Paul O’Callaghan

Paul O’Callaghan is a aater scientist, sustainability thought leader and documentary producer, who believes the global water crisis can be solved in his lifetime and he is on a mission to help
make it happen.
After being awarded a bio-chemistry degree, Paul’s first role was for the Body Shop working
alongside the pioneering environmentalist Anita Roddick. Paul then volunteered for the
World Wildlife Fund in Malaysia, and after completing a Master’s degree he later returned
to research the effects that deforestation was having on water quality. Paul’s next role was
with Atkins, one of the globally leading engineering management consultancies who are
pioneering in their approaches to projects. It was while working as an engineering
consultant, that Paul first noticed how extraordinarily long it took to get water technologies
to market, which gave him the initial idea for BlueTech Research.
BlueTech Research was co-founded by Paul in 2011, to support technological advancements
in water management and help find the solutions needed to provide clean water and safe
sanitation. The Intelligence Platform was created to improve the intelligence available on
water technologies and their markets, making it easier to identify commercially viable
innovation options.
Paul acted as the executive producer for the award-winning documentary ‘Brave Blue
World’. The documentary was designed to create more awareness about the solutions that
already exist to solve the water crisis and has attracted the involvement on screen of A-list
celebrities Matt Damon and Liam Neeson, as well as activist Jaden Smith. Since its launch on
Netflix, Brave Blue World has been translated to 29 languages and is accessible to over 200
million viewers. Paul is now set to co-produce a new ground-breaking feature documentary;
Our Blue World – A Water Odyssey. This film will explore humanity’s profound relationship
with water and reveal how human agency can help rebalance the planet’s water systems.
Paul now divides his time between the BlueTech Research offices in Vancouver and Cork. He
works with global Fortune 500 corporates including L’Oréal, Microsoft and PepsiCo on their
water strategy policies. He has also recently guest lectured at Harvard and Cambridge
Universities.
Paul recently completed a PhD in Water Innovation from Wageningen University. In his free
time, he is a keen pianist and enjoys kayaking, ocean swimming and free diving.