Alejandro Sturniolo

Co-founder & Executive Director at Aqua Positive | Helping Companies Turn Water Challenges into Water Positive Goals through Stewardship & Impact Investing

Greater Alicante Area

About

Starting at the end, I find myself working in my dream role, surrounded by inspiring people who share a commitment to creating positive impact. Together, we are structuring Water Positive projects that transform knowledge and experience into tangible water benefits. As I always say, knowledge and experience add value, but passion multiplies it. With this mindset, I embrace this stage with optimism and determination, striving for the best outcomes. I began my career in the water sector in 1998 as a Chemical Engineer. Over time, I realized that addressing the challenges in this field requires more than technological solutions—it demands connecting water with the environment. Water is the driving force behind all 17 SDGs, and by anticipating challenges, we can ensure that no one is left behind. Knowledge alone is not enough; it must be paired with experience, communication, and action. My passion lies in bridging the gap between data and solutions, addressing present and future water needs. Too often, we repeat the statistics about water scarcity as if they will resolve themselves. But real change comes from proactive solutions, not passive awareness. Water is my passion, and my professional mission is clear: “Sharing apocalyptic forecasts is easy, but anticipating and solving them is the true challenge.” If we can purify a glass of seawater with less energy than an internet search, no one should go thirsty. That is why I choose the challenge—to connect water with the needs of today and tomorrow, and to be part of the change the world needs.

Experience

  • General Secreatry Water Positive Think Tank at Water Positive
    Oct 2023 - Present · 2 yrs 9 mos

  • Founder & Director at Aqua Positive
    Aug 2024 - Present · 1 yr 11 mos

    As Co-Founder and Partner of Aqua Positive, I am part of a company built to be part of the solution, structuring and developing projects that generate positive impacts on water resources for companies committed to water positive goals. Our experience has allowed us to unlock a market that is highly prepared for what lies ahead, yet still disconnected from the Water Benefits framework. We help bridge that gap by connecting Water Benefit Suppliers (project developers and technology providers, often the same players in the water market where I built my career) with corporate needs inside and beyond the fence line through Water Stewardship projects. With more than 20 years of experience in Integrated Water Resources Management, I came to understand that water is multidimensional. It is not only about quality, quantity, and access. I have worked across a wide range of industrial and productive sectors, and although I initially stepped away from the public sector because of its complexity, I have since re-engaged with it through the lens of SDG 12, responsible consumption and production. That perspective helped me frame water within a broader system of value creation and decision-making.

  • Head of Sustainability at Impact Filtration®
    Nov 2025 - Present · 8 mos

  • International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA) (7 yrs 3 mos)
    • Board Member
      Oct 2023 - Dec 2024 · 1 yr 3 mos

      Member Board of Directors of the International Desalination Association, IDRA. Responsible for providing strategic leadership to the organization, working with the Board and other managers to establish long-term goals, strategies, plans and policies. Promote new applications, technologies and companies related to: • Desalination and Water Reuse • Water and Effluent Treatment • Water Positive • Microplastics, PFAS and Contaminants of Emerging Concern Vision Statement With almost 25 years working in the Water Market, having held technical and business development positions, I firmly believe in guiding our market towards the Sustainable Development Goals to achieve a better and more sustainable future for us all, where IDA meets a fundamental role in helping to spread the right knowledge. This would be possible promoting a more sustainable desalination and reuse solutions and innovations, committed to address the global warming and the pollution of our rivers and seas, closer to Agriculture and the production of Clean Energies such as green Hydrogen and Biomass. In 2050 we will have to feed more than 10 million people, where water, energy and agriculture will play a fundamental role.

    • First Vice President
      Oct 2022 - Oct 2023 · 1 yr 1 mo

      First Vice President and Member Board of Directors of the International Desalination Association, IDRA. Responsible for providing strategic leadership to the organization, working with the Board and other managers to establish long-term goals, strategies, plans and policies. Promote new applications, technologies and companies related to: • Desalination and Water Reuse • Water and Effluent Treatment • Water Positive • Microplastics, PFAS and Contaminants of Emerging Concern Vision Statement With almost 25 years working in the Water Market, having held technical and business development positions, I firmly believe in guiding our market towards the Sustainable Development Goals to achieve a better and more sustainable future for us all, where IDA meets a fundamental role in helping to spread the right knowledge. This would be possible promoting a more sustainable desalination and reuse solutions and innovations, committed to address the global warming and the pollution of our rivers and seas, closer to Agriculture and the production of Clean Energies such as green Hydrogen and Biomass. In 2050 we will have to feed more than 10 million people, where water, energy and agriculture will play a fundamental role.

    • 2nd. Vicepresident and Member of the Board of Directors
      Oct 2017 - Oct 2022 · 5 yrs 1 mo

      2nd Vice-President of Board of Director of the International Desalination Association, IDA. Responsible for providing strategic leadership for the organization by working with the Board and other management to establish long-range goals, strategies, plans, and policies. Promoting new applications, technologies and companies related to: • Desalination and Water Reuse • Water and Wastewater Treatment • Industrial and Municipal circular economies • Waste to Energy • Microplastics and Emerging Contaminants

  • H2O Innovation (3 yrs 3 mos)
    • Vice President of Marketing and Sustainability
      Apr 2023 - Jun 2024 · 1 yr 3 mos

    • Global Head of Water Reuse & Strategic Partnerships
      Apr 2021 - Apr 2023 · 2 yrs 1 mo