ANN ARBOR, MICH. — NSF International has promoted Tom Bruursema to general manager of NSF Sustainability.
In this role, Bruursema will lead the growing portfolio of NSF Sustainability services that assists organizations in greening their products, operations, systems and supply chains. These services include standards development through the National Center for Sustainability Standards founded by NSF International in 2010. NSF develops life-cycle based, multi-attribute sustainability standards for green products and services, including building products and materials, green chemicals, and water and wastewater infrastructure.
Bruursema has 25 years of experience in the fields of sustainability, environmental technology and water systems. Prior to his new appointment, Bruursema managed the NSF testing and certification program for onsite wastewater treatment technologies. In this position, he led the development of the American National Standards for water reuse treatment technologies, which are crucial for regions affected by increasing water scarcity.
Bruursema also led the NSF Drinking Water Treatment Units Certification Program, as well as NSF’s Environmental and Research Services, which have developed evaluation methods for a wide range of innovative products and environmental technologies. These include protocols for evaluating Rainwater Catchment Systems, Composting Toilets, and Eco-Efficiency Analyses used to quantify the environmental and economic performance of products and processes. Additionally, Bruursema helped launch other environmental services including a testing program that verifies biodegradability and compostability claims of plastic products.
Bruursema holds a Master of Science degree in biology and a Bachelor of Science degree in medical technology from Eastern Michigan University. In addition to his NSF role, Bruursema serves as Chair of the Water Quality Association International Standards and Regulations Task Force and is a former Board Member of the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association.
NSF International has appointed Pierre Sbabo as vice president of its Water Systems Division. In this role, Sbabo will focus on the geographic growth of the division while simplifying the product certification process and continuing to strengthen customer service. Sbabo also will oversee the development of new standards and services to support emerging water treatment technologies worldwide.
Sbabo brings 16 years of water industry and international business development experience, most recently serving as managing director of NSF’s Asia-Pacific operations based in Bangkok, Thailand. In this role, he established the infrastructure for the company’s operations across Thailand, India, China, Korea and Taiwan. Additionally, Sbabo led the development of the new NSF Shanghai Testing Technology Company, which is NSF’s Shanghai laboratory.
Prior to joining NSF, Sbabo served as the international business leader for General Electric’s residential/commercial Water & Process Technologies in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. He holds a master’s degree in marketing and international business from the Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Chambery (the Business school in Chambery) in France.
Supporting Sbabo and the NSF Water Systems Division in newly appointed roles are Rick Andrew as general manager of the NSF Drinking Water Treatment Units Program and Grant Thornley as business development director for the NSF Water Systems Division.
Working closely with Sbabo, Rick Andrew will manage all facets of the NSF Drinking Water Treatment Units Program in his new role as general manager. For the past 12 years, Andrew has worked in this NSF program in roles of increasing responsibility to support standards activities and certification of residential point-of-use and point-of-entry water treatment products. Most recently, Andrew served as operations manager, where he led technical operations and business development activities.
Prior to joining NSF, Andrew worked for 12 years as an analytical chemist and consultant specializing in environmental and industrial process areas. He holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, both from the University of Michigan.
Supporting Sbabo and Andrew will be Grant Thornley in the role of business development director for the NSF Water Systems Division. Thornley will assist companies worldwide with their water testing and certification needs. With 20 years of experience in the industrial and municipal water and wastewater markets, Thornley has helped companies grow in the areas of chemical, physical and biological treatment processes as well as water distribution. He has worked with Norit, Rehau, GE Water, Siemens Water Technologies and Nalco. Most recently, he served as principal consultant of 101 Water Consulting Group, strategizing product positioning, market analysis and competitive strategies for client offerings. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in business at the University of Edinburgh.
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