Dr Raul Cano has 15 years experience in the water and environmental sectors. After getting his PhD in University, Raul jumped to Aqualia Innovation & Technology Department, where he has applied research to the full-scale water sector as researcher and project manager for 8 years. More recently Raul has moved to the industrial water sector where he has been working the last 3 years managing different projects.
Enrique Cifrés is Vice-President of ICOLD. He is a doctor civil engineer with 40 yers of experience mainly in water national agencies including the greatest desalination program in Spain. Beside begin Vice-President of ICOLD, he works in many countries as advisor in Water Resource Management and Dam Engineering and risk analysis.
Piers Clark is Chairman of the Isle Group Ltd. Isle is a technical, specialist, water consultancy, employing over 110 people and works with over 350 utilities around the world helping them identify and adopt new technology. Piers was previously the Managing Director for the $1bn private equity fund Global Water Development Partners (GWDP), a Blackstone portfolio company.
With a foundation in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from Instituto de Empresa (Madrid), Elías Colom serves as a Corporation Director at Global Omnium, providing water utility services in Valencia. Their career spans managing European Multinational Companies across various sectors, specializing in the professionalization of multidisciplinary teams. His expertise encompasses strategic management, communication, marketing, sales organization, and key account negotiation, demonstrating a comprehensive skill set in both technical and leadership capacities.
Juliette Douglas of Water Alliance, offers an essential eye for innovation to the judging panel, with a unique understanding of the importance of innovative business alliances across European water sectors. After being responsible for marketing and communications for 9 years at Water Alliance, she became part of the International Business Development team, based in Portugal.
Beverley Ferrara has 25 years of experience advising on international business development and marketing for organisations across public and private sectors. She is the European Representative for Trade & Investment and Stakeholder Engagement for The Water Council, a US non-profit organisation advancing technological innovation in the water sector.
Oliver Grievson has led an incredibly varied career in the international water industry. He is a specialist in ICA and the Smart Water Industry, and also fulfils the roles of chairman of the Sensors for Water Interest Group (SWIG), Assessor & Reviewer Trainer for CIWEM, and Technical Lead for the Water Industry at Z-Tech Systems. His expertise in the water industry processes, upon which his periodical WIPAC Monthly focuses, makes him a great asset to the judging panel.
Esther González is the CEO of Aqua Positive, a firm dedicated to water sustainability. She leads efforts to connect businesses with water-related benefits through science-driven, nature-positive solutions, helping organizations and communities achieve “Water Positive” status for a more sustainable and water-resilient future.
Gerben Hardeman is Exhibition Director of Aquatech Amsterdam, the world’s leading water technology platform. With decades of experience connecting stakeholders across sustainability and innovation, he drives global collaboration through Aquatech’s events and digital network, fostering solutions for water challenges worldwide.
Jorge Helmbrecht has a degree in Civil Engineering and a Diploma of Advanced Studies in Hydraulic Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. He also holds a Master’s degree in Water Resources from the National University of Cordoba. His professional career spans over nearly three decades in the areas of water resources, water engineering and international consultancy, and he has extensive experience in digital business development in the water sector.
Some of his previous positions include Head of Surface Hydrology at the Catalan Water Agency, co-founder and Product Manager at the consultancy firm Water Idea, S.A., and Director of the Smart Water software company WatEner (Inclam Group). Currently, Jorge is Business Development Director at Idrica, a leading company specializing in water cycle management which unlocks the value of water technology to accelerate digital transformation in utilities. In partnership with Xylem, Idrica leads the development of Xylem Vue, one of the most comprehensive digital portfolios on the market.
Walid Khoury recently launched the innovative Desalytics, a social impact company tackling challenges to the water sector in Africa. He has experience leading commercial organisations and water divisions, and now also hosts video discussions with global leaders, showcasing the latest technology and crucially sharing insights into the water industry.
Since 2010 Ulf Leonhard has been matching water tech innovator with investors and clients. 32 forums in USA and all over Europe with 6,500 attendees.
Juan Manuel Revuelta, the CEO of Finnova, brings a rich educational background with a Law degree from the University of Valencia, an Executive Master in Tourism Management from IE Business School, and a diploma from the IESE-Navarre Public Management Leadership program. With thirty years of professional experience, his expertise in European affairs is extensive, marking him as a seasoned leader in his field.
Fredrick Royan is one of the leading thought leaders in the sustainability field with more than two decades of experience focused on water and resource management – is able to bring together a system thinking and data driven approach to tackling some of the complex sustainability challenges.
Ramon Rubio de Castro is Global water advisor and Founder of The Water MBA, a digital water business school that educates and connects professionals worldwide. He creates and curates industry insights, hosts expert discussions, supports water strategy and innovation, and helps shape sustainable solutions across the international water sector.
Miguel Angel Sanz is Director of Strategic Development in Suez International based in France, Miguel-Angel has gained experience in a wide range of roles in the Degrémont group since 1983, with particular expertise in desalination, having worked for 8 years in the board of directors of European Desalination Society.
Alejandro Sturniolo is Vice-President of Marketing and Sustainability at the H20 Innovation. As a judge for the Wex Global Awards, he brings over 25 years of expertise in water purification and sustainability. Transitioning from chemical engineering to marketing, he values the intersection of technology, culture, and communication. Committed to innovative solutions in water management, his guiding principle is “Throwing facts is easy, connecting dots is hard,” focusing on practical applications for water circularity, decarbonisation, building healthy watersheds, and digitalisation.
Laura Tegethoff is experienced in the training of wastewater and water treatment personnel. She has spent the majority of her career working with Municipalities to deliver appropriate and meaningful training to assist the operation and maintenance of equipment in the field.
She started 360water in 1999 and has grown the company to provide hundreds of thousands of hours of online courses.
Ryan Welsh is Chief Engineer at City of Cincinnati, Metropolitan Sewer District in the USA – at WEX 2022 he is joint chair of the critical session, Decarbonising Wastewater Treatment. This session explores the quest for net zero wastewater treatment, which creates an ever-increasing burden on both utilities and industrial users striving to cut the emissions of greenhouse gases from their operations. Ryan comes to WEX ‘“To get new ideas for how to deal with situations by learning from people in other parts of the world.
Link to: Awards Winners 2026
WEX Global 2026 Awards
The Winners & Shortlist »