Leo P. Commandeur
Co-Founder
Global Water Resources, Inc.
Through our best times and our challenges, Leo remained a loyal and devoted friend. He was that guy you could always count on. He'd give you the shirt off his back and often would quietly help people in his own way. He accumulated his wealth largely by believing in himself. He always knew that the power of his optimism was the ultimate self-fulfilling prophecy, and it was.
-- Trevor Hill, Chairman
Raised in Nelson, British Columbia, Mr. Commandeur graduated in 1979 from L.V. Rodgers High School, and then attended Selkirk College, in Castlegar, British Columbia in the Business, Pre-Commerce program. Mr. Commandeur then joined the Certified Management Accountants Society of British Columbia and studied Accounting.
In 1992 Mr. Commandeur co-founded Visionary Solutions, a technology company specializing in the deployment of hardware and software solutions. With offices in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia, Seattle, Washington and Calgary, Alberta Mr. Commandeur provided strategic and operational direction to the company’s finance, accounting and sales departments. He also provided leadership to the company as sales grew from $150,000 a year to $10,000,000 in revenue. Mr. Commandeur participated in the public stock offering of the Company on the Alberta Stock Exchange and the eventual sale of the company to a Norwegian public Company Agresso Group ASA.
In 2000, Mr. Commandeur co-founded Algonquin Water Resources of America (“AWRA”), a division of the Algonquin Power Income Fund. In his role in Business Development for AWRA, he assisted the acquisition team acquiring 6 utilities in three years and amassing 37,000 customers in Arizona and Texas.
In 2003, Mr. Commandeur co-founded Global Water Resources, a company established to acquire regulated water and wastewater utilities in the arid southwest and to advance the cause of water reclamation and reuse as a conservation methodology in the state of Arizona.
In January 2012, Leo was diagnosed with spinal cancer, but despite his condition, he never went a single day without enjoying his life or without a huge smile on his face. Leo was an incredibly optimistic person and cancer fighter and never stopped battling his condition during his courageous fight. Leo was a successful entrepreneur who was always passionate about his work and was deeply loved by his partners and coworkers. Leo loved his family, friends, and all people he came in contact with throughout his life. He was a selfless man who was driven by his desire to give back no matter how much or little he had.