Team
Team
Hoshang brings nearly three decades of industrial experience including over twenty years in the global water technology sector. Prior to accepting the role of CEO, Aquafortus, Hoshang was Chief Business Officer at Moleaer, a pioneering nanobubble technology company. There, he played a key role in driving commercial growth, securing major strategic partnerships, and supporting the company through its Series C financing.
He joined GE Water & Process Technologies in 2004 as an application development engineer and progressed through roles of increasing responsibility with GE and successor organizations including Suez Water Technologies and Solutions and Veolia Water Technologies and Solutions. He was the Regional Executive for the S. Asia from 2011 through 2015, Senior Vice President for the Asia Pacific business from 2015 through 2018, and Executive Vice President – Chemical Monitoring Solutions, where he provided product and P&L leadership for the global and North American business. Prior to joining GE, Hoshang worked with Air Products for seven years from 1997 to 2004. Hoshang earned three degrees in Chemical Engineering including a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Dave Allworth is the Chief Financial Officer for Aquafortus Technologies. He has over 20 years of CFO experience driving profitable growth and successful exits across PE-backed, public, and founder-led companies in environmental services, clean technology, and industrial sectors. At Aquafortus, Dave leads all finance functions including corporate finance, project finance, capital raising, financial planning and analysis, and investor relations as the company prepares for its Series B fundraising round.
Throughout his career, Dave has raised over $100 million in capital through equity, debt, and strategic partnerships, successfully scaled businesses from $8 million to $70 million in revenue, and implemented robust financial infrastructure to support project-based business models. His expertise spans complex project management & accounting, percentage-of-completion revenue recognition, ERP systems implementation, and multi-location operations.
Prior to joining Aquafortus, Dave served as CFO at Heartland Water Technology, where he led the finance transformation supporting the company’s pivot from product sales to recurring services. His earlier experience includes CFO roles at TerraTherm/Cascade Technical Services and InEnTec, and financial leadership positions in semiconductor and software companies.
Dave began his career as a CPA with KPMG and earned his BS in Business Administration from Oregon State University.
Iris Jancik is a results-driven executive with a strong engineering background and extensive global experience in infrastructure, water resources, and lithium extraction industries. She recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of International Battery Metals (IBAT), an advanced technology company focused on developing environmentally responsible methods for lithium extraction. Under her leadership, IBAT is pioneering the deployment of modular direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, enabling resource holders to extract lithium from oilfield brines, aquifers, and industrial by-products with increased efficiency and sustainability.
Prior to her role at IBAT, Jancik was CEO of IDE Americas, a subsidiary of IDE Technologies, where she spearheaded major desalination and water treatment projects, including the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, one of the largest in the U.S. With more than 20 years of international experience, she has held key leadership positions at Plasson USA, TAHAL Group, Hutchison Water, and Shapir Civil and Marine Engineering, focusing on business development, project execution, infrastructure planning, and strategic sales. Her expertise spans across executive strategy, contract negotiation, business development, and engineering management.
Jancik holds an MBA in International Business from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. She is fluent in English and Hebrew and is recognized for her ability to drive growth, lead high-performing teams, and navigate complex, large-scale projects.
Richard brings 15 years of experience in industrial and academic chemistry research to Aquafortus, including a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of Alberta, Canada.
Richard has been working at the interface of chemistry and engineering at Aquafortus since 2021, taking over leadership of the process chemistry team in 2023 until his appointment as CTO in 2024.
During his time at Aquafortus, he has been instrumental in testing and validating a wide range of technologies that have served to reduce capital and operational costs of the process.
Oversees the optimization and implementation of the current ABX process as well as the development of new Aquafortus technology and applications.
Professional Engineer (Texas) with over 35 years of experience in multiple facets of the oil & gas service industry including water management, well operations and interventions, and regulatory compliance.
Initial experience focused in Permian Basin, with last fifteen years in multiple basins across the U.S. including the DJ, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Marcellus, and San Joaquin, as well as the San Joaquin Valley of California, as well as the Middle East.
Active in Society of Petroleum Engineers, Permian & Fort Worth Chapters, and most recently served on SPE U.S. Advisory Council.
Texas Tech Petroleum Industry Advisory Board, Academy of Petroleum Engineering, Southwestern Petroleum Short Course Board. Permian Basin Petroleum Association board member. Served on Colorado Oil & Gas Association board. BSc in Petroleum Engineering, Colorado School of Mines.
Currently serving as Chief Executive Officer of Aquafortus, Inc. the parent company of Aquafortus Technologies, Ltd.
Experienced, technical leader with 15+ year experience in various technical and commercial roles in water and oil & gas service industry.
Matt began his career as a product engineer with GE, specializing in design and support of GE’s HPump System, taking on numerous management, commercial, and technical roles over his eight years with GE. He joined NGL Energy Partners as VP Engineering in 2019 establishing engineering, data management and support in water infrastrucure. He joined Basic Energy Services in 2020, leading Water Logistics and soon thereafter managing Basic’s wholly owned subsidiary Agua Libre Midstream. Upon transitioning that business to Select Water Solutions in 2021, Matt grew Select’s water infrastructure across numerous states, exiting as Business Unit President in March 2024, and joining Aquafortus Inc. as Chief Operating Officer.
Matt is an active volunteer in FFA, mentor, and father of three, and holds a BSc in BioMechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University.
