Our Team

We’re a small team of builders and advisors bringing Aquana to life — combining expertise in tech, finance, water, and governance.

United by a belief in decentralization, we’re building a new way to finance the water economy.

Theis Lindegaard

Founder & Project Lead

Theis is a research-driven founder focused on institutional design and long-term governance.
Drawing on experience across business, management, and education, he founded Aquana to explore how decentralized systems can support disciplined, mandate-led capital stewardship in the real economy.

Alfonso Sanjuan Pelaez

Treasury Lead - Water Finance & Asset Strategy

Alfonso brings over eight years of experience in infrastructure delivery, water assets and project finance, working across supply, treatment, and desalination projects. A CFA Candidate with Web3 tokenomics experience, he also advises Lir Labs on financials and unit economics. Alfonso guides Aquana’s treasury strategy and long-term portfolio design.

Nicolas Tillet

Blockchain Architecture & Governance Systems

Nico brings over 15 years of full-stack and frontend development experience, spanning fintech, blockchain, and enterprise systems. He has led engineering teams and contributed to several Web3 projects, including VyFi, fMoney, and Tosidrop, along with senior developer roles at Pandora Intelligence, Primero Systems, and Lagash.

Jason Matthys

Marketing & Growth

Jason has over five years of experience in the Cardano ecosystem. Focused on governance (DRep), stakeholder coordination, and ecosystem growth.

Leads Aquana’s ecosystem strategy and external engagement across Cardano, DeFi and the water ecosystem.

Umed Saidov

Water Finance & Macroeconomics

Advisor

Umed Saidov is a seasoned institutional finance and blockchain executive with over 15 years of experience spanning the World Bank, digital asset management, and large-scale decentralized infrastructure.

A CFA Charterholder and INSEAD MBA, Umed has built and led teams managing over $1B in digital assets.

Christian Taylor

Governance & Open-Source

Advisor

Senior governance leader behind Cardano’s open-source operating model at Intersect. Previously led ecosystem governance and sustainability programs across 600+ repositories at IOHK/Intersect. Guides Aquana’s governance design, contributor sustainability, and institutional-grade operating processes.

Kristijan Kowalsky

Partnerships & Ecosystem

Advisor

Ecosystem Growth Lead at Modus Create and Chair of the Cardano Budget Committee (Intersect).
Kristijan supports Aquana on Cardano partnerships, ecosystem alignment, and strategic integration across community and institutional touchpoints.

Message from Our Founder

Meet Theis Lindegaard, founder and project lead of Aquana. In this short video, Theis shares the mission behind Aquana and why decentralized water finance matters now more than ever.