Meet the Team

O2 Environmental Team

Paul O’Callaghan M.Sc.

Paul O’Callaghan is the founding CEO of O₂ Environmental, the leading Clean Tech consultancy providing Water Technology Market Expertise to support the commercialization of innovative water technologies.

Paul is also CEO of BlueTech Research, a subsidiary company of O2 Environmental. The BlueTech Research Advisory Service provides clients with expert insight and analysis on industry drivers and trends, helping them to effectively navigate their way through a changing and evolving water technology market and make informed decisions. One element of BlueTech Research is the Company Tracker: an extensive database of emerging innovative water technologies. The BlueTech Webinar series spotlights exciting areas of innovation in the water industry.

Paul holds a Masters Degree in Water Resource Management and has 16 years experience in the water industry.  He is the author of numerous papers on water and wastewater treatment, has lectured at Kwantlen University College and has been an invited lecturer at Harvard Business School. Paul has been chair of a technical committee on decentralized wastewater management in British Columbia, has been a Director with Ionic Water Technologies and is an industry expert reviewer for Sustainable Development Technology Canada.

As co-author of “Water Technology Markets – key opportunities and emerging trends’, published in July 2009, Paul provided cutting edge analysis of BlueTech growth and investment opportunities in the water sector.

Paul is an active member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the International Water Association (IWA). He has been invited to speak on emerging technology opportunities in the water sector at conferences such as Blue, Green & Gold in Zurich, the Saudi Water & Power Forum in Jeddah, AlwaysOn Going Green, Water Innovations Alliance, European Energy Fair and the World Water Investment Summit.  Download Paul O Callaghan’s Detailed Resume.

Tyler Algeo B.A.Sc.

Tyler Algeo is Research Analyst with O₂ Environmental, a consultancy which provides water technology market expertise to start-up firms, the investment community and larger water corporations to provide strategic advice on technology development and commercialization. Tyler was a research analyst on a recent US Biosolids Gasification Market Analysis and an analysis Canadian and US wastewater treatment markets.  He has been involved in several technology commercialization assessments for emerging water technologies. Tyler also is involved in the development of the BlueTech Tracker database, and regularly contributes his insight to the intelligence service. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Civil Environmental Engineering from the University of British Columbia, Canada.  Tyler Algeo’s detailed resume.

Dr. Eimear Ruane

Eimear Ruane is a Research Analyst with the clean-tech consultancy, O₂ Environmental. Eimear has worked in a number of Consulting Engineering firms in Ireland and gained valuable insight into the areas of Water and Wastewater Treatment during this time.

Eimear holds a PhD in the area of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering. The title of her PhD was ‘Treatment of dairy soiled water using an aerobic woodchip filter and a sand filter’. Her PhD was a collaboration between the National University of Ireland, Galway and the Agricultural Research body Teagasc. Eimear also completed a Campus Commercialisation Course further to her postgraduate studies. This course was run by the Technology Transfer Office at the National University of Ireland, Galway.  Dr. Eimear Ruane detailed resume.

Conor Dennehy M.Sc.

Conor is a research analyst at O₂ Environmental, and is responsible for providing water technology market intelligence to support the commercialization of innovative water technologies.

Conor holds an MSc in Environmental Diagnostics and Management from Cranfield University. His MSc thesis, in partnership with a leading UK Water Utility company, entailed an assessment of the viability of drinking water sludge as a commercial soil amendment. During his undergraduate studies he specialized in environmental chemistry, working with the Environmental Research Institute in Cork in developing a chamber for the study of tropospheric ozone.

Conor has previously worked with the Irish Environmental Protection Agency, performing environmental audits on municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants. Download Conor Dennehy Resume.

O2 Environmental Technology Assessment Group

The O2 Environmental Technology Assessment Group (TAG) is an unrivalled resource for the assessment of water technologies.The TAG comprises leading international experts specializing in the technical and market analysis of emerging water & environmental technologies.

The group has been involved with over two thirds of recent Venture Capital investments in the water technology sector.

The group consists of Paul O’Callaghan, Dr. Andreas Kolch, Bill De Waal, Dr. Tim Evans, Dr. Hans Gethke and John Veil. In addition to the collective experience of the group, the combined network of contacts in industry, academia and government bodies provides access to input and feedback from stakeholders in the water industry worldwide.  The extensive intelligence of this TAG resource is captured in the BlueTech Research Intelligence Service, which continuously tracks and analyses innovative water technology companies and provides insight on market trends in the industry.

Bill DeWaal Ph.D.

Bill joined Trojan Technologies in 1996 (www.trojanuv.com) in a market development position for an advanced oxidation technology. This resulted in the establishment of a major business unit for Trojan. Much of his activities have been focused on finding new applications for UV technologies and investigating innovative water and wastewater treatment technologies that are not based on UV. He has investigated many start-up companies and has worked to develop relationships with them which could potentially lead to a business venture.

Bill received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of British Columbia and has maintained an interest in technical development throughout his career.

Bill spent the early part of his career in the chemical industry where he was involved in research, technical service, market development and business management. His experience includes working for a start-up company and for multinational companies (Exxon & Bayer). At these firms he was involved in the specialty chemical, lubricant and polymer industries. He has worked in Canada, USA and Switzerland.

