018, Mr. Waldman was a member of the board of directors of Northstar/RXR Metro Income, Inc., an SEC registered non-traded real estate investment trust. Mr. Waldman serves as Senior Advisor at First Long Island Investors, LLC and was previously an Advisor at the accounting firm of EisnerAmper LLP following his role as Partner-in-Charge of Commercial Audit Practice Development for Long Island. Prior to joining EisnerAmper LLP, Mr. Waldman was the Partner-in-Charge of Commercial Audit Practice Development for Holtz Rubenstein Reminick, LLP from July 2006 to August 2011. Mr. Waldman served as the Managing Partner of the Long Island office of KPMG LLP from 1994 through 2006, the accounting firm where he began his career in 1972. Mr. Waldman is currently Chairman of the board of directors of the Long Island Association and a member of the boards of directors of the Long Island Angel Network and the Advanced Energy Research Center at Stony Brook University. Mr. Waldman was the Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of Bethpage Federal Credit Union until April 2023 and previously served as the Chairman of the Audit Committee of the board of trustees of the State University of New York. Mr. Waldman also previously served as Chairman of the board of trustees of the Long Island Power Authority. Mr. Waldman is a certified public accountant in New York State. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of CPAs.
EMMANUEL LAKIOS
DIRECTOR | PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Emmanuel Lakios was appointed to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company on January 22, 2021, and on July 15, 2021 was elected by the shareholders as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Lakios joined the Company as Vice President Sales and Marketing in February 2017. Mr. Lakios has over thirty-nine (39) years of experience serving the aerospace, semiconductor, data storage and optical device industries and is the holder of several patents in the field of process equipment and device structure. From January 2015 through February 2017, Mr. Lakios was the President and Chief Executive Officer at Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc., overseeing that company’s transition from R&D to a leading global commercial UV LED supplier. From 2003 to 2011 he was the Executive Vice President of Field Operations and President and Chief Operating Officer at Imago Scientific, bringing it from pre-revenue to a commercial leadership position in the 3D atomic scale tomography field. Mr. Lakios was previously employed at Veeco Instruments Inc. from 1984 until 2003, where he held several positions, including President of the Process Equipment Group and Executive Vice President of Field Operations. He has been involved in several acquisitions and numerous product line launches. He received his BE in Mechanical Engineering with focus in Material Science from SUNY Stony Brook in 1984.
ANDREW AFRICK
DIRECTOR
Andrew Africk is the founder of Searay Capital LLC, a private investment company. Mr. Africk established Searay Capital in July 2013 after 21 years leading private equity and capital markets investments for Apollo Global Management. As a Senior Partner at Apollo, Mr. Africk was responsible for investments in technology and communications, and he has 30 years of experience financing, analyzing and investing in public and private companies. Mr. Africk graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Economics, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School with a J.D., and from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business with an MBA.
DR. ROBERT M. BRILL
DIRECTOR | CHAIRMAN OF THE NOMINATING, GOVERNANCE AND COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE
Dr. Brill was appointed a Director of the Company on March 5, 2021. Dr. Brill was co-founder and managing partner of Newlight Management from 1997-2019, which managed venture capital funds that focused on early stage technology companies. Prior to co-founding Newlight, Dr. Brill was a general partner of Poly Ventures, a Long Island based venture capital fund. Dr. Brill is a member of the Board of Directors of the L.I. Angel Network, the L.I. High Tech Incubator and several private companies. Dr. Brill has also previously served on the Board of Directors of multiple public and private companies. Dr. Brill served as General Manager of Harris Corporation’s CMOS Semiconductor Division. Dr. Brill has served as CEO of both public and private companies. He also held various technical and management positions at IBM’s semiconductor operation. Dr. Brill holds a Ph.D. in nuclear physics from Brown University and a B.A. and a B.S. in Engineering Physics from Lehigh University. Dr. Brill had previously served on the Company’s Board from April 2018 until October 2019.
DR. ASHRAF LOTFI
DIRECTOR
Ashraf is currently Venture Partner at Deep Science Ventures leading its compute-sector investments. Previously he founded fabless semiconductor company Enpirion in 2002 and was President & CEO. He built the company from the ground up to 500+ customers. He led its acquisition by Altera Corp in 2013 realizing large shareholder returns. Upon Altera’s subsequent acquisition by Intel Corp, he remained as Vice President, power technology & global business development until 2020 in its Programmable Solutions business unit. For the past 30 years, he has been continuously leading semiconductor research, technology and product development as well as business management, acquisitions, intellectual property management, marketing and global sales support. Formerly, he was Director of Analog & Power Management Research at Bell Laboratories where he led the power management research department. His research efforts in power systems applications ranged from high speed, high-voltage transistors in Si, SiC, GaAs, thin-film magnetic energy storage semiconductors, high-density power conversion and battery plants for telecommunications systems. He is on the board of directors of Lotus Microsystems and has also served on the advisory boards of Potentia Semiconductor (acq. POWI 2008) and Enterprise Ireland– Power electronics initiative. He received the BS degree honors from Cairo Univ. in 1984, PhD from Virginia Tech in 1993 and an Executive MBA from Northeastern Univ. in 2001. He is inventor on more than 170 issued and pending US patents and received the 2013 NJ Technology Council’s CEO of the year award. He is based in New Jersey, United States.
