# Haley Keith

> Haley Marie Keith is the co-founder and former CEO of MITO Material Solutions, the university spinout that commercialized functionalized graphene additives for composites and polymers. Raised around Indiana's recreational-vehicle industry and trained in history and business rather than engineering, she became the translator between laboratory chemistry and manufacturers. After First Graphene completed its acquisition of MITO's assets in June 2026, Keith joined the buyer as Vice President Business Development to lead U.S. commercial expansion.

- **Role:** Vice President Business Development at First Graphene
- **Organizations:** First Graphene, MITO Material Solutions, International Organization for Standardization, Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, Oklahoma State University, John Brown University
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in History, John Brown University, Master of Business Administration, Oklahoma State University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and led MITO Material Solutions from a university commercialization project to commercial advanced-material products., Named with co-founder Kevin Keith to the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Manufacturing & Industry list., Selected for Conexus Indiana's 2021 Rising 30 class.

## Career timeline

- **2012** — Worked as an operations intern at General RV Center, traveling to nine dealerships for safety audits and site evaluations.
- **2015** — Began her MBA at Oklahoma State University and encountered the materials technology that became MITO in a commercialization class.
- **2016** — Co-founded MITO Material Solutions with Kevin Keith around university-developed hybrid nano-additive technology.
- **2017** — Graduated from Oklahoma State University; she and Kevin had won $161,000 through business-plan competitions and received an additional $70,000 in grant support.
- **2018** — Moved into MITO's first lab and received a nearly $225,000 NSF SBIR award for research and development.
- **2020** — MITO raised a $1 million seed round led by Dipalo Ventures and Clean Energy Trust, now Evergreen Climate Innovations.
- **2021** — Named with Kevin Keith to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Manufacturing & Industry and selected for Conexus Indiana's Rising 30.
- **2021** — MITO announced its first commercial sale in the ski market through work with Folsom Custom Skis.
- **2022** — Began serving as a nominated U.S. industry expert in graphene-related standards work through ANSI and ISO.
- **2024** — Participated in IACMI's small and medium enterprise leadership and composites-manufacturing work.
- **2026** — First Graphene completed its acquisition of MITO's products, manufacturing equipment, and intellectual property; Keith joined First Graphene as Vice President Business Development.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and led MITO Material Solutions from a university commercialization project to commercial advanced-material products.
- Named with co-founder Kevin Keith to the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Manufacturing & Industry list.
- Selected for Conexus Indiana's 2021 Rising 30 class.
- Won Oklahoma State University's 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year honor.
- Helped secure early NSF SBIR, OCAST, VentureWell, business-plan competition, and venture funding for MITO.
- Served for two years on the IACMI Consortium board representing small and medium-sized businesses.
- Served as a nominated U.S. industry expert for graphene-related nanotechnology standards work under ISO.
- Led MITO through the 2026 sale of its assets, product lines, equipment, and intellectual property to First Graphene.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Appeared on the Unstoppable You podcast to discuss the persistence, tradeoffs, and rejection involved in building MITO and completing an exit.
- **2026-06** — First Graphene completed its acquisition of MITO Material Solutions' products, equipment, manufacturing capabilities, and intellectual property.
- **2026-06** — Joined First Graphene as Vice President Business Development, with responsibility for U.S. operations and commercial expansion.
- **2025-02** — Joined Kevin Keith on the GEAR:30 podcast to explain functionalized graphene and MITO's work in ski construction.

## Links

- Website: https://mitomaterials.com/team/haley-keith
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haleymarielk
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MITO_Materials
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MITOMaterialSolutions

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/haley-keith
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-25