Obituary: GWP Mourns Stefan Girod
On 30 January 2013, Stefan Girod, Managing Director of German Water Partnership, died prematurely at the age of 48. Still utterly inconceivable to most of us, he passed away unexpectedly. For all who knew him, his death came as a blow out of nowhere.
Dipl.-Ing. Stefan Girod (Image: GWP)
Stefan Girod was born in Berlin in 1964. After graduating from high school he attended Ingenieurhochschule Cottbus (today Brandenburgische Technische Universität) to study Technology of Construction and Maintenance and successfully graduated as an engineer in 1987.
Between 1987 and 1995 he worked in the field of sewer and pipeline construction for various large companies (e.g. for STRABAG AG). Between 1995 and 2007 he worked as an executive in the field of product management/technical sales and export to East Europe for STEINZEUG Abwassersysteme GmbH.
But the following five years surely were the most significant of his working life: the crea-tion of the network German Water Partnership (GWP) presented him with an exceptional challenge that he took on wholeheartedly. As managing director, which he became in June 2008, he found every opportunity to use his various abilities for the goals of GWP—at the right time and place and with the right people. He always could rely on his talent for communication, his broad professional knowledge, his everlasting commitment, his open-mindedness and last but not least his hard work.
Beside the varied tasks filling his GWP schedule, he engaged in activities in various institutions that mattered to him. He belonged to the advisory councils of the DWA Regional Association North-East, of Wasser Berlin International, of IFAT München and of IWRM Karlsruhe.
The high esteem in which German Water Partnership is held nationally and internationally is also the result of his work. Stefan Girod had an extraordinarily winning personality, he was open to everybody regardless of his or her social position. Though suffering perma-nent shortage of time he treated his partners and employees in a friendly and open-minded manner, always willing to listen to personal concerns, and made an effort to maintain balance and satisfaction. His charm, his authenticity, his reliability and his care touched the people around him.
And that is why all who knew Stefan Girod, whether well or by a brief encounter, are so shocked about his death. We will all miss him terribly and we will need much time to get used to the sad truth that he is not among us anymore.
Our deep sympathy is with his family, his relatives and friends.
The board of directors
His colleagues at the head office
German Water Partnership
Source: German Water Partnership e.V.
