# Sean Petterson

> Sean Petterson is the Phoenix-based co-founder and CEO of Supersede, which extrudes recycled polypropylene into waterproof structural panels designed to replace marine-grade plywood without forcing factories to change their tools or workflows. An RIT-trained industrial designer, he previously built industrial-safety company StrongArm Technologies from a student project into a venture-backed business acquired in 2023, and now applies the same evidence-first playbook to materials manufacturing.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Supersede
- **Organizations:** Supersede, StrongArm Technologies, Rochester Institute of Technology Dean’s Advisory Council, Unreasonable FUTURE
- **From:** Long Island, New York, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BFA in Industrial Design, Rochester Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Named to the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Manufacturing & Industry., Built StrongArm Technologies from an RIT student project into a venture-backed industrial-safety company acquired in 2023., Co-founded Supersede and launched a recyclable, waterproof structural panel made from recycled polypropylene.

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Co-founded StrongArm Technologies while a student at Rochester Institute of Technology.
- **2012** — StrongArm won the New York State Business Plan Competition; Petterson built the first ErgoSkeleton at RIT.
- **2013** — Graduated from RIT with a BFA in Industrial Design and moved StrongArm toward the New York City market.
- **2015** — 3M took a minority equity stake in StrongArm Technologies.
- **2017** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Manufacturing & Industry and delivered the Creative Industry Day keynote at RIT.
- **2019** — Selected as an Unreasonable FUTURE Fellow.
- **2023** — StrongArm Technologies was acquired as part of a private-equity rollup; terms were not disclosed.
- **2024** — Supersede publicly launched Marine Board and won an IBEX Innovation Award for boatbuilding methods and materials.
- **2025** — Supersede raised a $10 million seed round, won BuiltWorlds demo competitions and received a Fast Company World Changing Ideas honor.
- **2026** — Closed Loop Partners provided a $5 million catalytic loan for expanded manufacturing capacity and a Midwest facility.

## Achievements

- Named to the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Manufacturing & Industry.
- Built StrongArm Technologies from an RIT student project into a venture-backed industrial-safety company acquired in 2023.
- Co-founded Supersede and launched a recyclable, waterproof structural panel made from recycled polypropylene.
- Won the 2012 New York State Business Plan Competition with StrongArm co-founder Justin Hillery.
- Delivered the keynote at RIT Creative Industry Day in 2017.
- Selected as an Unreasonable FUTURE Fellow in 2019.
- Serves on the Rochester Institute of Technology Dean’s Advisory Council.
- Led Supersede through a $10 million seed financing and a subsequent $5 million catalytic loan for capacity expansion.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Outlined Supersede’s expansion plan, Midwest manufacturing buildout and construction-market ambitions in a Trade Only Today interview.
- **2026-05** — Supersede received a $5 million catalytic loan from Closed Loop Partners to finance manufacturing equipment for expanded capacity.
- **2026-01** — BuiltWorlds published Supersede’s second Demo Day win and noted the opening of a plant in Elkhart, Indiana.
- **2025-12** — Supersede reported a year of manufacturing scale-up, OEM partnerships, lower cost of goods and a strategic partnership with UFP.

## Links

- Website: https://supersede.build
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-petterson-39b89b2a
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/sean_petterson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.petterson.14

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