Mr. Rooney has an extensive track record as a CEO leading both public and private corporations, with significant experience in the water and renewable energy industries. From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Rooney served as CEO of Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERII), the global leader in developing and manufacturing innovative, hi-tech devices to capture and reuse energy in pressurized fluids. Prior to this, in 2009 Mr. Rooney was recruited to lead the turnaround of SPG Holdings, Inc., one of the largest solar integrators in the United States, with $100m in revenue and ~180 employees. Mr. Rooney was responsible for managing SPG’s transformation from a founder-led organization to a professional, executive-driven corporation focused on high growth with high profitability.
From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Rooney served as CEO of Insituform Technologies, Inc, a $600m, 3,000-employee publicly-traded company, today known as Aegion Technologies. The company is a global leader in sophisticated plastics and infrastructure technologies for the municipal water sector, industrial manufacturers, and oil and gas companies worldwide. Since 2017, Mr. Rooney has served as non-Executive Chairman of Synagro, a portfolio company of EQT Partners, and the largest recycler of organic waste in the United States. Prior to his career in the infrastructure industry, Mr. Rooney held several leadership roles in the construction industry at Gilbanehroug Building Co, Centex Corporation, and Turner Construction Company. Mr. Rooney has served on the Technology Advisory Board of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Centre for Democratic Transition, a global organization comprised of 25 former prime ministers, ministry officials, ambassadors, royalty and business leaders.
Mr. Rooney has published articles in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, C|NET, Engineering News Record, Construction Financial Management Association magazine and other worldwide publications. He has been a frequent business speaker and commentator for NBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business New, CSPAN, and NPR. Mr. Rooney holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Cornell University. He has completed the Directors Program on Public Company Compensation at Harvard Business School and the Directors College & Corporate Governance Programs at Stanford University.
