Mercedes Landazuri studied Russian, German, French and Japanese at Sarah Lawrence College, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts. She also earned a certificate of Russian language after spending one year of undergraduate and one year of graduate school at Voronezh State University in Russia.
After having worked several years in academia, Landazuri made a career shift and joined the plastics industry. Her first plastics position was as an operations manager at solvent dye and pigment supplier Apex Colors.
"I knew nothing about color chemistry, materials science or plastics engineering when I took the job, but the thought of getting to visit manufacturing sites all over the world was really compelling to me. I fell in love with the plastics industry about a month into the role, when I got to attend SPE Antec in Indianapolis. I was fascinated by all of the work people were doing, and it opened my eyes to how much these materials benefit our lives," said Landazuri, who has since worked in various roles in color and additives, masterbatch, liquid color and compounds, from operations to sales and marketing, and technical director to CMF design.
In her current role as Ampacet's market insight manager and North America sustainability team lead, Landazuri researches and forecasts color, material and finish trends, then works internally with labs to develop innovative appearances and sustainable solutions that align with those trends. She also works externally with global brand owners to bring those innovations to market.
She is the director of SPE's Chicago section and a past president of SPE's recycling division and Next Gen advisory board. With industry engineer Lynzie Nebel, Landazuri is the co-host of the PlastChicks podcast, which received the Gold Award and Pinnacle Award in 2022 from the Trendy Awards, which recognize the best marketing and communication pieces from the nonprofit and association communities.
"One thing that has stood out to me a lot in recent years was something Toi Jones told me when I came to her for advice. She simply said, 'Wherever you are in your career or in your life, that's where you're supposed to be.' If you're struggling with an issue, there's a reason for it. There's always something to be learned when you take time to reflect on this, and this reflection is what helps you get to the next level," Landazuri said about the best advice she has received.
"I had no idea that I would find myself working in this industry," she said, "and what a wonderful place it's been for me."