Dr Seb Leaper holds a materials science background and a PhD in Chemical Engineering, combining strong technical expertise with entrepreneurial drive.

He is a recipient of the prestigious Eli and Britt Harari Graphene Enterprise Award, supported by SanDisk co‑founder Dr Eli Harari, recognising his pioneering work in graphene‑enabled innovation.

As a founding leader at Watercycle, Dr Leaper steered the company through its first equity raise and has since attracted approximately £2.5 million in equity and grant funding, underpinning the company’s growth and technological development.

Mathew Rockey brings a strong operational background spanning electrical and mechanical engineering, alongside twelve years of hands‑on experience within the water industry, including roles at Denca and Icam.

He is highly relationship‑focused and is passionate about empowering teams to perform at their best while consistently delivering high‑quality outcomes for customers.

Dr Ahmed is a Chemical Engineer with deep expertise in advanced separation technologies and has been recognised internationally for his contributions to the field.

He has been endorsed by the Royal Academy of Engineering as a Global Talent migrant and is the recipient of both the Sustainable Water Technologies prize at Cairo University and the National Research Centre’s national prize in Egypt.

Since the company’s spin‑out from the University of Manchester in 2020, Dr Ahmed has led its technical vision and innovation as Chief Technology Officer.

Kate Lawlor is a chartered accountant with a decade of experience at Deloitte, where she specialised in tax advisory for complex corporate clients.

She went on to serve as CFO and later CEO of Bruntwood SciTech, leading major property development initiatives within the science and technology sectors.

With deep expertise in finance leadership, Kate has overseen large‑scale engineering, procurement and construction programmes across the property industry, bringing extensive strategic, operational and commercial insight to high‑growth, innovation‑focused organisations.

Paul is a co-founder of Aer Ventures and enjoys supporting entrepreneurs focused on the resource and environmental challenges facing the world. He’s excited about the positive impact on raw material supply management that Watercycle Technologies can make - an impact that is essential if we are to meet our Net Zero obligations .

Chris is a co-founder of Aer Ventures and has over 25 years of experience in founding, developing and scaling professional services, sustainability and technology businesses. He has a passion for the Circular Economy and is an advocate for the process of turning waste products into usable minerals.

Phil is an experienced Board Advisor, working with founders from a number of early stage businesses in the technology, property and education sectors. Before becoming an advisor, Phil worked for 30 years in IT/Telecoms as well as the property industry. Phil is committed to working with people and companies that have strong social and environmental drivers.

Former Lecturer in the department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science at the University of Manchester and Seb’s former PhD supervisor, Patricia has played a pivotal role in the formation of Watercycle Technologies. Now lecturing at the University of Zaragoza, Spain, Patricia continues to support Seb and Watercycle in its technical development, grant writing and academic collaborations.

Patricio Nuñez holds a PhD and MSc from the University of Pittsburgh, USA. He is a Chemical Civil Engineer and graduate from the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa where he currently holds an academic position at the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering. He has extensive experience consulting for the largest mining companies in the world on various large-scale projects including lithium and copper mining projects in the Andes mountains. Patricio has been advising Watercycle since 2020.

Mathias has over 30 years of experience in organic and polymer chemistry as well as chemical engineering. In the focus of his research are functional polymeric and nanohybrid materials, including synthetic membranes and membrane-based technologies for water purification, bioseparation and energy conversion. He was Ahmed’s academic supervisor during his internship at the University of Duisburg-Essen and has continued to support both Ahmed and Watercycle ever since.

Reader in Crystallisation at the University of Manchester, Aurora supervised Seb during his Doctoral Prize Fellowship. Her research interests lie in the area of the organic solid-state, data analysis, molecular modelling, crystal engineering and crystallisation. Earlier in her career she spent some months at the Royal Institution in London before moving to Cambridge where she gained a PhD in Physical Chemistry (2008) under the supervision of Dr Graeme Day and Prof. Bill Jones. She continues to advise and support Watercycle as it begins commercialising its technology.