Inge Genné is VITO’s Programme Manager for Water & Climate. Following on from a research career as a membrane technology expert, she got our industrial water management team’s activities underway by focusing on implementation of water efficiency and reuse strategies. In 2016, that team merged with the environmental modelling unit specialised in decision support tools and services. Inge Genné is now the driving force behind the expansion of VITO’s market-driven research & innovation activities under the WaterClimateHub umbrella. She also coordinates the large scale “Vlaanderen WaterProof” project, has an active role in various international networks and is a board member of Water Reuse Europe.

Griet Verstraeten works as a policy advisor on climate change adaptation in the Flemish Government Department of Environment and Spatial Development. She is also the lead expert for Belgium on the European Adaptation Strategy.

In her role as policy advisor, Griet coordinates the work on local policy for Flanders carried out by the Flemish Task Force on Climate Change Adaptation and representatives from other Flemish Government departments (including agriculture and fisheries, mobility and infrastructure, economy and innovation, health, nature and forestry, environment, water, spatial planning). She is responsible for the development and implementation of the Flemish Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and for the communication, knowledge exchange and awareness-raising associated with it.

Griet has a master’s degree in bioscience engineering (land and forest management) from KU Leuven, a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Antwerp and over 20 years’ experience in spatial planning, environmental policy, sustainable development and international cooperation. Verstraeten is an expert in international and European policies on climate change adaptation, with specific expertise on the implementation of nature-based solutions.

Griet Verstraeten represents the Flemish Government in the Belgian national working group on climate change adaptation (under the national climate commission) and is an active member of Working Group VI, the network on climate change adaptation under DG Climate.

Joris is an expert in sustainability within the event and festival world. He’s been involved in organising Tomorrowland since the event’s early years, and founded its Love Tomorrow CSR department in 2012. Love Tomorrow has since grown into a wider-reaching platform that strives for positive impact on our society and environment in general.

Love Tomorrow initiates and develops concepts that contribute to reducing environmental impact, as well as creating awareness for circular models and value in relation to waste and water. The platform also studies and strives to influence behaviour, innovates through pilot projects and supports eco start-ups. Tomorrowland is a powerful solutions breeding and testing ground for smart resource utilisation, waste reduction and recycling, together with the associated designs, systems and communications.

Many initiatives, such as Waterville, the smart water network, Route 360, the pop-up on-site recycling system for PET bottles and aluminium cans, and Camp2Camp, which gives abandoned camping materials new life, have all been developed and optimised in interaction with the People of Tomorrow.

Alongside the classic 3 Ps of People, Planet & Prosperity, Pleasure is always at the heart of Love Tomorrow’s activations, as this is key to driving positive change when influencing behaviour. It is Love Tomorrow’s ambition to breathe life into solutions for outside the festival environment and partner with governments, universities, businesses and innovators to co-create a wholesome future for our planet.

Marjolein Weemaes was originally a researcher at Aquafin, before going on to manage its R&D department.

Aquafin was founded by the Flemish government in 1990 for the purpose of expanding, managing and prefinancing supra-municipal sewage treatment infrastructure. The company also offers its expertise to Flemish cities and municipalities, and more than 100 of these have taken up the opportunity to collaborate with Aquafin for their waste and storm water management.

Aquafin has always had a strong R&D department. In 2018, this was anchored in the new Business Development and Innovation department to help accelerate new ideas’ and concepts’ routes to market. The company’s innovation department develops new solutions for creating business opportunities and for the realisation of Aquafins mission: streams and brooks full of life, and a living environment in harmony with water.

Griet Verstraeten works as a policy advisor on climate change adaptation in the Flemish Government Department of Environment and Spatial Development. She is also the lead expert for Belgium on the European Adaptation Strategy.

In her role as policy advisor, Griet coordinates the work on local policy for Flanders carried out by the Flemish Task Force on Climate Change Adaptation and representatives from other Flemish Government departments (including agriculture and fisheries, mobility and infrastructure, economy and innovation, health, nature and forestry, environment, water, spatial planning). She is responsible for the development and implementation of the Flemish Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and for the communication, knowledge exchange and awareness-raising associated with it.

Griet has a master’s degree in bioscience engineering (land and forest management) from KU Leuven, a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Antwerp and over 20 years’ experience in spatial planning, environmental policy, sustainable development and international cooperation. Verstraeten is an expert in international and European policies on climate change adaptation, with specific expertise on the implementation of nature-based solutions.

