Walker, one of the founders of Avista in 1999, is retiring after 24 years of leadership which included the 2019 acquisition and integration by Kurita Water Industries.
Maema has dedicated his entire professional career to the water treatment industry and environmental protection. His experience with Kurita spans over 20 years working globally in sales, marketing, and most recently as executive assistant to Kurita’s president and representative director.
"I am honored to be the next CEO of Avista and appreciate the trust that Dave and Kurita’s top management have in me to lead such an extraordinary and solid company. Avista has been at the forefront of membrane treatment solutions innovation for decades and I look forward to maintaining this market-leadership position going forward," said Maema.
“I will provide global vision, guidance, and enable the current Avista leadership to build on its existing foundation,” added Maema. “As a global brand of Kurita, Avista will accelerate our international collaboration among existing Avista sales partners and across the Kurita companies for the greater good of our customers and the environment. I am pleased that Avista employees view this change as an opportunity to gain an additional perspective that will not change the organization’s values, culture, or service.”
Walker said: “I will forever be committed to Avista and remain with the company as an advisor. I am certainly proud of all that we have accomplished at Avista over the past 24 years. In addition, we have established a strong leadership team that will continue to guide our position in the market. I strongly believe this is the right time for Toshinori to assume my position to drive global industry collaboration and advancements in membrane treatment solutions.”
