Dr. Benedek has held the role of CEO since founding Anaergiain 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. Benedek continued to be the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ZENON until its June 2006 sale to General Electric Company for $790 million. At the time of the sale, the company employed over 1,500 people. After the sale of ZENON, Dr. Benedek worked at the Scripps Institute of Technology (“Scripps”) in San Diego, California where he became interested in helping to find solutions to climate change. In furtherance of this new interest, he left Scripps and founded Anaergia. Dr. Benedek has received many awards, including honorary doctorates from universities and awards for entrepreneurship and for his contributions toward solving global environmental problems. In 2008, he was chosen as the inaugural recipient of the Lee Kwan Yew Prize, a prestigious award for contributions to solving water problems.