grid edge world forum 2016

Nathan Adams leads ABB’s microgrid group for North America and the Caribbean which focuses on providing microgrid solutions for high renewable penetration applications. Prior to joining ABB, Nathan was Vice President of Strategy and Development for Green Mountain Power where he developed solar and microgrid projects for the utility. Before Green Mountain Power, Nathan led the corporate development group at Puget Sound Energy where he developed a number of wind, solar, natural gas and energy storage projects. Nathan holds a BA from the University of Vermont and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Amena Ali is chief revenue officer at Whisker Labs, a wholly owned subsidiary of Earth Networks, dedicated to bringing next generation home energy intelligence technologies to market.  In this role, Amena oversees business development, product offerings and implementation, go-to-market initiatives and strategic partnerships for the business.
Amena joined the company in 2011 and previously served as CMO.  Previously Amena was CMO at Arxan Technologies, and held senior executive level positions at Softek Storage Solutions, EMC Corporation, Legato Systems, OTG Software, and MCI.  Amena also spent several years with Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm.
She holds a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University and an MBA from Yale.

Mallik Angalakudati serves as Vice President, Corporate Strategy at PG&E Corporation. Prior to this role, he oversaw investment planning, resource management, strategy, process and quality excellence and contract management functions as Vice President, Gas Business Performance Management.

Mallik came to PG&E with more than 15 years’ experience in the energy industry. Prior to joining PG&E, Mallik worked at National Grid in both operational as well as process leadership positions. His experience also includes management consulting and energy pricing and risk management.

He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan, an MS in Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina, and a BS in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. Mallik also earned an executive education certificate in Leading Change and Organizational Renewal from the Harvard Business School and a Master Blackbelt certification from the Villanova University. Mallik serves on the Operating Committee of MIT's Leaders for Global Operations program, Utility Analytics Institute Advisory Board and the Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Business Administration at St. Mary's College.

Jonathan Blansfield is the Manager of Strategic Alliances for the Edison Foundation Institute for Electric Innovation (IEI). In this capacity, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations, programming and strategic growth of the Technology Partner Roundtable, a select group of innovative technology companies working to bring to market solutions required by an evolving electric distribution network. Mr. Blansfield works with utility and technology company executives to ensure that the Roundtable is a forum that advances technological, policy and regulatory solutions for consumers and utilities. Prior to joining IEI, Mr. Blansfield held a wide variety of positions in energy law, regulation and policy, including with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of the General Counsel, the Solar Energy Industries Association, and a private energy regulatory law firm in Washington, D.C.  Mr. Blansfield holds a J.D. from Vermont Law School and a B.A. from the University of Connecticut.

Mr. Brody is Americas Strategy Leader, Technology Sector at EY. He is proficient in mobile finance strategy planning, technology of mobility and internet of things. He has 20 years of consulting and strategy experience in mobile and electronics. Prior to joining EY, he served as Vice President and Global Industry Leader of Electronics at IBM. Mr. Brody graduated from Princeton University and major in Economics and African Studies.

Lisa Cagnolatti is vice president of the Business Customer Division of Southern California Edison’s (SCE’s) Customer Service Operating Unit. She oversees the company’s relationships with its major industrial, commercial, and government customers as well as SCE’s efforts to stimulate business development in the 15 counties the company serves. Cagnolatti joined SCE in 1996 and has held a variety of duties with the company in a broad range of management positions.  She previously was the director of the company’s call center operations, which handles more than 13 million calls a year.  In addition, Cagnolatti was the director of SCE’s billing, payment, and credit activities; a region manager in SCE power delivery and construction organization; and the manager of SCE’s rural district organization, which encompasses approximately 39,000 miles and serves 150,000 customers, some of whom also get water and gas from SCE. Before joining SCE, Cagnolatti worked 11 years with Southern California Gas Company in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility including sales management, marketing, environmental policy, and regulatory affairs.  Cagnolatti worked two years for Procter & Gamble as a paper manufacturing team manager before joining the Gas Company. In addition to her professional responsibilities, Cagnolatti serves in a leadership capacity for numerous community organizations focused on improving educational opportunities for under-served youth and enhancing the lives of women and girls around the world. She is Board Chairwoman for the YWCA of Greater Los Angeles, and a Board Member of the International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute, The American Association of Blacks in Energy, and the National College Resources Foundation. Cagnolatti earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

Scott Clavenna has been leading high-tech market research firms for over 15 years. In his capacity as a trusted analyst and consultant, Scott has helped dozens of companies enter and succeed in complex and intensely competitive markets worldwide. He also has authored more than 30 reports that helped define important emerging market segments in optical and broadband communications.

Prior to founding Greentech Media, Scott was chief analyst at Heavy Reading, the market research arm of Light Reading, the dominant online media company in the telecommunications market. CMP bought Light Reading in 2005. Before creating Heavy Reading, Scott founded PointEast Research, providing strategic consulting and market intelligence to a broad mix of startups, venture capitalists and major suppliers in the communications/IT industry, and worked as director of research for Light Reading. In 1997, Scott co-founded Pioneer Consulting, which quickly grew into the leading market research firm covering the optical and broadband communications industry.

