Beau Schilz leads the Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Water Team for the Americas. His team is responsible for delivering water resources to meet domestic and operational cooling needs for AWS data centers in the Americas, and for meeting AWS’s global commitment to be water positive by 2030. The AWS Water Team has delivered recycled water to 20 data centers around the globe and demonstrates leadership in water efficiency among cloud providers. Beau has a B.S. in Economics from Santa Clara University, and a M.A. in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University.

Amanda Gwyther is VP, Strategy and Business Development at Xylem, where she leads the transformation and growth of the company’s $1B global services business. With over two decades of experience at Xylem and ITT, she has held senior leadership roles across product management, R&D, treatment, and commercial strategy. Amanda has driven global business transformation, digital innovation, and lifecycle solutions for water infrastructure. She began her career in engineering and operational roles and brings deep expertise in scaling technology-driven water solutions worldwide.

Newsha Ajami, Ph.D., is a hydrologist and water policy expert and Founding Director of the Program on Risk, Resilience, and Recovery at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability. Trained as a civil and environmental engineer, her work bridges science, policy, finance, and governance to advance resilient water systems. She previously served at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and co-led the Aspen Institute’s National Water Strategy. Ajami has held public service roles with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Regional Water Quality Control Board, and is an AGU Fellow and Ambassador Award recipient.

Jim Ethington is the CEO at Arable, the leading company at the intersection of water, agriculture, and sustainability. Prior to Arable, Jim led Product at The Climate Corporation, where he helped create one of most widely used digital products in agriculture, Climate FieldView. Jim grew up in Illinois, graduate Duke University with degrees in computer science and economics, and is based in San Francisco.

Jennifer Sara is the former Global Director for the World Bank Group’s Climate Change Global Practice, where she oversaw the implementation of the Climate Change Action Plan. Prior to that, she directed the Water Global Practice for eight years, managing a $30B portfolio. With over 30 years at the World Bank, she held senior roles across Vietnam, Brazil, Latin America, and West Africa, focusing on infrastructure and sustainable development. She holds an MSc in Environmental Management from the University of London and a BSc in Environmental Engineering from Brown University.

Ida Hempel is VP and Head of Market Development at Galvanize Climate Solutions and specializes in climate solution investments. Her experience includes Generation (founding Just Climate), Emerson Collective’s venture investing, and Tesla’s product development. She contributed to the Climate-Related Financial Disclosures Taskforce and COP26 Private Finance Hub. Currently on the US Earth Sciences Organization board, Ida hosts the “Solving Climate, Naturally” podcast. She holds an MBA/MS from Stanford and a BA from Harvard.

Tom Ferguson is the Managing Partner Burnt Island Ventures, an early stage venture fund focused exclusively on the water sector. They manage $80m across three funds and have invested in 28 companies, supporting founders building solutions across the water value chain. Tom holds an MA (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Joshua Cantone is currently the CEO of SUEZ Tech Solutions. Born in Adelaide, Australia, Joshua holds a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Adelaide, Masters and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an Executive MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Dr Cantone has over 20 years of experience in the Water Industry in developing and industrializing water technology.

Peter is Founder and Managing Partner of Echo River Capital PBC, an impact investment firm backing water and wastewater technologies that advance sustainability, resilience, and human health. Echo River invests in pre-seed and seed companies that digitize, decarbonize, and decentralize the water cycle. Echo River Fund I has backed 28 companies globally; Fund II is in formation. Peter co-founded WaterSmart Software, scaling it to 200+ utilities before its 2020 acquisition. He authored the CREO Syndicate’s landmark report on water impact investing and worked at GE Capital, Environmental Defense Fund, and The Nature Conservancy.

Tamin Pechet is Chairman of Imagine H2O. He is also CEO of Upwell, a holding company for purpose-driven businesses, including one of the largest finance companies in the water industry. Tamin is the founder of Banyan Water, a leading software and analytics company that optimizes water systems nationally, and he serves on boards of four software and data businesses. Previously, Tamin was a venture capitalist at Catamount Ventures and an investor at Goldman Sachs’ Special Situations Group, where he co-founded Goldman Sachs E&P Capital and helped launch Goldman’s Specialty Lending Group. Tamin holds an AB with honors from Harvard University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was featured in two recent case studies.