Mr. Chesonis joined Sweetwater as CEO in December 2011 after also serving as its Chairman since 2010. Prior to Sweetwater, Mr. Chesonis served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PAETEC Holding Corp., a Fortune 1000 telecommunications company acquired in 2011 by Windstream Corp. (NASDAQ: WIN), one of the largest national telecom carriers. Mr. Chesonis founded PAETEC in 1998.

Mr. Chesonis has a long history in sustainability. His private philanthropic organization, the Chesonis Family Foundation, has supported numerous environmental and renewable energy projects at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to address climate change. He also personally invests in clean tech, life sciences, and artificial intelligence ventures through his involvement at universities in Boston and Rochester. 

Mr. Chesonis received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award by the College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology and was elected to the Rochester Business Hall of Fame.

He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester, and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Rochester. Mr. Chesonis is also a member of the M.I.T. Corporation and is a life trustee of the University of Rochester.