Speakers

Simon Baptist is the Global Chief Economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit and is currently based in Singapore. Simon’s focus is on the global economy, national and international political developments, and public policy. He engages with business, government and international organizations, helping them to understand the operational and strategic implications of the EIU’s forecasts.

Eng. Tariq Ali Al-Amri brings in more than 26 years of experience spanning over many industries. He started his career as a project engineer working for Petroleum Development of Oman (PDO). In 1996, he joined one of the government’s pension funds as head of investment. Then he moved to Oman LNG as head of strategic finance, where he was responsible for the economics of Qalhat LNG project. In 2004, he joined Omantel as head of finance before he was assigned the role of VP responsible for the commercial, finance, hr, and corporate affairs. He holds an MBA and a BS in electrical engineering, both from the US.

Dr. Veerle Vandeweerd has more than 25 years of experience in developing and implementing global, national and local environmental policies and programs, including 20 years in the United Nations system. Her work spans diverse fields from integrated sustainability assessments, green economic transformations and global environmental norm-setting to financial, regulatory and institutional capacity building in over 160 countries. She currently is leading an entrepreneurial initiative she co-founded that involves new financial mechanisms to redirect major private flows to sustainable investments worldwide. She also is the policy director of the Global Science Technology and Innovation Conference Series (www.gstic.org), geared to support with the best technological innovations, national and international policy development in the field of sustainable development. During her career at the United Nations, Dr. Vandeweerd held various positions, beginning with the UN Environment Programme where she launched and directed the Global Environment Outlook and culminating in the UN Development Program as director of the Environment and Energy Division with an annual turnover of 1 billion dollars and 300 staff members. During these years, Dr. Vandeweerd produced more than 300 publications, chaired over 100 international meetings and contributed to major environmental conferences of the past two decades. She was the Special Advisor to the UN Global Compact, the leadership platform for responsible corporate policies and practices, and currently serves as a board and/or advisory member of several international and national organizations, including CCICED (China). Previous to the UN, she taught at the University of Zambia, conducted research on African Sleeping sickness, and headed the environmental reporting department in the Flemish Government, Belgium. A Belgian national, Dr. Vandeweerd speaks Flemish, English, and French. When not traveling for her work, she lives in New York and Belgium. She received her doctorate in Biochemistry from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and a master in Chemistry from the University of Gent, Belgium.

Antonis Mavropoulos is the founder and CEO of D-Waste and President of International Solid Waste Association. He has been involved in solid waste management projects for 20 years, in 20 countries and he has completed more than 150 projects, most recently working in Lebanon’s waste crisis with the European Union. Antonis is a leading voice on the international stage calling for the closure of the World’s 50 largest dumpsites in the ISWA #closingdumpsites campaign and broader perspectives and responses to the so-called China Green Wall on plastics for recycling. His recent research work deals with globalization, mega-cities, mobile apps and the challenge of Internet of Things. He is a fanatic futurist, with a keen eye on digitization and disruption technologies: his latest ISWA publication looks at How the Fourth Industrial Revolution Shapes the Waste Sector. He has invented the Waste Atlas, (www.atlas.d-waste.com) a global interactive waste management map that is developed in cooperation with GIZ SWEEPNET, ISWA, WTERT, SWAPI and Leeds University. He has also designed several mobile apps for recycling and waste management purposes. Antonis Mavropoulos is a sought-after international speaker, and has published and participated in the writing of several books and scientific publications, while his articles have been translated in Portuguese, Rumanian, Hindu and Spanish.

Dr. Mario Malinconico is a Research Director at the IPCB-CNR and Head of the Laboratory of Synthesis and Chemical Modification of polymers. He is also the Head of the Technical-Scientific Committee of Assobioplastiche, President of ATIA-ISWA, Italian Branch of the International Solid Waste Association. He is a Coordinator of various European projects on issues related to environment, agriculture, recycling and sustainable development. His research is devoted to the synthesis of new polymers, the chemical modification of natural and synthetic polymers, the recycling of plastics, the development of biodegradable and compostable plastics for packaging and agriculture.

