MEET OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM
C. HOWIE HONEYMAN
Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer & President
Howie has 20 years of experience commercializing new technologies at Xerox, Cabot Corp., E Ink, Natrix Separations and as former CTO of GreenCentre Canada. Commercialized high capacity high through-put membranes for bioprocessing as SVP of Natrix Separations which was recently acquired by Millipore-Sigma. Other Commercial Success’: E-paper at E-Ink and MIT start-up – invented and led the team that developed the first commercial platform of e-paper used in e-readers today. Since 2015, Howie has been leading Forward Water to become a premier wastewater treatment solution. Howie is also an inventor of record on over 50 US patents and holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of Toronto.
MIKE WILLETTS
CFO
Michael Willetts has over 25 years in financial leadership roles primarily in manufacturing from large multinational businesses to startups, both public and private. His first career was as an engineer in the automotive industry before entering into finance at the Ford Motor Company. Michael went on to progressively larger finance roles in several international automotive suppliers (Textron, GKN, DSM) and Canadian manufacturers (Armtec, Stronach International, AirBoss of America). Michael is currently providing fractional CFO services in the manufacturing, SaaS, and cannabis industries. Michael is a Professional Engineer and has an MBA (accounting and finance) from the University of Windsor.
WAYNE MADDEVER
Ph.D., P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer
Dr. Maddever received his Ph.D. in Materials Science Engineering from the University of Toronto. Since 1985 he has held senior executive management positions with technically based businesses in start-up, turnaround or acquisition situations where his skills at change management have brought considerable success in the commercialization of new technologies. His experience in both private and public companies, both domestically and internationally, spans a broad variety of industries, including bio- and advanced materials, precision manufacturing, recycling, waste to energy and medical devices. He holds a number of patents in several fields. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. In addition to his duties as COO of Forward Water, he is currently Portfolio Manager at Bioindustrial Innovation Canada, one of the major shareholders of Forward Water.
GRANT THORNLEY
VP Engineering Solution Sales
Grant is a 25+ year business strategist who has developed and grown international water/wastewater markets in products, services and standards through innovative growth hacking techniques, data analytics and industry alliances, achieving accelerated execution of go-to-market strategies. Having expertise in chemical, mechanical and biological treatment processes and in designing/commissioning hundreds of municipal and industrial applications, Grant brings knowledge-to-action, delivering client solutions in water reuse, product concentration, CO2 reduction, and sustainability.
MICHAEL LAMBERT
Executive Vice President Western Canada and Energy Platforms
Mr. Michael Lambert has had an extensive career spanning multiple industries, with key roles in organizations such as Calgary Co-op, Canadian Tire Corporation, the George Weston Loblaw group (Real Canadian Superstores), Southam Newspaper Group (The National Post), Mark’s Work Wearhouse, The Forzani Group (Sport Chek), Parkland Fuel Corporation, Canadian Pacific Railway, Yellow Pages Group, and Premium Brands Inc. Over the years, Mr. Lambert has been involved in transactions (financings, acquisitions, and divestitures) exceeding $5 billion.
Mr. Lambert’s public company board experience includes serving on the boards of Mark’s Work Wearhouse Ltd., Yellow Pages Group, Premium Brands Inc., and Gemini Corporation. Following his retirement from executive roles, he was elected to the board of Calgary Co-op (January 2017 to March 2020), a billion-dollar cooperative operating in grocery, fuel, wine, spirits, beer, and cannabis retailing. He also served as Chair of the Governance Committee.
In addition to his corporate work, Mr. Lambert is on the Board of RailState a startup company using AI and Machine Learning to provide Rail information to Rail Stakeholders. He was a Citizen Member of the City of Calgary Audit Committee (October 2017 to October 2024) and served on the Board of Directors for Millennium EMS Solutions (MEMS) from March 2019 to April 2022, a private environmental services company. From August 2016 to April 2018, he served on the Board of Gemini Corporation, where he chaired the Audit Committee. In the not-for-profit sector, Mr. Lambert has served on the board of the Association for the Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured (ARBI) and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Sinneave Family Foundation, a foundation supporting autism
LEONARD SEED
P.Eng., Director Of Engineering & Operations
Leonard has over 18 years of experience developing and commercializing new water and wastewater treatment technologies, primarily in a start-up environment. Leonard is named as an inventor on over seven patents and has authored several publications. Leonard is a Professional Engineer and has an MSc in Environmental Engineering from the University of Guelph. Leonard holds inventorship on 7 US patents and holds an instructor position at Mohawk College teaching aspects of water treatment technologies and leads research efforts on forward osmosis.
PROFESSOR PHILIP JESSOP
Ph.D., Executive Research Director
Dr. Philip Jessop is a professor and Canada Research Chair of Green Chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. He also serves as the Technical Director of GreenCentre Canada and Executive Research Director at Forward Water Technologies. After his Ph.D. (British Columbia, 1991) and a postdoctoral appointment (Toronto, 1992), he was a contract researcher in Japan working for R. Noyori (Nobel Prize 2001). As a professor at the University of California-Davis (1996-2003) and since then at Queen’s, he has studied green solvents and the chemistry of carbon dioxide. Distinctions include the NSERC Polanyi Award (2008), Killam Research Fellowship (2010), Canadian Green Chemistry & Engineering Award (2012), Eni Award (2013), Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada (2013), a Canada Research Chair Tier 1 (2013 to 2020), and the NSERC Brockhouse Prize (2019). He serves as Chair of the Editorial Board for the journal Green Chemistry, has chaired three international conferences, and helped create GreenCentre Canada, a National Centre of Excellence for the commercialization of green chemistry technologies. Forward Water Technologies Inc. is a spin-off company based upon Dr. Jessop’s switchable solvents.