Desalytics
Water Week

Dr. Domingo Zarzo

PhD in Water and Sustainable Development

Innovation and Strategic Projects Manager Sacyr Agua

President of AEDyR (Spanish Desal and reuse association)

Member of the patronage and scientific committee of IMDEA Agua

Honorific collaborator of the University of Alicante, lecturer in different master courses

He has participated in the design, construction and operation of more than 100 water treatment plants, including large desalination plants in Spain, Algeria, Chile, Oman, Israel, Australia, etc.

University Expert on rock guitar, bass guitar and rock singing 😊

I completed an M.Sc. in Applied Hydrobiology in order to finalise my passion for water at an early stage. Immediately afterwards I worked in chemical and biological research, wrote several papers on Legionnaires’ disease, and now have completed more than 40 years in the water treatment industry. In 2001 I co-founded Genesys International, and worked in almost all areas of the world, supplying technical support and dedicated chemical products to help optimize the performance of desalination plants. We were purchased by H2OInnovation in 2019. I have served several terms on the IDA and EDS Boards, and am currently the European Desalination Society president.

VISION I have seen desalination become significantly more mainstream, with plants becoming ever larger and costs being driven down. I would like to see a continuation of this through focused research and funding, but with spin-off benefits for islands and smaller/remote communities where such benefits of scale are not applicable. Conversely these islands/communities can act as “laboratories” for larger scale projects. I would also like to see more cross-border co-operation to help counteract political obstacles. And I would like to see even more emphasis on renewable energy solutions. In short, I believe our aim should continue to be to help the world provide potable water for every citizen, and for every agricultural and industrial project which enables us all to survive together. And to do this we must recognize the importance of sustainability and non-depletion of the resources of our precious planet.

Martin Bureau is an accomplished individual, serving as the Vice-President of Innovation and Head of the PFAS Centre of Excellence at ALTRA. With an extensive background in research and development, Martin has been instrumental in driving innovation and leading groundbreaking projects within the company.

Having acquired a deep understanding of the challenges posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), Martin has been at the forefront of developing effective strategies to tackle this environmental concern. His expertise in this field has resulted in the establishment of ALTRA's PFAS Centre of Excellence, an initiative aimed at advancing the company's capabilities to address PFAS-related issues and finding sustainable solutions.

Mark Barker is the Founder and CEO of WEX Global. He has more than 30 years’ experience in international B2B media, marketing and business development. He spent the first half his career leading commercial teams for UK listed companies and was responsible for launching events, publications and websites in Europe, India and China.

In 2006, to pursue his passion for preserving the sustainability of the planet he founded WEX Global, a summit for the international water sector, which has now been held in Europe, The Middle East and Africa. 

WEX Global regularly attracts very senior delegates from more than 45 countries around the globe. It has enabled him to build a network of senior technical and commercial executives in the world’s most important organisations, spanning both public and private sectors, in water and renewable energy

He also speaks at international conferences and webinars and acts as an advisor in marketing, business development and localisation to innovative SMEs seeking to access international markets.

Martin Bureau is an accomplished individual, serving as the Vice-President of Innovation and Head of the PFAS Centre of Excellence at ALTRA. With an extensive background in research and development, Martin has been instrumental in driving innovation and leading groundbreaking projects within the company.

Having acquired a deep understanding of the challenges posed by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), Martin has been at the forefront of developing effective strategies to tackle this environmental concern. His expertise in this field has resulted in the establishment of ALTRA's PFAS Centre of Excellence, an initiative aimed at advancing the company's capabilities to address PFAS-related issues and finding sustainable solutions.

Dr. Mohamed (Moha) Ateia Ibrahim is Group Leader with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response (CESER). Moha combines his expertise in environmental chemistry and materials chemistry to develop and evaluate innovative water treatment technologies to remove and/or degrade emerging contaminants, such as PFAS and microplastics. In parallel, Moha has initiated and is currently leading a multi-agencies project to evaluate the environmental impacts of PFAS-replacement chemicals and formulations in firefighting foams and consumer products.