DEBRA WASSER
DIRECTOR
Deb Wasser currently serves as Vice President of Investor Relations and ESG Engagement for Etsy, Inc. (Nasdaq: ETSY), the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. Since joining Etsy in 2018, she has been responsible for Etsy’s external shareholder relationships, with a heavy focus on corporate and financial reporting, driving increased analyst coverage and investor connectivity, effective corporate messaging, and strategic investor targeting. Earlier in her career she served for over 15 years as Senior Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications at Veeco Instruments, Inc (Nasdaq: VECO), a semiconductor equipment manufacturer. Deb has over 35 years of corporate and business experience, advising senior management and boards of directors of public companies on strategic communications including investor relations, financial and corporate public relations, fundraising and other financial transactions, merger and acquisition and crisis communications, as well as leadership positioning. Deb has contributed decades of service on behalf of her professional community, NIRI, the Association of IR Professionals, including service on its Board of Directors. Deb is one of approximately 300 investor relations practitioners globally to have achieved NIRI’s “IRC” certification for competencies across key disciplines including finance, strategy and communications. Deb has won significant third-party recognition as an Investor Relations professional, and has been named by NIRI as a Fellow.
EMMANUEL LAKIOS
PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Emmanuel Lakios was appointed to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company on January 22, 2021, and on July 15, 2021 was elected by the shareholders as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Lakios joined the Company as Vice President Sales and Marketing in February 2017. Mr. Lakios has over thirty-nine (39) years of experience serving the aerospace, semiconductor, data storage, and optical device industries and is the holder of several patents in the field of process equipment and device structure. From January 2015 through February 2017, Mr. Lakios was the President and Chief Executive Officer at Sensor Electronic Technology, Inc., overseeing that company’s transition from R&D to a leading global commercial UV LED supplier. From 2003 to 2011 he was the Executive Vice President of Field Operations and President and Chief Operating Officer at Imago Scientific, bringing it from pre-revenue to a commercial leadership position in the 3D atomic-scale tomography field. Mr. Lakios was previously employed at Veeco Instruments Inc. from 1984 until 2003, where he held several positions, including President of the Process Equipment Group and Executive Vice President of Field Operations. He has been involved in several acquisitions and numerous product line launches. He received his BE in Mechanical Engineering with a focus in Material Science from SUNY Stony Brook in 1984
RICHARD CATALANO
VICE PRESIDENT | CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Rich Catalano was appointed as the Company’s Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective as of August 30, 2022. Mr. Catalano began his career at KPMG LLP and became an audit partner in 1993. Throughout his over 35 years as an audit professional at KPMG LLP, Mr. Catalano advised a diverse array of clients through private equity financed transactions, merger-related accounting, and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Towards the later part of his tenure, Mr. Catalano served as the leader of KPMG LLP’s Metro New York Healthcare and Life Sciences Practice and then co-led KPMG’s Global Audit Methodology Group. Mr. Catalano is a Certified Public Accountant in New York State and received a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Hofstra University.
DR. JEFF BROGAN
VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES & MARKETING
Dr. Jeffrey Brogan was appointed as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CVD Equipment on March 23, 2021. Previously he was Director of Sales and Marketing for CVD Materials Corporation since November 2017 with General Management responsibilities of CVD MesoScribe Technologies Corporation. Dr. Brogan served as the President and CEO of MesoScribe Technologies, Inc., spearheading its sale to CVD in 2017. He has over 20 years of experience in strategic sales & marketing, technology management, and advanced research & development. Dr. Brogan has led the development of innovative sensor products, transitioning high-performance products to manufacturing using the Company’s Direct Write MesoPlasma™ printing technology. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stony Brook University in 1996.
WARREN CHEESMAN
VICE PRESIDENT MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS
Warren Cheesman joined CVD as Vice President of Manufacturing Operations in October 2022, bringing with him over 25 years of management experience in the Semiconductor, Medical Device, and Defense equipment sectors. Mr. Cheesman has held roles of increasing responsibility in Engineering, Operations, Quality, and Strategic Sourcing, at equipment manufacturers including Veeco Instruments, Air Techniques, and Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace. At CVD, Mr. Cheesman provides strategic leadership across all divisions related to manufacturing, quality, and continuous improvement initiatives, with an emphasis on process improvement, lean manufacturing, risk management, and collaboration. He holds 2 Master of Science Degrees from Stony Brook University in Technology Management and Materials Science & Engineering and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech. His academic and professional experience is also complemented by a Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
KEVIN COLLINS
VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER | SDC® DIVISION
Prior to his appointment as Vice President and General Manager-SDC Division, Mr. Collins served as the General Manager of CVD’s SDC Division since 1999. From 1990 to 1999 he was employed by Stainless Design Corp. as Manager of Field Operations and Product Development Advisor. Mr. Collins attended Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science.
DR. MAX SHATALOV
VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Dr. Shatalov joined CVD as Vice President of Engineering and Technology in April 2018. Prior to CVD Mr. Shatalov was employed by Sensor Electronic Technology Inc. (SETi) a LED company where he held multiple technical and management positions from 2006 thru 2018. In 2017 Dr. Shatalov became Vice President of Technology and was responsible for UV LED technology and LED application development at SETi. Dr. Shatalov has over twenty years of experience in semiconductor research and devices and holds more than 150 U.S. patents.
About Us
Over 40 years of expertise in CVD and thermal process equipment design and manufacturing.
“enabling tomorrow’s technologies ™ ”