Cem Candir (pronounced “Gem”) brings more than two decades of leadership across the water industry, from running a multi-billion-dollar global operations to scaling and exiting a water-technology startup.

For the past six years, Cem has been the President, CEO, and owner of Chemstar WATER, a fast-growing industrial water-treatment company founded in 1999 and renowned for exceptional service. Under his leadership, Chemstar has nearly tripled in size and continues to earn the trust of Fortune 500 companies.

Born and raised in a small town in Turkey, Cem earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Bosphorus University, the foremost engineering school in Turkey and the first American college established overseas. He began his career at Procter & Gamble in Sales and Marketing, then moved to the United States at age 24 to complete his MBA at the University of Minnesota.

After his MBA, Cem spent nearly a decade at General Electric (GE) in finance, operations, and supply-chain roles, ultimately managing global operations for a $1.2 billion water business.

He later joined MIOX, a water-technology company originating from Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he led the business to record growth and a successful exit over seven years.

Cem is married to Melis Candir, and they have two boys, Bora (16) and Arda (12). In his free time, he enjoys pickleball, running, and reading nonfiction—especially biographies.

‍