Our Team
Diogo Faria de Oliveira
Executive Director
Relevant experience:
- Over 27 years of experience in the water sector
- Executive Director of Aquapor, 2001-2015
- President of 10 Portuguese utilities, 2001-2015
- Member of the Board Advisory Council of the Portuguese Water Regulator, ERSAR, 2010-2015
- President of the International Specialist Centre of Excellence in PPP on Water and Sanitation (a UNECE & Government of Portugal partnership)
- President of the Management Team of the Portuguese WSS Strategic Plan (PENSAAR 2020) for the Portuguese Ministry of Environment
- 19 countries of experience in Africa, America, Europe, and Middle East
Background
- Degree in Civil Engineering, IST (Portugal)
- Executive Management Program, Stanford University (USA)
- Business and Sustainability Programme, University of Cambridge (UK)
- Native Portuguese speaker, fully proficient in English, and with knowledge of French and Spanish
Francisco de Mariz Machado
Executive Director
Relevant experience
- 30 years of experience in the water sector
- Expert in water treatment technology, EPC and O&M contracts, and hydropower operations
Francisco has 30 years’ experience in the water sector. He is an expert in water treatment technology, EPC and O&M contracts, public procurement, and utilities management. Francisco participated in complex bidding procedures for public water markets in Brazil, China, Angola, Perú, Ireland, and Mozambique.
Francisco worked for 17 years for Degrémont (currently Veolia, former Suez) a technological water treatment company for EPC contracts.
Between 2007 and 2009, Francisco worked for Edifer – a construction company – where he was responsible for developing new lines of business in the environment, health, energy, and tourism sectors, in Portugal, Spain, and Algeria.
In 2009, he was appointed CEO of Sisaqua, SA – the Portuguese leader company in Operation & Maintenance and Engineering contracts for water and wastewater treatments plants, where, under his leadership, Sisaqua’s engineering teams developed several projects and studies in Portugal, Brazil, Eastern Europe, Algeria and Angola.
In 2017 Francisco founded Baccher, SA, a Business and Technology consultancy firm, where he advised private and public water authorities to re-organize and improve operational efficiency using new technologies, designed strategies and solutions to capture gains on the water/sludge/energy nexus, implemented procedures to procure new business models of private/public collaboration. He also advised reforming public utilities, by designing and implementing its strategic plans, increasing their operations’ efficiency, and reducing non-revenue water
Between 2019 and 2021 Francisco worked as COO of Hydropower for Aquila Capital, managing a portfolio of 21 small-scale hydropower plants, where he coordinated daily business operations, to maximize energy production at the lowest possible cost.
He was a member of the Board Advisory Council of the Portuguese Water Regulator, (ERSAR) and president of AEPSA, the Association of Water and Waste Private Operators.
Background
- Degree in Environmental Engineering, UNL (Portugal)
- International Executive MBA, IE Business School (Spain)
- Native Portuguese speaker, fully proficient in English and French, with knowledge of Spanish