"Every day is an opportunity to do things better."

The desire for knowledge, the courage to take on challenges, and the ability to stand by my values and goals have accompanied me throughout my life. For more than 25 years I have been active in the global market for membrane technologies and modern solutions for water treatment, purification, and recycling, as well as for industrial solutions.

I am a graduate of the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, and throughout my career I have had the opportunity to participate in research, development, and management of technology companies. One of my key milestones was the establishment of the Membrane Innovation Centre MemBrain in Stráž pod Ralskem, which is one of Europe's top centres in membrane technologies and connects research with practical industrial applications.

I work on a long-term basis with world-class experts in the field, and I believe innovation is only truly meaningful when it can be applied in practice. I am also the author of several patents and many specialist publications in the field of membrane and separation technologies.

In 2019, I founded the company New Water Group. My motivation was to bring my many years of expert and managerial experience into a company that combines the energy of the young generation with top-tier engineering and the latest technological trends, including intelligent control of technological processes leveraging AI. From this idea a technology start-up and the vision were born — the vision of Membrane Intelligent Technologies MINT, which today, thanks to its own innovation efforts, offers top-tier solutions for efficient and sustainable water management. The fact that New Water Group is on the right track is confirmed by the award Innovative Company of the Ústí Region 2021, where the company received 1st place in the category of small and medium-sized enterprises.

I believe that even in the Czech Republic it is possible to build a top-tier technology company that can compete internationally.

At the end of high school, I faced the decision of which path to take next, and I chose chemistry, a field that made sense to me both professionally and in terms of my values. I enrolled at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, where I completed a master’s degree in Membrane Technology (2021). My choice of this specialization was not random—it was significantly influenced by my childhood experiences, particularly scouting. It was scouting that taught me to view nature with respect and to understand the value of seemingly obvious things, such as water. Gradually, my interest in chemistry naturally merged with topics of ecology, sustainability, and recycling, which led me to water management and modern water treatment technologies.

Even while I was a student, I made a point of actively supplementing my theoretical knowledge with practical experience and getting involved in projects related to the water cycle and water treatment. I was interested not only in the technological solutions themselves, but also in the broader context—efficiency, operational reliability, and real-world environmental impacts. My first work experience came in the brewing industry, where I was responsible for water as a key raw material and its impact on the final product quality. It was there that I fully realized how crucial a role water quality plays in practice and how sensitively it affects the final result.

This experience reinforced my desire to continue working with water—not only through traditional approaches, but above all by seeking out more modern, efficient, and targeted solutions. Over the following years, I therefore began to focus more on advanced water treatment technologies, particularly membrane processes, which allow for precise control of the quality of the treated water and enable us to address current challenges such as micropollutants and water reuse.

I have long been motivated by the desire to challenge established approaches and find ways to solve problems systematically, rather than simply “patching up” their consequences. I believe that the future of water management lies in a combination of technological innovation, a focus on quality, and the ability to use water efficiently as a valuable resource—not something to be taken for granted.

David Tichý holds an engineering degree in Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering from the University of Chemistry and Technology. His master's thesis focused on the pre-concentration and separation of ionic species in microfluidic devices. He is currently completing a doctoral thesis on a related topic — substance capture using ion concentration polarization focusing. He has been with New Water Group since 2026 as a junior technologist. In his spare time, he plays piano and produces electronic music; he performs regularly both solo and as a member of various musical groups in the Czech Republic and abroad.