Mr. Michael Conway is Borrego's Director of Grid Integration, based out of the New England regional headquarters. Through ongoing engagement in state-level initiatives, Michael aims to influence technical standards and policies surrounding interconnection and grid integration. Through those initiatives, Mike identifies strategic pathways and highlights new market opportunities around the rapidly evolving intersection between distributed generation and the traditional grid. Michael is a technical expert on interconnection practices across the country, and is currently Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Technical Standards Review Group.

Before joining Borrego Solar, Michael worked on the utility side completing system impact studies and designing system modifications and for oncoming distributed generation. He holds a Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master's of Science in Energy Systems from Northeastern University.

Dr. Matthew Croucher leads the Demand Side Analytics group at CPS Energy, one of the nation’s largest municipally-owned gas and electric utilities.

Dr. Croucher and his team oversee the company’s load research, the development of short and long-term forecasts for energy demand, the effectiveness of demand response, energy efficiency, customer related research and he leads the big data analytics efforts for the company.

Before joining CPS Energy he held positions at Arizona Public Service Company.  He was also an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Economics in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Dr. Croucher earned his B.A. in Economics at the University of Sheffield (England), followed by his M.S. and Ph.D. in Economics from Arizona State University.

Based at S&C Electric Company’s headquarters in Chicago IL, Michael Edmonds is the Chief Commercial Officer of the company. Responsibilities include all aspects of the business go-to-market strategy that solve customer problems - ranging from traditional switching & protection, grid reliability, consulting services,  microgrids, & the management of the electrical power grid. Previous roles at S&C include President US business, VP Strategic Solutions covering strategy, product management, and marketing.

Before joining S&C Electric Company in 2010, his previous roles included VP & GM of Siemens Energy Automation and Power Technologies Inc (PTI). With these positions, he was responsible for the business of real-time energy management (EMS/DMS) and transmission network planning businesses.

Zach leads business development for SunShare where he analyzes new market opportunities in sales, acquisitions, joint ventures, RFPs and subscriptions. With a background in law, he also tracks policy and legislation in emerging markets. Zach’s experience includes both legal and business development work for solar developers, energy efficiency companies, energy consultants, and many other players in the renewable industry. He spent time as an energy regulator and in-house counsel for a business incubator. He has also lead the renewable energy business development efforts for Grynberg Petroleum Company. Additionally, he acted as lead counsel and business development for Gravity Renewables and Bella Energy, which included solar, hydroelectric and wind development. In 2013, he opened his own firm with the focus of environmental and energy work. Zach has his Juris Doctor at Vermont Law School and holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Law and Policy. Prior to law school, he completed a B.A. in English and Political Science at the University of Vermont.

Dr. Sonja Glavaski is a Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) overseeing  portfolio of projects developing innovative and disruptive technologies that would facilitate cost-effective building energy audits, more efficient renewable energy generation, and enable electricity grid to be more responsive and resilient. Her technical focus area is data analytics, and distributed control  of complex, cyber-physical systems with emphasis on operations and security of energy systems.  Dr. Sonja Glavaski spearheaded development and is currently helming ARPA-E Network Optimized Distributed Energy Systems (NODES) Program that aims to develop transformational grid management and control methods to create a virtual energy storage system based on use of flexible loads and distributed energy resources (DERs).

Prior to joining ARPA-E, Dr. Glavaski served as Control Systems Group Leader at United Technologies Research Center advancing knowledge and technology in the area of control & intelligent systems. Before being at UTRC, Dr. Glavaski led key programs at Eaton Innovation Center and Honeywell Labs. During her 20-plus-year career, Dr. Glavaski has contributed significantly to technical advancements in numerous product areas, including energy systems, hybrid vehicles, energy efficient building HVAC/R systems, and aircraft systems. Dr. Glavaski received Ph.D. and MS in Electrical Engineering from California Institute of Technology, and Dipl. Ing and MS in Electrical Engineering from University of Belgrade.

Jenna Goodward is an Energy Technology Program Manager at Microsoft, and works on commercializing new solutions to power a cleaner cloud and smarter grid. Jenna began her career in environmental finance, but has extensive experience working on energy and sustainability from multiple perspectives. Prior to Microsoft, she worked at or consulted to: Autodesk, Calpine, EnerNOC, SolarCity, SunFunder, and the World Resources Institute. She works with three design principles: Integration is everything. Focus on the value streams. Future proof it. Jenna has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Economics and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

David Grant joined Tendril in September 2015 as SVP of Sales and Marketing. His team helps leading energy providers establish a competitive advantage by acquiring, engaging and activating their customers using individualized data sets and highly accurate predictions of household energy consumption. Grant previously spent fifteen years at Teradata - eleven at the VP level. His team examined the business models, challenges and opportunities of the 18 vertical industry markets they served, including utilities, to understand how to make those businesses more effective through the use of data and analytics. As a graduate of the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business, Grant earned a BS in business administration with a concentration in computer science.  He is an active member of the Business Marketing Association (BMA) and holds a seat on BMA’s Corporate Advisory Council.

