Leon Awerbuch

President and Chief Executive Officer

Leon Awerbuch joined the Bechtel Group in 1972 in research and development and went on to become Vice President and Senior Regional Representative for the Middle East at International Bechtel, leading desalination programmes that ran from research through design and engineering to the construction of desalination and power plants across a 35-year career with the firm. He is also President and Chief Technology Officer of Leading Edge Technologies and Dean of the International Desalination Association's Desalination Academy. He was among the early developers of hybrid power and desalination schemes, of desalination aquifer storage and recovery, and of hybrid designs combining multi-stage flash with multi-effect distillation. He served as president of the International Desalination Association from 1989 to 1991, chaired six of its world congresses and directed its technical programmes for 20 years, organising more than 40 conferences, forums and workshops. He holds 28 patents and has published more than 90 technical papers.