Bernard Van Nuffel elected new President of APE
On Monday 16 November, the Board of Directors of Aqua Publica appointed Mr Bernard Van Nuffel, President of VIVAQUA (Brussels’ water operator), as the new Chairman of the Association. Mr Van Nuffel succeeds Ms Célia Blauel (Eau de Paris, France).
In this new role, Mr Van Nuffel will closely work with the Vice-President Mr Paolo Romano (President of SMAT, Turin).
In his acceptance speech, Mr Van Nuffel highlighted three priorities for the public water sector in Europe:
- Fighting climate change
- Accelerating the decarbonisation of water sector
- Ensuring a fair distribution of water resources across European territories.
Mr Van Nuffel also expressed his gratitude and willingness to continue the work of Ms Célia Blauel who, after serving for six years as Chairwoman of Aqua Publica Europea and of Eau de Paris, has now taken on a new responsibility at Paris’ Municipal Council.
After studying architecture, Mr Van Nuffel began his career as a civil servant in Brussels’ administration in 1997. Subsequently, he was elected Deputy-Mayor in charge of infrastructures, water policy and climate of one the municipalities of the Brussels Region in 2018, and then appointed President of Vivaqua in 2019.