Griet Verstraeten represents the Flemish Government in the Belgian national working group on climate change adaptation (under the national climate commission) and is an active member of Working Group VI, the network on climate change adaptation under DG Climate.

Joris is an expert in sustainability within the event and festival world. He’s been involved in organising Tomorrowland since the event’s early years, and founded its Love Tomorrow CSR department in 2012. Love Tomorrow has since grown into a wider-reaching platform that strives for positive impact on our society and environment in general.

Love Tomorrow initiates and develops concepts that contribute to reducing environmental impact, as well as creating awareness for circular models and value in relation to waste and water. The platform also studies and strives to influence behaviour, innovates through pilot projects and supports eco start-ups. Tomorrowland is a powerful solutions breeding and testing ground for smart resource utilisation, waste reduction and recycling, together with the associated designs, systems and communications.

Many initiatives, such as Waterville, the smart water network, Route 360, the pop-up on-site recycling system for PET bottles and aluminium cans, and Camp2Camp, which gives abandoned camping materials new life, have all been developed and optimised in interaction with the People of Tomorrow.

Alongside the classic 3 Ps of People, Planet & Prosperity, Pleasure is always at the heart of Love Tomorrow’s activations, as this is key to driving positive change when influencing behaviour. It is Love Tomorrow’s ambition to breathe life into solutions for outside the festival environment and partner with governments, universities, businesses and innovators to co-create a wholesome future for our planet.

Marjolein Weemaes was originally a researcher at Aquafin, before going on to manage its R&D department.

Aquafin was founded by the Flemish government in 1990 for the purpose of expanding, managing and prefinancing supra-municipal sewage treatment infrastructure. The company also offers its expertise to Flemish cities and municipalities, and more than 100 of these have taken up the opportunity to collaborate with Aquafin for their waste and storm water management.

Aquafin has always had a strong R&D department. In 2018, this was anchored in the new Business Development and Innovation department to help accelerate new ideas’ and concepts’ routes to market. The company’s innovation department develops new solutions for creating business opportunities and for the realisation of Aquafins mission: streams and brooks full of life, and a living environment in harmony with water.

Inge Genné is VITO’s Programme Manager for Water & Climate. Following on from a research career as a membrane technology expert, she got our industrial water management team’s activities underway by focusing on implementation of water efficiency and reuse strategies. In 2016, that team merged with the environmental modelling unit specialised in decision support tools and services. Inge Genné is now the driving force behind the expansion of VITO’s market-driven research & innovation activities under the WaterClimateHub umbrella. She also coordinates the large scale “Vlaanderen WaterProof” project, has an active role in various international networks and is a board member of Water Reuse Europe.

Since September 2018, Jan Jambon has been the Minister-President of the Government of Flanders and Flemish Minister for Foreign Policy, Culture, IT and Facilities. Before that, he was a Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Security and the Interior of Belgium.

Jan Jambon began his professional career as a Systems Engineer and Account Manager at IBM, where he worked from 1984 to 1992. He holds a master’s degree in computer science and an MBA from the University of Antwerp.

Jan Goossens has been Aquafin’s CEO since the end of 2016. With over 1,000 dedicated employees, Aquafin operates more than 300 wastewater treatment units throughout Flanders, as well as managing and financing the continued expansion of the Flemish Region’s sewer infrastructure and water treatment capacity. Backed by in-house research, the company is also diversifying into large-scale energy, heat and nutrient recovery from wastewater. Another current key activity is the development of integrated stormwater plans to help municipalities counter the increasing effects of climate change, such as drought and flooding.

With a PhD in analytical chemistry, Jan Goossens began his professional career at BASF, where he was involved with both the plastic (nylon) and fertiliser businesses, holding several management positions in HR, sales and operations. He went on to become Managing Director of Marpobel, an industrial water treatment facility in the Port of Antwerp, and Managing Director of Industrial Services, a Dutch maintenance provider to the Chemical, Energy and Offshore Industry. Jan has also been a guest professor at Ghent University for 15 years, where he currently serves as a guest lecturer on water management.

Lifeng LI is the Director of Land and Water Division, FAO. Prior to joining FAO headquarters, Mr Li served as Coordinator of Support Programmes at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) in Incheon, Republic of Korea, during June 2018 – May 2021. He started his career in 2000 as Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. In 2002, he joined the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) China Programme as Coordinator of Freshwater and Marine Programme in Beijing, and, at a later stage, he took up the duties of Officer of Freshwater and Marine Programme and Director of Freshwater Programme.