Eugene Rozenbaoum is a Director of Engineering and Technical Service at LG Chem in Torrance, California. He holds Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Eugene has over 15 years of experience in water separation processes including RO and MF technologies. His expertise includes RO membranes in multiple applications for seawater desalination and potable water treatment.

Steve Delides is the Partnership Director / Principal Water Quality Consultant at Ecosafe International with 20 years’ industry experience.  Steve holds a Bachelor of Science with 1st Class Honours in Environmental Chemistry and a Diploma of Water Industry Operations.  Steve is on the project team for water safety for the NEOM development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Steve is passionate about assisting Ecosafe’s partners to achieve pragmatic and effective risk-based water quality management outcomes.

Bart is a Hach Application Development Manager for drinking water applications for the region Europe. He holds a bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering of Hogeschool van Utrecht, The Netherlands. Bart joined Hach Company in 2016 as sales engineer for the municipal market in The Netherlands and joined the European ADM team in 2021.
Before joining HACH, Bart worked in sales and product management roles with pumps, analyzers and integrated solutions.

Dr Brewin has been at IDEXX for 25 years and has worked in R&D, Product and Technical Support, Training and Regulatory Affairs. His current role involves supporting our regulatory trials, customer product validation and technical training as well as responsibility for Cryptosporidium and Giardia training in the Asia Pacific Region (APO).

Isabel got more than 25 years of experience in international sales and marketing for B2B and B2C products in need of explanation. She has helped several companies in building up from scratch and gained experience in different industries. Being over 6 years on board of VWMS, she manages and scales the distribution partner network, oversees all marketing activities, and aims to turn all customers into happy ones.

With a solid foundation in a bachelor of Chemical Engineering in The Netherlands, I embarked on my professional journey intrigued by the water treatment industry. Commencing my career at ProMinent Verder in my homeland, I steadily progressed from an internal sales role to spearheading national sales operations within the food and beverage sector.

Seeking greater horizons and fresh challenges, I ventured to South Africa, joining the ranks of ProMinent South Africa. Assuming leadership of the sales team for the Sub-Saharan Africa region, I have been instrumental since 2018 in addressing multifaceted issues in water treatment and chemical dosing across the continent.

My commitment lies in unraveling the complexities presented by diverse water treatment challenges, spanning from brewing beverages and ensuring pristine swimming conditions in resorts to managing the intricacies of mining clarifiers and offshore oil rigs. I eagerly anticipate devising innovative solutions to overcome our clients' challenges in this ever-evolving landscape

Joshua Utter, Senior Applications Chemist, holds a bachelor’s of science in Chemistry with a minor in mathematics from Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, FL. He has been performing membrane autopsies on RO/NF and MF/UF membranes at American Water Chemicals since 2014. Joshua provides on-site support to customers during membrane cleaning, and assists customers with troubleshooting, data normalization and other necessary technical tasks for proper monitoring of plant performance.

SATORU MINATO has been working at Asahi Yukizai Middle East Branch since July 2023, but with Asahi Yukizai for 10+ years now. In the past, he was in charge of sales in the Middle East, South East Asia, and South Korea. He has been in the valve industry for 16+ years.

After completing his degree in Applied Chemistry in 1995 Dan began working as a chemist with BASF. He moved into the water industry, taking up the position of Technical Specialist in Albright and Wilson’s Water Management Chemicals business. Working primarily with anti-scalants for thermal desalination applications, Dan subsequently spent some time working in the Middle East before moving on to Avista Technologies in 2004 to focus on Reverse Osmosis technology. He held a variety of technical and sales roles with Avista and, after the Kurita acquisition in 2019, he is now working as Product Manager for Membrane chemicals. He holds a Masters degree in Water Technology and Desalination from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh.

