Who we are

Watershed Growth Partners is a New‑York‑based operator-led advisory and investment firm focused on water, wastewater, and resource‑recovery—including domestic and hazardous waste and adjacent environmental services.

  • Cross-border operators. Our founder ran billion-dollar platforms in North America, Australia, China and Europe. That reach lets us guide European sponsors into the U.S. market—and U.S. funds into Europe or ANZ—without the learning curve.

  • Practical ESG. Every diligence includes a quick sustainability score-card and action sketch that map straight to the fund’s ESG goals.

One mandate, four ways we help

  • Test the deal. 15-day tech/ops/ESG red-flag review—kill it or clear it.

  • Stay on the board. Quarterly strategy refresh, KPI heat-map, exit story.

  • Step-in leadership. When asked, we bridge the first 180 days as interim CEO/CRO and hand a cohesive team to the permanent leader.

  • Aligned economics. If invited, we co-invest alongside the sponsor and draw on a vetted bench of functional specialists only when deeper expertise is required.

With board‑room judgment and field-tested operating discipline, we turn solid environmental businesses into high-return platforms—rewarding both investors and management.

Meet the Founder

Eric Gernath

Former operating CEO, SUEZ North America & Australia. Eric Gernath now leads Watershed Growth Partners, working directly with private‑equity sponsors from LOI through exit.

Where Eric fits in a deal

  • Pre-Deal Diligence – 15-day Tech / Ops / ESG “red-flag” review, management reality-check, and value-bridge snapshot to clear — or kill — a target.

  • Board-level accelerator – Quarterly strategy refresh, KPI heat-map, bolt-on sounding-board, and exit-readiness lens from signing to sale.

  • Step-in integration CEO / PMO – 3- to 6-month bridge leadership when the sponsor asks, steering Day-1-to-Day-90 work-streams and handing a cohesive, KPI-driven team to the permanent hire.

Current board roles

  • Atlas‑SSI – water‑intake and screening equipment (strategy & ESG)

  • Synagro Technologies – biosolids recycling (M&A pipeline)

Career highlights

  • Board member, Synagro — re-set service-sales process, supported bolt-ons, upgraded key talents; pipeline and margins both up

  • CEO, SUEZ North America – $1.2 B revenue, digital overhaul, +9 % CAGR

  • CEO, SUEZ Australia – tripled revenue to $1.1 B, +17 % CAGR, integrated $ 250 M acquisition

  • Founder, Guangdong Degrémont (China) – built SUEZ’s first Chinese subsidiary, now a regional benchmark

  • Earlier: Turnaround CEO at TERIS LLC; commercial leadership at United Water, Nalco, Foster Wheeler.

Credentials & base

  • MSc Project Management (École Centrale Méditerranée) • MSc Chemical Engineering (INSA Rouen)

  • America, French and Australian citizen, he lives in Scarsdale, NY. Invests personal capital when invited by the sponsor.

Contact us

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