DR. RAFAEL D. SIMON

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Dr. Rafael Simon is a Founding Partner at Thales Water Advisors. He has co-founded several cleantech and biotech companies and consulted to some of the largest private equity, venture capital, and family office cleantech investors as well as dozens of Fortune 100 industrial companies, large water companies, and water start-ups. Previously, he was a partner at VantagePoint Capital Partners, a leading silicon valley cleantech VC firm where he led the water and agtech investment practice.

 

Rafael also served as a senior manager at ZENON Environmental from 1998 until its acquisition by GE in 2006 including five years as Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, ZENON led the industry in organic growth and its $760 million exit is still one of the most successful ever for a water technology company.

 

Prior to joining ZENON, he worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. where he specialized in corporate growth strategies and co-founded the Firm's environmental practice. Over the past decade, he has served on over a dozen boards including as chairman of Alpha Membrane Technologies Ltd., the world’s largest supplier of membrane manufacturing technology and as a director of Ovivo, a top 10 North American water treatment equipment company. Dr. Simon received a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Mineral Engineering from UC Berkeley in 1996. In 2004, he was selected as Canada’s top COO by Canadian Business Magazine.