Arian Edalat is a chemical engineer and an award-winning water tech entrepreneur. He has a Ph.D. from University of Bradford in UK and two decades of experience in design, engineering, construction, operations, maintenance, troubleshooting and optimization of industrial and municipal membrane-based water treatment processes as well as technology development and commercialization. His unique and diversified experience expands from developing a concept from bench scale through field pilot and large-scale commercialization and deployment. He has delivered over 60 cutting-edge and challenging water treatment solutions across the globe. Arian is also a graduate of UCLA’s Anderson School of Management’s Executive Management Program. His personal interests include landscape and street photography, hiking, and translation of cross-cultural literary workder & CEO

For over 30 years Robert Gerard has been active in the field of Membrane Technology. He is a graduate of the Twente University of Technology, in the Netherlands with a degree in Chemical Engineering and a major in Membrane Technology. Upon the completion of a post graduate assignment at the University of Tokyo, Robert joined as a Technical Director, Nitto Denko Corporation located in California. Following the acquisition of Hydranautics by Nitto Denko, Robert was involved in the development and marketing of new generations of reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration products. In 1991, Robert established the operations of Hydranautics, in Europe.


Mr. Gerard entered the field of E-Separation Technology in 1998 when he started the activities for E-Cell Corporation as Managing Director for Europe. E-Cell was part of the first acquisition by General Electric in the water space. At GEW&PT, Robert held a number of technical and commercial positions with increasing responsibility.

Robert is currently the commercial director of NX Filtration a company that started in 2016 and manufactures a range of novel membranes, including a chlorine tolerant hollow fiber nanofiltration membrane with unique separation characteristics for potable water production and wastewater treatment. In June of 2021 NX Filtration was listed on the Dutch stock exchange.

Pedro Boulard has 20 years of experience in water treatment projects, specializing in purified water, wastewater and reuse - bringing technology to industrial and municipal clients.

Extensive experience resolving long standing operational issues around Wastewater Treatment. Now based in Spain involved with strategic initiatives including - Reuse, Desalination & Decarbonisation

Alejandro Sturniolo is the Vice President of Marketing and Sustainability at H2O Innovation and a Director at the International Desalination Association (IDA). He began his career at Unitek Argentina in 1998 and has since become a key figure in the water purification industry. Academically, he holds a Chemical Engineering degree and has pursued further studies at MIT, focusing on Neuroscience for Business and Sustainability: Strategies and Opportunities for Industry. Alejandro's profound knowledge is evident in his contribution to over 30 international publications.

Alejandro Roman is the Chief Commercial Officer of NX Filtration, a company that was founded in 2016 and manufactures a range of innovative membranes, including energy efficient, chlorine tolerant, hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes, with unique separation characteristics for potable water production and wastewater reuse. The company, with the mission to make “clean and affordable water for all”  was listed on the Amsterdam Euronext Stock Exchange in June 2021, positioning itself to further accelerate its growth strategy and investment in fast-track innovation and new manufacturing facilities. The IPO got awarded the 'Dark Green' label by CICERO Green which is their highest green ranking, corresponding to the long-term vision of a low carbon and climate resilient future

In his more than 20 years in the water industry, working with companies such as Thames Water, Xylem, Norit X-Flow or Organica Water, Alejandro has specialized in the commercialization and global expansion of innovative and sustainable technologies in the field of water purification and reuse.

Antonella has over 9 years of experience in entrepreneurship and finance. She is a mission-driven person CEO and co-founder Agrow Analytics, a startup focused on water optimization in agriculture. This initiative aims to enhance efficiency for farmers while helping corporations in achieving their water-positive goals.

Dr. Domingo Zarzo

PhD in Water and Sustainable Development

Innovation and Strategic Projects Manager Sacyr Agua

President of AEDyR (Spanish Desal and reuse association)

Member of the patronage and scientific committee of IMDEA Agua

Honorific collaborator of the University of Alicante, lecturer in different master courses

He has participated in the design, construction and operation of more than 100 water treatment plants, including large desalination plants in Spain, Algeria, Chile, Oman, Israel, Australia, etc.

University Expert on rock guitar, bass guitar and rock singing 😊

Dr Mike Dixon is a global expert in desalination and water treatment technology working with membrane and thermal technologies in Australia, North America, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Asia. Mike has worked across the entire value chain with technology manufacturers, water utilities, oil and gas companies, pharmaceutical companies and research hubs.