Between July 2008 and March 2017, he served as Director of Freshwater Programme of WWF International in Gland, Switzerland. During June 2017 to May 2018, he was the Head of Programmes at the Wetlands International in Ede-Wageningen, Netherlands. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Physical Geography from Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in China, and a Bachelor of Science in Geographical Education from Shandong Normal University in China.

Arnoud Lust started his career as a project manager leading drinking water projects in Haiti for the NGO Join for Water (then called Protos). Today he is Manager International Business Development at VITO and CEO of VITO Middle East LLC in Qatar. He is responsible for increasing the volume of international contracts won by VITO outside Europe and acts as account manager for International Financing Institutions such as the World Bank. Previously he was business development manager of the Energy division of VITO.

For 10 years he was international business development manager for ARCADIS Belgium (previously ECOLAS NV), a consulting and engineering group active in the fields of environment, infrastructure and buildings. 10 years before that he worked for the water company Aquafin, first as Team Leader in the Planning Department and later as Department Head Special Projects and Environmental Management. Arnoud is a board member of the NGO Join for Water since 1998 and was the chairman from 2009 to 2015.

Jef Monballieu is a business development manager at Jan De Nul group, an international marine and civil contractor and president of the steering committee of The Blue Cluster, a Belgian industrial cluster focussed on innovation in the North Sea, with topics ranging from aquaculture to offshore energy. Jef was previously president of the Belgian offshore energy cluster. He has occupied various roles at Jan De Nul group, in the marine construction, civil and offshore branches. He has master’s degrees in civil engineering and business economics from the Ghent University.

Pernille Weiss (Member of the European Parliament) is a politician from the Conservative People’s Party of Denmark and a member of the European People’s Party, EPP. She holds a seat in the Industry, Research & Energy Committee (ITRE) and is a substitute member of The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI).

Weiss also holds a substitute seat in The Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee (FEMM) and has been a board member of SME Europe since 2019. Prior to becoming an MEP, she served eight years as a County Council member. An acknowledged Nordic expert in architecture and health and how built environments impact complex institutions, Pernille Weiss was a head manager in the public health care sector and the building consultancy industry before establishing her own consultancy firm in 2008.

Jan Goossens has been Aquafin’s CEO since the end of 2016. With over 1,000 dedicated employees, Aquafin operates more than 300 wastewater treatment units throughout Flanders, as well as managing and financing the continued expansion of the Flemish Region’s sewer infrastructure and water treatment capacity. Backed by in-house research, the company is also diversifying into large-scale energy, heat and nutrient recovery from wastewater. Another current key activity is the development of integrated stormwater plans to help municipalities counter the increasing effects of climate change, such as drought and flooding.

With a PhD in analytical chemistry, Jan Goossens began his professional career at BASF, where he was involved with both the plastic (nylon) and fertiliser businesses, holding several management positions in HR, sales and operations. He went on to become Managing Director of Marpobel, an industrial water treatment facility in the Port of Antwerp, and Managing Director of Industrial Services, a Dutch maintenance provider to the Chemical, Energy and Offshore Industry. Jan has also been a guest professor at Ghent University for 15 years, where he currently serves as a guest lecturer on water management.

Arnoud Lust started his career as a project manager leading drinking water projects in Haiti for the NGO Join for Water (then called Protos). Today he is Manager International Business Development at VITO and CEO of VITO Middle East LLC in Qatar. He is responsible for increasing the volume of international contracts won by VITO outside Europe and acts as account manager for International Financing Institutions such as the World Bank. Previously he was business development manager of the Energy division of VITO.

For 10 years he was international business development manager for ARCADIS Belgium (previously ECOLAS NV), a consulting and engineering group active in the fields of environment, infrastructure and buildings. 10 years before that he worked for the water company Aquafin, first as Team Leader in the Planning Department and later as Department Head Special Projects and Environmental Management. Arnoud is a board member of the NGO Join for Water since 1998 and was the chairman from 2009 to 2015.

Jef Monballieu is a business development manager at Jan De Nul group, an international marine and civil contractor and president of the steering committee of The Blue Cluster, a Belgian industrial cluster focussed on innovation in the North Sea, with topics ranging from aquaculture to offshore energy. Jef was previously president of the Belgian offshore energy cluster. He has occupied various roles at Jan De Nul group, in the marine construction, civil and offshore branches. He has master’s degrees in civil engineering and business economics from the Ghent University.

