Industrial Water Forum 2026

Industrial Water Forum

HG Ventures · Private Event

Where corporate operators, innovators, and investors convene to tackle the biggest challenges in industrial water.

Date: Thursday, April 30, 2026

Location: The Center · Indianapolis, IN

Program Hours: 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM

Co-hosted by

Agenda

Thursday, April 30

Morning

8:30 AM

Registration & Breakfast

9:30 AM

Welcome & Opening Remarks

Amy Schumacher, The Heritage Group

9:45 AM

Opening Keynote: Why Water, Why Now?

Antoine Walter · (Don’t) Waste Water Podcast

Drawing on 250+ conversations with water executives, Antoine challenges conventional thinking and highlights the key questions the industry should be asking as industrial demand, new technologies, and investment in water continue to accelerate. His remarks will surface what the (Don’t) Waste Water podcast community is actually worried about — and what gives them reason for optimism.

Antoine Walter — Global Water Innovation Expert; Host, (Don’t) Waste Water Podcast

10:35 AM

Corporate Operator Reality Panel

3M · Conagra · PepsiCo · Colgate-Palmolive | Mod: Kristen Siemen

What keeps a plant manager up at night? The opening panel grounds the room in operator reality. Senior leaders from global manufacturers share what’s actually happening inside their facilities, where the real pressures are — from aging infrastructure and water scarcity to regulatory complexity — and where they are actively looking for help.

Panelists: Gayle Schueller (3M) · Christine Daugherty (Conagra) · Michael Waitek (PepsiCo) · Vance Merolla (Colgate-Palmolive)

Moderator: Kristen Siemen — Sustainability Advisor, The Heritage Group; Former CSO, General Motors

11:30 AM

Lunch

Afternoon

12:30 PM

Water Innovation Landscape

Tom Ferguson · Burnt Island Ventures

With the morning’s operator challenges fresh in mind, where is the smart money going? Tom maps the current innovation landscape — which emerging technologies are attracting capital, where the biggest gaps remain between corporate need and startup capability, and what investment trends will shape industrial water management over the next decade.

Tom Ferguson — Managing Director, Burnt Island Ventures; Lead VC investor, early-stage water technology

1:10 PM

Resource Recovery & Closed-Loop Systems Panel

Nestlé · ElectraMet · ZwitterCo | Mod: Walt Kozlowski, Xylem

Can wastewater become a revenue stream? This panel explores how organizations are closing the loop — the technologies, the economics, and the organizational hurdles of moving from linear water use to circular systems. Corporate operators and the startup founders building these solutions share what’s working and what’s not.

Panelists: Rachelle Malin (Nestlé) · Cameron Lippert (ElectraMet) · Myron Van Ert (ZwitterCo)

Moderator: Walt Kozlowski — Sr. Director of Industrial Sustainability, Xylem

2:00 PM

Break

2:25 PM

Resilient Water Infrastructure Panel

Cummins · Arcwood · Puraffinity · Waterly | Mod: Daniel Benitez, Veralto

What does it take to build water systems that last? The afternoon panel dives into aging systems that weren’t built for today’s demands, emerging contaminants, predictive digital tools, and where investment capital should flow to build real resilience. The panel brings together a large corporate operator, infrastructure strategists, and deep-tech founders.

Panelists: Patrick Schultz (Arcwood) · Nichole Morris (Cummins) · Vincent Caillaud (Puraffinity) · Chris Sosnowski (Waterly)

Moderator: Daniel Benitez — VP Innovation, Veralto

3:15 PM

Lightning Round — Startup Introductions

Evening

3:30–
5:00 PM

Networking & Cocktail Reception

Informal gathering for candid conversation across corporates, investors, and innovators

Expert Voices