Chris Stabler brings more than 15 years of engineering and operational leadership across the oil and gas sector, with deep expertise in production, completions, and surface-facility design. He began his career at ExxonMobil as a subsurface engineer in Texas before moving to GeoSouthern Energy, where he supported development of the Eagle Ford and later the Haynesville shale. His roles progressed from Production Engineer to Production Manager, ultimately overseeing both the Haynesville and Austin Chalk assets.
Following GeoSouthern’s 2022 divestiture to Southwestern Energy, Chris served as Vice President of Operations for a privately held oilfield services company and later joined Civitas Resources as a Production Advisor for the Delaware Basin.
At Aquafortus, Chris leads engineering, procurement, and construction for our Mobile Demonstration Units and plays a key role in scaling and commercializing our ABX non-thermal desalination technology across the United States and New Zealand. His technical leadership strengthens our expanding presence in Houston and supports our mission to deliver unconventional water solutions at global scale.
Chris holds a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University. He is active in his church community and is a husband and father of three boys.
Earl Jones is a recognized leader in water and environmental services with deep expertise in growing technology-driven organizations. As Chairman of Aquafortus, he provides strategic guidance, commercial insight, and governance oversight to advance the company’s mission of delivering sustainable water recovery solutions.
Earl is a Partner at DCVC, where he invests in transformative technologies addressing global water challenges. He previously served as CEO of Heartland Water Technology, Global Commercial Leader at GE Water, and Partner at Liberation Capital, focusing on project finance for water, renewable energy, and resource recovery. He co-founded and serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Northeast Water Innovation Network (NEWIN) and is a former officer in the U.S. Navy Submarine Force. Earl holds degrees from the U.S. Naval Academy, MIT, and the University of Maryland.
Steve Kloos brings deep expertise in water-technology, energy, and climate to Aquafortus. As a Partner at Burnt Island Ventures (BIV), he supports innovation in water and sustainable infrastructure, having previously served as Membrane Technology Leader and Advanced Technology Leader at GE Water, and as a member of GE’s venture capital team. He went on to lead investment sourcing at True North Venture Partners and to chair the board of water-innovation company Current Water.
On the Aquafortus board, Steve contributes strategic insight into technology development, commercialization pathways, and venture financing specific to water recovery systems. His proven track record in scaling water-tech ventures and his strong network in the industrial and investment communities will advance Aquafortus’ growth trajectory and market impact.
Matt is a technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist who has been building tech to advance the security and prosperity of the United States since 1983. He is Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner of DCVC, the leading Deep Tech venture capital firm, with multiple billions of dollars across its family of funds focused on America’s resilience and economic and national security. Many of Matt’s prior investments were in companies that either enjoyed large IPOs or were acquired to become core capabilities of companies like Illumina, Cisco, Google, IBM, Amazon/AWS, Broadcom/VMware, Salesforce, and Akamai.
Matt holds a degree in Physics from Yale University, and he is an inventor on over 50 granted or in-process patents in areas as diverse as computer systems virtualization, fraud detection, and AR.
James Pinner is Chief Investment Officer at NZGCP, where he oversees all investment activities and strategies, including the Elevate venture capital fund-of-funds. With over 20 years of experience in corporate finance, venture capital, private equity, corporate M&A, and equity capital markets, James has worked across North America,
Europe, Africa, and South-East Asia.
As a member of the Aquafortus board, James brings extensive financial expertise, strategic investment insight, and governance experience. His deep understanding of
capital markets and scaling high-growth companies supports Aquafortus’ fundraising, strategic planning, and global growth initiatives. He is a Fellow of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, holds a BSc (Hons) from Leeds University, and is a member of the New
Zealand Institute of Directors.
PhD in in Synthetic Organic Chemistry – University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Postdoctoral research fellowships at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research (Germany), the University of British Colombia (Canada), and the University of Auckland.
Oversees and leads the company’s chemical research and development. Investigating new chemicals for the Aquafortus process and understanding the underlying physicochemical phenomena involved in water transfer in multiphasic systems.
Rhys has over 12 years of experience in water chemistry, including a PhD thesis focused on water quality from Curtin University, Australia, and four years of analytical experience at a commercial water testing laboratory. Rhys joined Aquafortus in 2023 and his strong research and analytical background saw him quickly promoted to analytical team leader later that year. Rhys is actively involved with method development on a wide range of analytical instruments, ensuring rapid turnaround time for research samples and accurate results across a range of challenging sample matrices.
Jennifer holds a PhD in Chemical and Materials Engineering from the University of Auckland. As Senior R&D Chemist at Aquafortus, she leads lab scale brine testing and the customisation of solvent extraction desalination solutions for clients across the oil and gas, mining, and related industries.
Since joining the company in 2021, Jennifer has played a central role in building Aquafortus’s technical capabilities. She was a key contributor to the development of the company’s third generation Absorbent, a milestone that is enabling more cost effective treatment of industrial wastewater. Her broader research expertise includes thermodynamic analysis, QSPR modelling, direct lithium extraction, and membrane modification.
Bew holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi.
At Aquafortus, she is responsible for testing new brine streams at both laboratory and pilot (TBU) scale, developing methods to enhance process performance, and advancing the understanding of process kinetics to support ongoing technology optimization.
Gimhani has a background in environmental science and engineering. She holds a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Waikato, New Zealand.
Prior to this, she obtained a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Mineral Resources and Technology, specializing in Water Science, from Uva Wellassa University, Sri Lanka.
Her work primarily involves research and development in Aquafortus.
