Henk Ovink was appointed by the Dutch Cabinet as the first Special Envoy for International Water Affairs (2015). Ovink is also Sherpa to the UN / World Bank High Level Panel on Water. Henk is Principal for Rebuild by Design and was Director General for Planning and Water Affairs and Director for National Spatial Planning in The Netherlands.

Dr. Karen Meijer holds a PhD in water resources management and MSc's in civil engineering and international public policy and public management. She is interested in the consequences changes in water availability have on human well-being and inequality in society and the role of international actors in influencing these consequences. She conducted research on the social consequences of interventions in irrigation systems in Sri Lanka and of interventions in rivers in Bangladesh and Iran. She contributed to policy analysis and planning studies in various countries in Asia and Africa. At present, Dr. Meijer leads research aimed at identifying future areas of water shortage in relation to conflict and migration, and the impacts policy actions may have on reducing water shortage or its consequences.

Since 2004, Jane has been CEO of Wetlands International, leading a network of 20 offices operating in over 100 countries. Wetlands International builds knowledge and facilitates action to safeguard and restore wetlands for biodiversity conservation, water security, disaster risk reduction, climate resilience and livelihoods. This is achieved by working with governments, companies, knowledge institutes and civil society organisations to facilitate change at a landscape scale. She is prominent in building partnerships and global dialogues that enable ecosystem-based solutions to achieve a safe and secure world. Previously Jane worked for WWF in Europe and Australia.