Vibha Dhawan has been associated with The Energy and Resources and Institute (TERI) since 1985, including serving as Vice-Chancellor of TERI School of Advanced Studies from 2005-2007. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India.

Dhawan is actively involved in both research and policy development, at both national and international level. She is a task force member on a number of committees, including the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and the Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL).

Vibha Dhawan is currently serving as Adjunct Professor to the Consul General South Asia Partnership at Michigan State University. She has successfully completed a number of international assignments, including coordinating the Asia Pacific Consortium on Agriculture Biotechnology (APCoAB), advising the Director General of The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the Deputy Director of research partnerships & co-ordination with the Borlaug Institute for South Asia. She has served on the boards of prestigious organisations in India and other countries, including Jawaharlal Nehru University, Ambedkar University, Ayurvet Foundation and Centre for Bioscience and Agriculture International (CABI).

Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is an Indian politician from Rajasthan who is currently serving as Union Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Jal Shakti. He is a member of parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), representing Jodhpur in the Lok Sabha.

Shekhawat began his political career in student politics in 1992, when he was elected as president of the Student Union at JNVU University, gaining more votes than previously achieved by any other Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad supporter. Shekhawat was appointed as National General Secretary of the BJP Kisan Morcha, the farmers’ wing of the Bharatiya Janta Party. He was also a member of the Rajasthan State Executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Shekhawat was elected as a member of parliament to the 16th Lok Sabha in 2014, with the highest ever winning margin (4,10,051 votes) from the constituency of Jodhpur. One of his major achievements during his tenure as an MP has been the expansion of Jodhpur Airport, a demand that had continuously been raised during the last 18 years.

On 3 September 2017, he was appointed as Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. Shekhawat became the Minister of Jal Shakti on 31 May 2019.

Thara has been working as an IAS Officer since 1995. She has been working in the State of Gujarat since 1997 and has a versatile experience in various cities of Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Kheda, Rajkot, Vadodara and Surendranagar in various Departments. She has worked as a District Development Officer in the cities of Vadodara and Surendranagar for a period of 2 years in Land Revenue Management and District Administration and Development Administration. She also has experience as a Collector in Land Revenue Management & District Administration Departments in the cities of Kheda for a period of 1 year and Ahmedabad for a period of 3 years.

Thara has also worked as the Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for approximately 2 years. During this period, she has worked on a number of JNNURM Projects. She has been one of the pioneers of the BRTS Project which was a very essential project of the city. She has also initiated the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021 as Chief Executive Authority, Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) in 2008.

During her tenure as Chief Executive Authority, AUDA, the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021, Ahmedabad was completed and also the First Revised Draft Development Plan of Gandhinagar as the CEA, GUDA was completed. With her focused vision and great leadership qualities, a number of new concepts and ideas were incorporated in the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021. Few of them included the Central Business District, Transit Oriented Zone and Residential Affordable Housing Zone and also the preparation of Local Area Plans for such projects. She has been the Chief Executive Authority of AUDA and Municipal Commissioner, Ahmedabad. During her tenure, Ahmedabad was made and executed as a Smart City. Water Management and Security was the focus area. 7.5 lac people were given surface water in one year. 4 STPs were initiated and sewage treatment gap is being completely addressed.

She was working as Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Gandhinagar since 24/06/2016. After that she had joined Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as Joint Secretary on 29/07/2019.

Ibrahim Hafeezur Rehman studied in the UK as a Chevening Scholar in 2000 and has a doctorate from the University of Utrecht. He has over 26 years’ experience in projects and activities related to rural development, dissemination of Rural Energy Technologies, Natural Resources Management and, in particular, Watershed Development.

Rehman has worked with bilateral agencies, corporate set-ups and NGOs on issues related to alleviating poverty. His key focus areas include involving and consolidating grassroots institutions, undertaking initiatives pertaining to market development for clean energy technologies in rural areas, and implementing replicable models of efficient management of natural resources at the grassroots level.

Rehman has worked in various different countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Thailand and Belgium. He is a co-author of three books and has had several papers/articles published in reputed journals and magazines.

Christian is an international expert in water management and teaches urban water management at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Germany. He covers the entire water cycle, with particular expertise in water and wastewater treatment and reuse. Christian has more than 25 years of experience in the water industry, having worked as a lecturer, team leader in water research, international project manager and consulting engineer.