His entry into the environmental industry has resulted in a broadening his technical background and has added exposure to the municipal drinking & wastewater treatment market as well as various industrial markets. Click to download Bill de Waal’s detailed resume.

Andreas Kolch Ph.D.

Dr. Andreas Kolch served as Chief Technology Offices with Wedeco (Wedeco GmbH, Wedeco AG, ITT -Wedeco), a global provider of UV and Ozone water treatments systems. Andreas was involved with the development and commercialization of a wide range of different water treatment technologies within Wedeco, acted as representative for the company with the investment community in relation to all technical aspects and questions and supported the acquisition process for acquiring and /or selling water technologies.

Andreas provides support for in-house research and development activities, technical due diligence studies for venture capital investment and merger and acquisition projects, strategy and portfolio advice for large companies, process implementation and market analysis studies.

Andreas holds a Ph.D in Microbiology from the Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, University of Bonn, Germany.

In addition to his technical and scientific qualification he is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt (University of Michigan) and employs a wide variety of management processes and tools, e.g. Stage Gate, Voice of the Customer, Financial Planning and Balanced Score Cards (Cooper, NIMBA, Boston Consulting, Ashridge College).

Andreas was the President of the International Ultraviolet Association from 2005-2007 and was a member of various international working groups establishing standards for UV water treatment technologies (DVGW, OENORM, UVDGM, NWRF). Click to download Andreas Kolch’s detailed resume.

Dr. Tim Evans

Tim is an international expert in the field of biosolids and organic waste management. He has over 25 years experience of design, benchmarking and strategic assessment of emerging technologies. He has recently worked for the European Commission on developing regulations regarding the treatment and re-use of organic residuals and is regularly invited to present at international conferences on residuals management.

Tim provides advice to technology providers on opportunities for new biosolids technologies, brand creation and management. He carries out studies to benchmark new biosolids technologies against their potential competitors and to analyse the likely impact of emerging legislation.

Part of Tim’s seminal experience is that of twice creating and operating (from the ground up) large biosolids recycling operations serving up to 7 million people. He was completed projects in Brazil, Cyprus, Egypt, England, Ireland, Nigeria, Slovakia, Scotland and USA. Click to download Dr. Tim Evans’ detailed resume.

Dr. Graeme K. Pearce

Dr Graeme K Pearce, is a membrane technology specialist with 30 years experience in the membrane industry

A graduate of Oxford University with a chemistry first degree and a chemical engineering doctorate, Graeme’s introduction to membrane technology started in BP Chemicals R&D in 1980. In 1991, Graeme was Technical Director of the core team to start up Kalsep, a Separations company formed by a management buy-out from BP. Kalsep specialized in membrane and filtration systems for water, wastewater, and process applications, and achieved a $7.5 million dollar turnover within 6 years.

Graeme joined Hydranautics in 2000, where he was responsible for the development and marketing of the ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) technology.

In 2005, Graeme left Hydranautics to form an independent consultancy, Membrane Consultancy Associates (MCA). A deep understanding of both technology and markets enables Graeme to provide a comprehensive service in the field of membrane technology in liquid treatment. Assignments have included advice on technology development and improvement, competitive positioning, market strategy, and growth opportunities. Graeme has also acted as an advisor in mergers and acquisitions. Click to download Dr. Graeme Pearce’s detailed resume.

John Veil

John Veil founded Veil Environmental, LLC, a consulting practice specializing in water issues affecting the energy industries, upon his retirement from Argonne National Laboratory in January 2011.  Mr. Veil spent more than 20 years as the manager of the Water Policy Program for Argonne National Laboratory in Washington, DC, where he was a senior scientist.  He analyzed a variety of energy industry water and waste issues for the Department of Energy.

Mr. Veil has a B.A. in Earth and Planetary Science from Johns Hopkins University, and two M.S. degrees — in Zoology and Civil Engineering — from the University of Maryland.

Before joining Argonne, Mr. Veil managed Maryland’s programs for industrial water pollution control permitting through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and Underground Injection Control (UIC).  Mr. Veil also served as a faculty member of the University of Maryland, Department of Zoology for several years.

Mr. Veil has been recognized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers as a Distinguished Lecturer in 2008-2009, and as the recipient of the 2009 international award for Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Social Responsibility.  Mr. Veil has published many articles and reports and is frequently invited to make presentations on environmental and energy issues. Click here to download John Veil’s detailed Resume

Mike Hughes

Mike is a qualified mechanical engineer and has held senior positions within the membrane, filtration, water and wastewater industry for over 20 years.
Initially a development engineer for Miller Water and then Thames Water, Mike held positions of Sales, Commercial and Managing Director for PCI Membranes, a specialist membrane manufacturer and system supplier owned by Thames.
Following acquisition by ITT Corporation, Mike held the role of Executive Director, ITT Aquious with responsibilities for desalination, water and wastewater membrane systems, aeration and disinfection businesses.
With ITT, Mike has also held positions of Executive Director for ITT Water and Wastewater and Business Development Director for international developing markets, driving international sales and developing international offices and representation.  Mike has secured many major contracts and managed significant projects including portfolio rationalisation, acquisition, disposal and international relocation.
As a consultant since 2008, Mike has supported a cross-section of businesses from small start-ups to large multinationals, supplying business, market and filtration specialist advice on technologies and markets.  Mike also supports a small number of specialist consultancies.
Mike is a director of three companies, holding retained positions in each.

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