GG Pique

Gonzalo "G.G." Pique is the President and CEO of Energy Recovery Inc., a company that specializes in pressure exchanger production. He was responsible for the company's increase in revenue of 100-fold.

Biography

G G Pique is a Business Leader who after being an effective top executive for over 30 years rising to Group Vice President of a Fortune 50 Industrial company in Corporate America 'retired' in 2000 and became President and CEO of a wildly successful clean-tech start-up. http://www.energyrecovery.com

'We have doubled the company six times over the last 24 quarters" Doesn't sound like a big deal? Let's do the math you start with 1, then you double ... 2, again 4.. 8.. 16... 32..64

GG is also a seawater desalination 'guru' with a Chemical Engineering Degree and a solid background in clean-tech startup management.

GG was born in Havana, Cuba on May 16, 1947 and immigrated to the US with his family in 1961. He graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1969 with a degree in Chemical Engineering and started out his career as Middle East regional sales manager at Combustion Engineering ABB while he pursued his masters degree at night at the University of Hartford. By age 29, GG became Country Manager of Dorr Oliver de Mexico, the Mexico City subsidiary of the largest water treatment company in the 1970's. Later, he was a VP of Sales at Fluor Corporation] mining and metal division.

GG worked for 10 years for the reverse osmosis membrane companies in San Diego, while helping raise two children. During this time he also became involved as Editor of the Omega-3 Project which published several books on the health effects of dietary oils. Along the way GG became involved in the design, startup and operation of Dozens of seawater desalination plants worldwide.

GG worked for Ionics in the design, and start-up of the Santa Barbara, California Emergency desalination Plant in 1992.

In the spring of 1993, GG was approached by Dick Heckman, Chairman of US Filter to become Sr. Vice President and Corporate officer of US Filter Corp., a Fortune 500, NYSE water Company, where he drove a 25% division internal growth rate while simultaneously integrating and succesfully running an avalanche of multi-national acquisitions.

In 1999 Vivendi bought US Filter for $7.5 billion in cash. All of the USF stock options were cashed. GG spent 9 months after the acquisition “tucking his people in.” The parting feedback from colleague Andy Seidel was:

“GG, you have built the best water business in your segment, with creativity, risk taking and pure hard work. I have always respected your loyalty and good judgment.”

Three days later GG joined ERI Energy Recovery, Inc. start-up on February 7, 2000 as a Marketing consultant. Energy Recovery manufactures the PX, a unique, patented ceramic freewheeling pump that recycles 98% of the pressure energy of a desalination plant. This has cut desalination energy costs by more than half and is helping make seawater desalination affordable. See link to The Economist June 2008 article on desalination and energy below.

Mr. Pique was recruited as Executive Vice President in 2001 and became President CEO in 2002. ERI revenues have grown 100-fold as climate change increases water scarcity and the disruptive PX technology helps drive a global tsunami of affordable desalination plants being built in India, China, Africa, Israel, Spain and Australia.

As President of ERI GG has gained a reputation as a business leader with strategic vision and the ability to recruit, motivate, and develop a culturally diverse executive team. Which team, by establishing an enviably effective sales/service organization, has achieved global dominance in a sharply-focused sector of the clean-tech space.

GG said recently: While you must learn the basics by studying Peter Drucker and Warren Buffet "I do not believe you can learn how to successfully launch a global business with explosive revenue growth by reading managemet books". "Perhaps this is why you have so many overpaid cargo cult Corporate Executives flailing out there.

In 2007 GG was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Desalination Association.

In 2008 GG was elected to the ERI board of Directors (this becomes effective soon, see regulatory filings below).

Company

Energy Recovery, Inc (ERI): global 'pure play' company in the water desalination industry. http://www.energyrecovery.com/

References

http://ggpique.blogspot.com/
http://www.energyrecovery.com/company/GG_Pique.php
http://www.idadesal.org/t-board_063.aspx
http://www.economist.com/search/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11484059 http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2008/05/05/story2.html?b=1209960000^16300134 http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1421517/000095013408010930/f38510a2sv1za.htm