Marco is managing Altereko sas consulting company on recycling and sustainable waste management, senior Expert at CIC - Italian Composting and Biogas Association and Chair of the ISWA Working Group on Biological Treatment of Waste. He has 20 years of experience in planning MSW management, designing collection schemes by minimizing residual waste, assessing recycling facilities (focus on composting), planning communication and participation initiatives, chairing multi-linguistic, multi-tasking working groups or projects.

Dirk is Managing Director of VITO, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research, the largest research institute in Belgium in the field of sustainability and cleantech. He is author and co-author of more than 30 scientific papers published in national and international journals. Prior to joining VITO he worked as an assistant professor at the university of Ghent in the field of hydraulics research and at Baxter, a large US pharmaceutical company in the field of aerial and satellite remote sensing. Dirk is president of the board of directors of LIBOVITO (a 100 % daughter company in China, Beijing), of VITO Middle East (Qatar) and VITO Arabia (Dubai), member of the board of directors of VITO Asia (Hong Kong), also member of the board of Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, president of the Audit Committee and the Board of Programme Evaluation of the University of Antwerp, member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and Arts, and Honorary professor Engineering at KU Leuven.

Dr Jane Gilbert is a chartered environmentalist and waste management professional and has been involved in the organics recycling sector for over twenty years. She is the former chief executive of the UK Composting Association, co-founder of the European Compost Network and vice chair of the International Solid Waste Association’s Biological Treatment Working Group. Jane originally trained as a microbiologist (BSc Hons), has a doctorate (PhD) in biochemistry and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). She trades as Carbon Clarity, providing consultancy, training and writing services. Jane has authored a number of technical composting books and has presented at conferences in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. She runs Carbon Clarity Press, specializing in publishing resources to support sustainable living.

Luis Neves is CEO of the Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) since 2017. Prior to that, from 2008-2017, Luis held the position of GeSI Chairman. Under Luis' leadership, GeSI has become a globally recognized “thought industry leader” organization in the field of ICT- sustainability with a strong focus on the enabling role and positive contribution of digital technologies to climate protection. Prior to GeSI, Luis worked at Deutsche Telekom for over 15 years holding positions such as Head of Sustainable Development and Environment, VP of Corporate Responsibility and Chief Sustainability and Climate Protection Officer. Luis has also held positions and played relevant roles at European and international levels in organizations, such as the UN Global Compact Lead Group, Econsense -the German Sustainability Association, World Resources Forum Association and UNFCCC Momentum for Change Initiative.

Dr. Heide Hackmann is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Science Council (ISC). She was the Executive Director of the two organizations that merged, in July 2018, to form the ISC: the International Council for Science, from 2015 to July 2018, and of the International Social Science Council for eight years before that. Heide holds a M.Phil in contemporary social theory from the University of Cambridge, UK, and a PhD in science and technology studies from the University of Twente in the Netherlands

Dr. Alcorta was formerly Director of the Industrial Policy, Statistics and Strategic Research Branch at UNIDO in Vienna, and one of the lead authors of the background papers prepared for the SDGs 8 and 9. He was a member of the Global Agenda Council for the Future of Manufacturing at the World Economic Forum (WEF) and an economist for Latin America at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Midland Bank (part of the HSBC group) in London.

He lead major strategic researchers and consultancy services during the last 10 years, along with co-investigator in other international and regional projects, with a total value of 3 million USD from both national and international funding agencies.

Nikolaus Knebel is an architect and Professor at the German University of Technology (GUtech) in Oman. He studied in Berlin, Singapore and the Netherlands and worked for Rem Koolhaas and Toyo Ito. He started to work as an independent architect in project partnerships on works in Germany, Ethiopia and Oman that received numerous national and international awards and were published and exhibited widely. He is the leader of the GUtech EcoHaus project, a pioneering zero-energy building in Oman that relates to the local climate, minimizes heat gains, optimizes cooling systems, circulates materials and multiplies its findings throughout the region.

CEO of D Nigeria Limited/ ISWA Member Of The Working Group On Recycling And Waste Minimisation

Mr. Nazar has initiated several networks to build up the region’s techno-preneurship and innovation culture. Previously, he worked as Senior Economist in the Sustainable Development Division of UN ESCWA (Lebanon). Mr. Hassan has a number of published papers and reports in the areas of sustainable development, science policy development, and strategic energy management, together with a number of patents in renewable energy.