Christian’s expertise in water includes integrated water resources management, alternative water sources and water stress mitigation, industrial water management and water recycling. He has worked with regional, national and international funding organisations and water associations, as well as industrial partners. Christian is an active member of Water Europe and was editor of the IWA journal Water Science and Technology till 2020. His vast teaching experience at the highest level of education is expected to be very helpful for shaping teaching curriculums to be more efficient and effective.

Naveen Mathur is currently the CEO of Maithri Aquatech, a ‘Make in India’ company whose product MEGHDOOT has been approved by the Ministry of Jalshakti through the Mashelkar Committee. The company is a Participant Member of United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and member of the CEO Water Mandate.

He is a Business and Strategy Expert with over 25 years of rich experience across various industries. He has worked earlier both in India and overseas markets in companies such as WaterHealth, Selular Group, Nokia and Electrolux.

Naveen has done his PGDBM in Marketing from Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education, Mumbai. He is a member of the CII National Committee of Water.

Cornelius Sandhu is a senior researcher and lecturer in the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Dresden, Germany (HTWD). He has more than 16 years’ experience in the field of RBF-based water supply in India.

Manoj K. M. Chaturvedi, a Chartered Environmentalist, is presently associated with Metito Overseas Qatar, a leading water and wastewater multinational company as Environment Sustainability Team Lead. Over the last two decades, Dr Chaturvedi has been associated with and have contributed effectively to the areas of construction environment and sustainability management of key infrastructure and industry projects in India and Middle East Countries.

In his past assignments, he led the respective organizations in various capacities including as Operations Manager – Environment Division & Principal Consultant CSR and Sustainability at Qatar Design Consortium, Doha, Qatar; as Deputy General Manager-CSR-UN Water Mandate at Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. (HCC), Mumbai and as Field Service Manager at GE (Power and Water) etc. He has honor of being one among 20 experts from across the world to contribute to Evaluation of Research Proposals under SC5-12-2018 EU-India water co-operation during March- April 2018.
With a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Environmental Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IITB), Chaturvedi is a Core Environment and Sustainability Specialist with more than 20 years of hands on experience. He has managed several projects funded by International Agencies including European Union, the World Bank, and SIDA as well as State and Central Government Agencies of India.

He has also assisted Ministries of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHA) and Environment Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Govt of India, in execution of JNNURM projects in city of Nashik on behalf of GIZ as environmental consultant.

He has been member of several professional bodies including International Organization for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (IOBB), Australia; Institute of Environment Management and Assessment, UK and Eco-Ethics International Union, Germany; Working group for development of India Water Tool by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); Water Action Hub (WAH) and Collective Engagement Working Group (CEWG), Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) of United Nations Global Compact’ The CEO Water Mandate.

Christian is an international expert in water management and teaches urban water management at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Germany. He covers the entire water cycle, with particular expertise in water and wastewater treatment and reuse. Christian has more than 25 years of experience in the water industry, having worked as a lecturer, team leader in water research, international project manager and consulting engineer.

Christian’s expertise in water includes integrated water resources management, alternative water sources and water stress mitigation, industrial water management and water recycling. He has worked with regional, national and international funding organisations and water associations, as well as industrial partners. Christian is an active member of Water Europe and was editor of the IWA journal Water Science and Technology till 2020. His vast teaching experience at the highest level of education is expected to be very helpful for shaping teaching curriculums to be more efficient and effective.

Naveen Mathur is currently the CEO of Maithri Aquatech, a ‘Make in India’ company whose product MEGHDOOT has been approved by the Ministry of Jalshakti through the Mashelkar Committee. The company is a Participant Member of United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and member of the CEO Water Mandate.

He is a Business and Strategy Expert with over 25 years of rich experience across various industries. He has worked earlier both in India and overseas markets in companies such as WaterHealth, Selular Group, Nokia and Electrolux.

Naveen has done his PGDBM in Marketing from Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education, Mumbai. He is a member of the CII National Committee of Water.

Manoj K. M. Chaturvedi, a Chartered Environmentalist, is presently associated with Metito Overseas Qatar, a leading water and wastewater multinational company as Environment Sustainability Team Lead. Over the last two decades, Dr Chaturvedi has been associated with and have contributed effectively to the areas of construction environment and sustainability management of key infrastructure and industry projects in India and Middle East Countries.