Mike is the CEO and Founder of Synauta Inc, a cleantech company working with desalination innovators with a goal to reduce energy and chemical use using data science and machine learning. Synauta was acquired by Gradiant in July 2022, only 4 years after being established.

Prior to Synauta, Mike was Chief Technology Officer for WaterNEXT (Western Canada's Water technology accelerator) and Applications Development Manager for NanoH2O, a global provider of reverse osmosis membranes that leveraged UCLA developed nanotechnology to lower the cost of desalination with over 300 installations in 40+ countries in the three years from market launch. LG Chem acquired NanoH2O in 2014.

Mike is experienced with the development of start up company culture, intellectual property and the commercialization of new technologies. He has more than 60 publications in international journals and is an author of several books and book chapters, including the go-to guide for desalination operations during Harmful Algae Bloom events.

Mike is currently a Director of the International Desalination Association (IDA) Board. He has been an Editor of the IDA Journal and a reviewer for the Journal of Membrane Science and Water Research. In 2022 Mike won two prizes, the GWI Breakthrough Company of the Year (as Founder of Synauta) and the IDA President's Distinction Award. At IDA he was the 2022 World Congress Co-Chair and in 2012 won the prestigious IDA Fellowship Award.

AMRISH RATHI has been working at Asahi KASEI Microza membrane office from 2018, but working with these Microza membranes from 2006, when he was leading Pall Water’s business unit out of Dubai for MEA and some EU countries. He has being within the water industry for 25+ years.

With over 25 years of expertise in water desalination and the broader field of water treatment, I am dedicated to driving innovation and sustainability in the industry. My career journey has allowed me to blend technical proficiency with entrepreneurial spirit, pioneering innovative solutions in desalination technologies.

Chris Roy leads the Applications Engineering department at ZwitterCo and is one of the co-founders. Previously, Chris worked as both a research engineer and field engineer for CeraMem, where he piloted, commissioned, and supported over 25 industrial water treatment projects in the oil and gas, metal finishing, chemical, medical, and aerospace industries. He graduated summa cum laude from UMass Amherst with a BS in Chemical Engineering and with departmental honors of greatest distinction for his independent thesis in Polymer Rheology.

With over 20 years' experience working across water and environmental industries, Arnaud Valleteau de Moulliac is Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Water Technologies. He leads the €1.6 billion water treatment and technology subsidiary of Veolia group with over 6,600 employees spanning 48 countries. 

Arnaud joined Veolia group in 2003 as Business Development Project Manager, coordinating tender teams and offers for projects in France and abroad. From 2007, he occupied various positions within the group, from business development to operations and general management in several countries across Central and Eastern Europe. He joined Veolia Water Technologies in 2018, first as Managing Director of French water technology subsidiary OTV before adding the role of Executive Vice President of Veolia Water Technologies’ large projects in Europe. He has been CEO of Veolia Water Technologies since June 2023.

Arnaud is passionate about shaping the ecological transformation and driving change, taking into account impacts on all stakeholders. Born in France, he is a graduate from École Polytechnique and HEC in Paris. 

Mr. H.J.F. (Jeroen) Pynenburg (born 1971, Dutch) recently joint NX Filtration’s management. He is CEO since May, 2023. Jeroen has an extensive track record in managing ESG companies through strong growth phases. His most recent and most notable experience is his experience as Business Unit Director Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment at Alfen. In this position, he led the hyper growth of this division to EUR 250 million in 2022. Before this, he held the position of Global Lead Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Service and Applications at ABB for which he also worked and lived in China.

Jeroen is and economist by education and the past years in technical companies won his heart. 

Degree in Plastics Technology (Macomb Community College) and Business Administration (Henry Ford College).

•10 years in the Water industry and 10 years in Industrial Hydraulics throughout the LATAM Region.

8 years with FEDCO selling pumping and energy recovery solutions to small, medium and large OEM’s.

Industries include Mining, Agriculture, Industrial, Power Generation, Oil & Gas, Hotel Resort, Food & Beverage & Aquaculture

Native level Spanish Speaker.

Relationship building is where I excel

I sold the highest recovery SWRO plant in the world today which is recovering 62%

David H Paul Level 3 training