# Chris Holmes

> Chris Holmes is the President and CEO of AvCarb Material Solutions, a Lowell, Massachusetts maker of engineered carbon materials - the felts, fabrics, and papers that quietly sit at the heart of hydrogen fuel cells, electrolyzers, and flow batteries. An MIT-trained systems engineer with a hybrid technical-and-business background, he is a turnaround specialist who has led high-technology businesses from start-up scale to north of $200M in revenue, largely inside private-equity portfolios. At AvCarb he is steering a company with 1960s roots toward the center of the clean-energy transition.

- **Role:** President & CEO at AvCarb Material Solutions
- **Organizations:** AvCarb Material Solutions, Steiner eOptics, Actalent, H Equity Partners, Systron Donner
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** M.S., Systems Design and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Leads AvCarb Material Solutions, a global supplier of engineered carbon materials with heritage dating to the 1960s, Oversaw the 2025 launch of FLEX-GDL, an ultra-thin flexible gas diffusion layer cutting PTFE loading by ~80%, Turnaround leader of high-technology businesses ranging from start-up to over $200M in annual revenue

## Career timeline

- **1997-1999** — Earned M.S. in Systems Design and Management at MIT
- **earlier career** — Held leadership roles at Systron Donner, H Equity Partners, Actalent, and Steiner eOptics
- **current** — Serves as President and CEO of AvCarb Material Solutions, Lowell, MA
- **2025-10** — AvCarb launches FLEX-GDL, a next-generation flexible gas diffusion layer for clean-energy systems

## Achievements

- Leads AvCarb Material Solutions, a global supplier of engineered carbon materials with heritage dating to the 1960s
- Oversaw the 2025 launch of FLEX-GDL, an ultra-thin flexible gas diffusion layer cutting PTFE loading by ~80%
- Turnaround leader of high-technology businesses ranging from start-up to over $200M in annual revenue
- Brings a hybrid technical and business background to private-equity-backed multi-location operations

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — AvCarb launched FLEX-GDL, a next-generation flexible gas diffusion layer, with Holmes quoted on the company's GDL portfolio.

## Links

- Website: https://avcarb.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-holmes-b9a79423

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/chris-holmes
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-25