In his past assignments, he led the respective organizations in various capacities including as Operations Manager – Environment Division & Principal Consultant CSR and Sustainability at Qatar Design Consortium, Doha, Qatar; as Deputy General Manager-CSR-UN Water Mandate at Hindustan Construction Company Ltd. (HCC), Mumbai and as Field Service Manager at GE (Power and Water) etc. He has honor of being one among 20 experts from across the world to contribute to Evaluation of Research Proposals under SC5-12-2018 EU-India water co-operation during March- April 2018.
With a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in Environmental Science and Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IITB), Chaturvedi is a Core Environment and Sustainability Specialist with more than 20 years of hands on experience. He has managed several projects funded by International Agencies including European Union, the World Bank, and SIDA as well as State and Central Government Agencies of India.

He has also assisted Ministries of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHA) and Environment Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Govt of India, in execution of JNNURM projects in city of Nashik on behalf of GIZ as environmental consultant.

He has been member of several professional bodies including International Organization for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (IOBB), Australia; Institute of Environment Management and Assessment, UK and Eco-Ethics International Union, Germany; Working group for development of India Water Tool by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); Water Action Hub (WAH) and Collective Engagement Working Group (CEWG), Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) of United Nations Global Compact’ The CEO Water Mandate.

Thara has been working as an IAS Officer since 1995. She has been working in the State of Gujarat since 1997 and has a versatile experience in various cities of Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Kheda, Rajkot, Vadodara and Surendranagar in various Departments. She has worked as a District Development Officer in the cities of Vadodara and Surendranagar for a period of 2 years in Land Revenue Management and District Administration and Development Administration. She also has experience as a Collector in Land Revenue Management & District Administration Departments in the cities of Kheda for a period of 1 year and Ahmedabad for a period of 3 years.

Thara has also worked as the Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for approximately 2 years. During this period, she has worked on a number of JNNURM Projects. She has been one of the pioneers of the BRTS Project which was a very essential project of the city. She has also initiated the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021 as Chief Executive Authority, Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) in 2008.

During her tenure as Chief Executive Authority, AUDA, the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021, Ahmedabad was completed and also the First Revised Draft Development Plan of Gandhinagar as the CEA, GUDA was completed. With her focused vision and great leadership qualities, a number of new concepts and ideas were incorporated in the Second Revised Draft Development Plan 2021. Few of them included the Central Business District, Transit Oriented Zone and Residential Affordable Housing Zone and also the preparation of Local Area Plans for such projects. She has been the Chief Executive Authority of AUDA and Municipal Commissioner, Ahmedabad. During her tenure, Ahmedabad was made and executed as a Smart City. Water Management and Security was the focus area. 7.5 lac people were given surface water in one year. 4 STPs were initiated and sewage treatment gap is being completely addressed.

She was working as Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, Gandhinagar since 24/06/2016. After that she had joined Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs as Joint Secretary on 29/07/2019.

Simos Malamis is a graduate of Imperial College, London (MEng), the University of Oxford (MSc) and the National Technical University of Athens (PhD, MSc). He is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens.

Malamis has also been a Marie Curie research fellow at the University of Verona, a visiting lecturer at Brunel University (UK) and the Cyprus University of Technology. His research activities focus on the development and application of novel processes/systems for wastewater purification and reclamation, resource recovery and carbon footprint minimisation.

He has authored 70 publications in international peer-reviewed scientific journals, more than 100 presentations in international conferences, 6 chapters in books, more than 3,000 citations in Google Scholar and one patent.

Malamis is the coordinator of the Horizon2020 project Hydrousa which focuses on decentralised valorisation of non-conventional water resources. He is also the principal investigator in several other Horizon2020 projects (SMART-PLANT, INTCATCH, AccelWater, iWAYS, C-FOOT-CTRL). He is a member of the management committee of the IWA specialist group on small water and wastewater systems.

Martin Wesian is the founder of HELIOZ, a founding board member of the Austrian Social Entrepreneurship Network (SENA) and Member of the Board of the Austrian UN Global Compact.

He is an entrepreneurial, solution-oriented executive who creates value for social investors, with a focus on topics such as sustainable growth, frugal innovation and social entrepreneurship.

Martin has a master’s degree in International Business Engineering from UAS Technikum Vienna and has been involved in various start-ups, established branches in Sweden and Germany and operated a small culture management business for more than 10 years.

