AxNano Names Alexis Wells Carpenter Chief Executive Officer as Company Enters Next Phase of Commercial Growth

AxNano Names Alexis Wells Carpenter Chief Executive Officer as Company Enters Next Phase of Commercial Growth

Doug Speight Transitions to Vice Chairman and Strategic Advisor as Longtime Chief Innovation Officer Leads Expansion

DURHAM (Oct 1) — AxNano Inc., a PFAS and complex waste destruction technology company, announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Alexis Wells Carpenter as Chief Executive Officer as the company enters its next phase of commercial growth and operational scale. Doug Speight will transition from CEO to Vice Chairman and Strategic Advisor, providing strategic continuity while focusing on investor relations and new growth opportunities, including international expansion.

AxNano has been transitioning from an innovation-driven business to a commercialization-driven business. Between 2024 and 2026, the share of revenue derived from commercial contracts increased 20%, reducing the company’s reliance on government R&D contracts and demonstrating growing market adoption of its technology and services.

Carpenter has been with AxNano for the last 11 years and has served as Chief Innovation Officer since 2022. In that role, she has led the commercialization strategy, as well as customer development and market engagement across the company’s core growth sectors, helping translate AxNano’s scientific and technical capabilities into commercially deployable solutions.

“AxNano has reached an important inflection point as execution, customer growth and operational scale increasingly drive our next stage of value creation,” said Board Chairman, Dennis Stearns. “Alexis combines a deep understanding of our technology with extensive experience developing customers, partnerships and markets. Her appointment gives AxNano the operational leadership to capitalize on the opportunities ahead while Doug’s continued involvement ensures strategic continuity.”

As CEO, Carpenter will lead AxNano’s continued commercial expansion and deployment of its environmental technology platforms, with an emphasis on growing customer relationships and building the partnerships necessary to bring advanced environmental solutions to market at scale.

“I’ve had the privilege of helping build AxNano for more than a decade, and I’m excited to lead the company into this next phase,” said Carpenter. “Our focus remains the same: solving difficult environmental problems and turning leading-edge science into commercially viable platforms that can be deployed broadly. We now have an opportunity to take what we’ve built and significantly expand its impact.”

Speight will continue to advise the company on strategy, investor relations and the evaluation of new growth opportunities, including international markets. “Alexis has played an integral role in building AxNano and positioning the company for this moment,” said Speight. “This is a natural evolution for the company and its leadership. I look forward to supporting Alexis and the team as we scale AxNano’s commercial footprint and pursue the opportunities ahead.”