Mr. Sanz has been a member of the IDA Board of Directors since 2009. In previous terms he served as 2nd Vice President and served on several committees including the Technical Programs as Co-Chair. He has been session co-chair in four IDA World Congresses and was a member of the Technical Committee of the 2013 IDA World Congress in Tianjin, China. He promoted the organization of the first IDA conference in Algeria in 2010; was chairman the first IDA conference in Morocco, held in Casablanca in 2012; and was co-chairman of the first IDA conference in Latin America, held in Rio de Janeiro in March 2015. In the last two World Water Forums, he has participated or co-organized the Desalination and Reuse sessions in Desalination representing IDA. To summarize, Mr. Sanz has participated as contributor, organizer, speaker or chairman in over 25 events organized or supported by IDA in the last years. He has published over 50 papers on desalination and water treatment.

Ms. Montillot is a French-Austrian national with a PhD and Master’s Degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Reading, UK, and a Degree in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. She joined WIPO’s Technology and Innovation Support Division, Innovation and Knowledge Infrastructure Department, in 2016 to support the development of innovation support services and tools for Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs), coordinating in particular a project on the identification and use of patent information and inventions in the public domain. Her activities include conducting workshops for TISCs on patent information, scientific and technical literature search tools and databases, to promote the effective use of this information to support local innovation.

Dr. Kishan Khoday is with the United Nations Development Programme where he serves as UNDP Regional Team Leader for Climate Change, DRR, Energy and the Environment in the Middle East and North Africa. He has been with the UN for 20 years with assignments in China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and has led the development and management of over $1 billion of UN initiatives to combat climate change, conserve biodiversity, and advance water and energy security. Kishan holds a Juris Doctor degree in international environmental law, and MSc and BSc degrees in natural resource governance and environmental science. He is a thought leader on the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement on Climate Change, with over thirty publications on various aspects of the transition to sustainability.

Ger Bergkamp is the Manager Business Development – Climate Investor Two at Climate Fund Managers with a primary role in the investment portfolio origination and development. Ger has worked successfully on project and program development in the water and environment sectors throughout his career. As President and CEO of ARCOWA, he advises on sustainable development and water infrastructure and innovation, including water-energy-recycling transitions. Previously, he was Executive Director of the International Water Association, Director General of the World Water Council and Head of the Water Program at IUCN – The International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Dr. Jauad is head of Research at the Middle East Desalination Research Center (MEDRC) based in Oman, in charge of its research programs dealing with sustainable desalination technologies, water-energy-food nexus and other water-related topics. He has more than 20 years of international experience (Spain, France, Oman, Euro-Mediterranean region) in water management issues, remote sensing applied to the environment, drought monitoring, desalination technologies, water-energy-food nexus, etc. He has been chair of evaluation of water projects for the Euro-Mediterranean program PRIMA, apart from chairing the evaluation of Jordanian-Palestinian MEDRC scholarships and the Palestinian-Dutch Academic Cooperation Program on Water (PADUCO), among other programs. He has been projects & information manager at the Euro-Mediterranean Water Information System (EMWIS) in France before joining MEDRC for the 11 years and a half. He has published and contributed to hundreds of conferences in more than 55 countries, journals, and reports in the fields of water management, desalination, agriculture, water information systems, remote sensing applications, and scientific research.

Leon Grobbelaar has extensive experience in soil conservation and waste management in both general and hazardous waste, including business development, project management, transport logistics and integrated waste management planning. Project experience includes: soil conservation projects; farm layout and planning; design & installation of irrigation systems; Permitting of landfill disposal sites; contaminated industrial site clean-ups; Waste management contracting including collection, transport and disposal of general and hazardous waste including health care risk wastes. Participated in various projects for extraction, collection and management of landfill gas from landfill sites. Managed liquid and Refuse derived fuel plants for the replacement of fossil fuels in the cement industry and project managed the first PPP for the development and construction of a regional landfill facility to be constructed in 2020. Licensed the first waste to energy facility for a Municipality in the Western Cape, South Africa.