Mark Wind

Mark Wind is the founder and owner of Filtraide, a company with which he aims to provide clean and safe drinking water to as many people in need as he can.

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Since many years Mark has been fascinated by water. He loves sailing and he even lives on water in a floating house. He is well aware though that water is not only a source of life and joy, but can also bring harm and devastation, and is becoming a source of conflict and migration because of its uneven distribution.

 

Millions of people in the developing world, in refugee camps and in disaster-stricken regions have no or very little access to safe drinking water. Mark soon recognized that the sustainable solution was not to bring bottles or trucks of water to people in need, but instead to provide them with the tools to produce safe drinking water from the still available contaminated surface water. He also recognized that he has exactly the right combination of 3 essential skills to make that happen: a deep understanding of water purification, extremely reliable off-grid equipment, and direct access to decision makers in targeted regions.  

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The first skill, profound expertise in water purification originates from Mark's wide interest in science and technology. Mark holds a master’s degree in engineering, has a strong background in R&D, and is continuously educating himself. He co-authored scientific publications on X-ray image processing, published on cognitive science and recently co-authored scientific papers on the transmission of Covid-19. Besides that he founded an internationally acclaimed R&D laboratory and held a membership in the ECB's R&D Task Force.  Mark's technical background enables him to deeply engage with his clients to conquer their drinking water issues and provide advice, support and training on all of the equipment in Filtraide's portfolio. Whenever time permits, he is also focussing on research and development of new technologies for even more energy efficient, low cost water harvesting and purification. 

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For the second skill - to recognize, select and engage with best in class manufacturers – Mark can rely on a solid background in manufacturing and logistics. He holds a master-level certificate in business administration, a CPIM degree from APICS and is experienced as a plant manager in the food industry, In several positions during his career he audited many manufacturers for quality, environmental and safety certificatons. This extensive experience with production and quality management has enabled Mark to select and partner with 3 world class manufacturers and create a portfolio of purification equipment that will reliably serve clients against low capital expenditure and operational costs. 

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The third, and possibly most essential enabler, is to connect and collaborate with outstanding network partners having direct access to key decision makers in developing countries. As a senior official at the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) Mark has gained over two decades of training and experience in the international arena, working with peers from all corners of the world. This experience has helped him to track and liaise with extremely experienced international partners that maintain long standing high-level networks and have a deep understanding of and first-hand experience with the needs, culture and habits in targeted countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Oceania. 

 

Mark lives in the Netherlands with his lovely wife Petra. As a trumpeter, he is passionate about playing jazz and occasionally also classical music.