Guillermo Zaragoza is a senior researcher at CIEMAT (Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology Research) and is currently head of the Solar Thermal Applications R&D unit of Plataforma Solar de Almería, Spain. His main research is focussed on the application of solar energy to desalination, both for small-scale decentralised applications (in particular working with solar-powered membrane distillation at pilot scale) and the coupling of desalination with concentrated solar power production.

Guillermo has a PhD in physics (University of Granada, 1996) and has held academic positions at the University of Oxford (1997-1998), the Spanish Research Council (1999-2000) and the greenhouse research facility of Cajamar Foundation (2001-2008).

He has a lengthy academic record (> 85 papers, 3 books and 8 book chapters) and extensive experience in international R&D projects (>40), teaches in a Solar Energy master’s course at the University of Almería and in international Solar Desalination courses organised by the European Desalination Society, of which he has been board director.

Guillermo Zaragoza is an ambassador for the Water Europe platform and leader of the Working Group on Renewable Energy Desalination.

Alexander Euler is the Managing Director of Hydraloop Middle East and CEO of Gulf Resources Investments. A driven, visionary senior manager with a multi-cultural profile, he provides 20 years of team leadership experience and entrepreneurship to strategic initiatives.

Alexander has led these companies’ global expansion though the establishment of new business branches in Italy, Spain and Chile, together with emerging entrepreneurial activities in Europe and the United Arab Emirates. He has also guided other large private companies through growth, mergers and reorganisation phases within Europe.

Martin Wesian is the founder of HELIOZ, a founding board member of the Austrian Social Entrepreneurship Network (SENA) and Member of the Board of the Austrian UN Global Compact.

He is an entrepreneurial, solution-oriented executive who creates value for social investors, with a focus on topics such as sustainable growth, frugal innovation and social entrepreneurship.

Martin has a master’s degree in International Business Engineering from UAS Technikum Vienna and has been involved in various start-ups, established branches in Sweden and Germany and operated a small culture management business for more than 10 years.

Simos Malamis is a graduate of Imperial College, London (MEng), the University of Oxford (MSc) and the National Technical University of Athens (PhD, MSc). He is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens.

Malamis has also been a Marie Curie research fellow at the University of Verona, a visiting lecturer at Brunel University (UK) and the Cyprus University of Technology. His research activities focus on the development and application of novel processes/systems for wastewater purification and reclamation, resource recovery and carbon footprint minimisation.

He has authored 70 publications in international peer-reviewed scientific journals, more than 100 presentations in international conferences, 6 chapters in books, more than 3,000 citations in Google Scholar and one patent.

Malamis is the coordinator of the Horizon2020 project Hydrousa which focuses on decentralised valorisation of non-conventional water resources. He is also the principal investigator in several other Horizon2020 projects (SMART-PLANT, INTCATCH, AccelWater, iWAYS, C-FOOT-CTRL). He is a member of the management committee of the IWA specialist group on small water and wastewater systems.

Guillermo Zaragoza is a senior researcher at CIEMAT (Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology Research) and is currently head of the Solar Thermal Applications R&D unit of Plataforma Solar de Almería, Spain. His main research is focussed on the application of solar energy to desalination, both for small-scale decentralised applications (in particular working with solar-powered membrane distillation at pilot scale) and the coupling of desalination with concentrated solar power production.

Guillermo has a PhD in physics (University of Granada, 1996) and has held academic positions at the University of Oxford (1997-1998), the Spanish Research Council (1999-2000) and the greenhouse research facility of Cajamar Foundation (2001-2008).

He has a lengthy academic record (> 85 papers, 3 books and 8 book chapters) and extensive experience in international R&D projects (>40), teaches in a Solar Energy master’s course at the University of Almería and in international Solar Desalination courses organised by the European Desalination Society, of which he has been board director.

Guillermo Zaragoza is an ambassador for the Water Europe platform and leader of the Working Group on Renewable Energy Desalination.

Alexander Euler is the Managing Director of Hydraloop Middle East and CEO of Gulf Resources Investments. A driven, visionary senior manager with a multi-cultural profile, he provides 20 years of team leadership experience and entrepreneurship to strategic initiatives.

Alexander has led these companies’ global expansion though the establishment of new business branches in Italy, Spain and Chile, together with emerging entrepreneurial activities in Europe and the United Arab Emirates. He has also guided other large private companies through growth, mergers and reorganisation phases within Europe.