Board of Directors

Dr. Benedek has held the role of CEO since founding Anaergia in 2007. He received his engineering degree (chemical) from McGill University in Montreal, Québec in 1966. By 1970, he had obtained a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington with a focus on wastewater treatment. Dr. Benedek then accepted a professorship at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario where he taught and conducted research to find ways of improving water quality. In 1980, Dr. Benedek founded ZENON with the purpose of developing cost effective membrane technologies for recycling wastewater. Under his leadership, ZENON invented, developed and commercialized many of the key membrane technologies used for water and wastewater treatment and became a global leader in this field.

Dr. Mourato Benedek has been a director of Anaergia since the company was founded in 2007. Dr. Mourato Benedek has a PhD and a Master’s of Science degree in Civil Engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Québec. She is a pioneer in the development and commercialization of immersed membranes and membrane bioreactors in the field of municipal wastewater and drinking water treatment. Dr. Mourato Benedek was formerly a Senior Vice President at ZENON, responsible for North and South American and international operations. She has extensive experience in environmental sciences as head of the ZENON municipal business, which she founded and grew in five years to be the largest commercial division of ZENON while maintaining profitability year after year. She is also a former Vice President, Site Remediation at SNC Lavalin. Dr. Mourato Benedek is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Fibracast and is directly responsible for research and development and the continuous improvement of technology within the company. She was formerly the Chief Operating Officer of Anaergia and is currently a Managing Director of many of its international subsidiaries.

Mr. Gross has been a director with Anaergia since 2019. He is a three-time water entrepreneur, having started and grown domestic and international companies, a water/wastewater technology inventor with 10 patents covering treatment technologies, a board member on various water/wastewater companies, consultant and investor. Mr. Gross brings his experience doing business with enterprises ranging from small local entities to large governmental organizations in 88 countries around the world. His experience also includes supporting the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. State Department with water/wastewater treatment systems in some of the most challenging areas of the world. Since July 2016, Mr. Gross has been Chief Executive Officer of SURGE International, LLC where he guides start-up water/wastewater technology companies to achieve global success. As a consultant to Emerson Collective, LLC, Mr. Gross provides strategic water guidance while providing governance to portfolio companies through board participation.

Mr. McKenna has held the position of director with Anaergia since 2020. Mr. McKenna is currently the Deputy Chair, Wholesale of TD Bank Group, a financial institution, a position he has held since 2006. He is also the Chair of the board of directors of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a global asset manager with approximately US$600 billion of assets under management, and the Chair of the compensation committee of the board of the directors of Canadian Natural Resources Limited. Mr. McKenna is a former Ambassador of Canada to the United States and was elected as Premier of the Province of New Brunswick from 1987 until 1997. Mr. McKenna is a Queen’s Counsel, a Member of the Queen’s Privy Council, a Member of the Order of New Brunswick and a Member of the Order of Canada. Mr. McKenna is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University, Queen’s University and the University of New Brunswick Law School and is also the recipient of 15 honorary degrees.

Mr. Parkhill has been a director with Anaergia since 2019. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of Sagicor Bank (Barbados), the first fully digital bank in the Caribbean. He led the development and execution of the digital bank's business plan over a two year period. Mr. Parkill also serves as a non-executive director on the boards of several private financial services companies. Previously, he was the Managing Director & Head, Strategic Advisory of Clariti Strategic Advisors Inc., providing advisory services to corporations and institutional investors. Mr. Parkhill served as the Chief Executive Officer of CIBC First Caribbean International Bank from 2011 to 2015. During this period, he was responsible for the restructuring of the bank, which resulted in a turnaround of its operating and financial performance. He joined Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (“CIBC”) in 2008 as Managing Director, Head of Cash Equities. During his tenure, CIBC became recognized as a Canadian leader in equity trading and equity capital markets. Prior to joining CIBC, Mr. Parkhill held several senior executive positions with the TMX Group Limited, including President and Interim Co-Chief Executive Officer. He was instrumental in the successful expansion of TMX Group’s listings and trading businesses outside of Canada. Mr. Parkhill has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, including managing banks, brokerage firms and exchanges. He is a graduate of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

Mr. Viterbi has been a director with Anaergia since 2019. He was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Liquid Environmental Solutions (“LES”) in 2002, serving as Chief Executive Officer from inception though 2019, as Chief Financial Officer from inception through 2009 and as Executive Chairman from 2019 through 2020. With 54 collection branches and 24 wastewater recycling plants servicing customers in all 50 states, LES collects, treats and beneficially recovers materials from a wide variety of wastewater sources, including grease traps, oil water separators, industrial and manufacturing processes and used cooking oil. Mr. Viterbi was previously a co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of U.S. Public Technologies, a North American market leader in traffic photo enforcement, from its inception through to the sale of the business to Lockheed Martin, where he then served as Vice President of Photo Enforcement. Prior to entering the private sector, Mr. Viterbi was the Mayor of West Hollywood, California and a member of the first city council after incorporation from 1984 to 1988. He has also served on various public agency boards, including as a member of the California Export Finance Board, and in a number of leadership roles in various community organizations. His holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Master’s degree in Business Administration, including graduate coursework in accounting, from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Fellowship with the Coro Foundation.