Adil Bushnak
Chairman, Bushnak Group
Successfully preached the SWRO gospel to Saudi Arabia; a founder of the IDA and its first Arab president.
Adil first became involved in desal in 1978, with the founding of Al-Kawther Water Industries. Soon his standing was such that he represented the Middle East and North Africa in the negotiations out of which the IDA was formed; in 1987 he became its first Arab president.
Among Adil's greatest achievements is persuading the SWCC (Saudi Arabia's desal corporation) to accept SWRO technology, an effort which included translating all relevant technical terms into Arabic together with DuPont. He also persuaded DuPont to build Saudi Arabia's first membrane factory (1985), and the Saudi government to license the country's first private desal plant (Kindasa).
Landmark plants: Kindasa (the first of Saudi Arabia's private desal plants); all SWCC's SWRO plant can be traced to his influence.
Not just a progressive in desalination, Dr. Bushnak can also take substantial credit for Saudi Arabia adopting seawater-irrigated agriculture and smart cards, and for its first girls' college (Dar al-Hikma, which he co-founded).