Aakriti Gupta is a Grid Analyst at GTM Research, focusing on soft grid, IOT and data analytics. Prior to GTM Research, Aakriti worked at Bank of America as a Quantitative Management Associate (a data analytics position operating across different lines of business). She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with an MS and BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a double major in Engineering and Public Policy, focusing on power systems. She has been a strategy intern at GE with the digital energy group and a business analyst for a boutique consulting firm. She has also worked as a research analyst at CMU for a number of projects in the power systems domain.

Doug Gross is a sales and business development executive with a focus on clean technology solutions at the intersection of energy, information, and analytics. At Sunverge, Doug is charged with building and managing key strategic alliances and channel partnerships. Prior to joining Sunverge, Doug served in various sales and business development capacities at Nexant, SAS Institute, Opower, Hara and Thomson Reuters. Doug holds a MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA in History from Colorado College.

Katherine is a Partner and Co-Founder at 38 North Solutions, a boutique consulting firm that provides a suite of business strategy, public policy and communications services to innovative businesses and organizations. Katherine is currently President of GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum‘s Future of Energy Global Future Council. Katherine served as President of the GridWise Alliance, advocating for nearly $5 billion in funding for smart grid projects in the Recovery Act. Prior to that role, Katherine was a policy advisor for Good Energies, Inc., a private investment company with a portfolio in clean energy technologies of nearly $6 billion. She co-directed the American Bioenergy Association, working with the states of Maryland and New Jersey to develop renewable portfolio standards. At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Katherine led buildings research and then managed government relations in Washington, DC. Katherine spent a decade at Virginia Power, designing overhead and underground electrical systems for commercial and residential developments. Katherine studied electrical engineering at Northern Virginia Community College and holds degrees from Cornell University and the Sorbonne. Katherine is part of The Energy Gang podcast through Greentech Media.

Jason Handley, P.E. is Director of Smart Grid Technology and Operations in the Emerging Technology Office at Duke Energy. Jason has over 18 years of electric utility experience specializing in the smart grid, distribution automation, and operations management. This role allows Jason to follow and define new technologies that may be impacting the electrical grid and oversee all of the ongoing operational aspects on new technology pilot projects in the Emerging Technology Office. Jason manages a group that develops, installs, tests, and evaluates new technologies for Duke’s electrical grid. He and his team are responsible for developing and updating the strategic roadmap for power grid devices at Duke Energy. Jason received his electrical engineering degree from Auburn University and is currently pursuing his MBA at Wake Forest University. He is a registered professional engineer and received his electrical contractors unlimited license in 2009.

As Vice President of Marketing and Product Management, Fielder Hiss is responsible for distilling business strategy, translating customer needs and market opportunities into robust technology products, and developing and executing a successful marketing strategy. Fielder joined EnerNOC from 3D software company Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation, where he most recently served as Vice President of Product Marketing and Product Management. At SolidWorks, Fielder held several product management roles, leading successful teams and achieving company-leading results. He has also held positions at CADD Edge, Inc. (a DS SolidWorks reseller) and Intelligent Quotations, Inc. As a member of the invitation-only Boston Product Executives Forum, Fielder is also a frequent speaker on software development. Fielder holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire.

Alice K. Jackson is President of Xcel Energy – Colorado, a company serving 1.4 million electric customers and 1.3 million natural gas customers. The company is a recognized industry leader in delivering affordable and reliable service, providing clean energy choices, and in reducing carbon and other emissions. Since joining Xcel Energy in 2011, Ms. Jackson has held various positions of increasing responsibility. Most recently Ms. Jackson was Vice President of Strategic Revenue Initiatives, where she built a team to generate new revenues through exploring and integrating new technologies and economic development initiatives in addition to looking at new options for Xcel Energy’s unregulated businesses.  Prior to her corporate strategic role, Alice held the lead regulatory position with Xcel Energy—Texas/New Mexico and then with Xcel Energy—Colorado.

Before her time with Xcel Energy, Alice spent close to 10 years with Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy) managing the energy needs of this large consumer across the country. Through her involvement in the federal and state electric markets, multiple rate cases, and interaction with customers large and small, Alice developed a unique respect for utilities and their contributions to society.

Because having a full-time career, being married to her high school sweetheart and having four sons is not enough of an adventure in life, Alice recently took on the challenge of advancing her business acumen.  In 2017 Alice completed the Program for Leadership Development at Harvard University.  Before her professional experience, Alice obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Texas A&M University.

As Chief Technology Officer, Larsh is leading hardware and software engineering to meet the needs of Stem's C&I, utility, and energy market customers. Prior to joining Stem, Larsh was Chief Technology Officer at Siemens Digital Grid, where he led technology development teams on products spanning from consumer metering, demand response and analytics to control center software and grid automation. He joined Siemens via the acquisition of eMeter, a Bay Area software company of which he was a co-founder and responsible for innovation and development of meter data management, analytics, and advanced smart grid applications. Prior to eMeter, he co-founded CellNet Data Systems, a pioneer in wireless networks for smart metering and distribution automation and now a unit of Landis+Gyr a Toshiba company. Larsh was a founding member of the DOE’s Gridwise Architecture Council (GWAC) and remains a Member Emeritus. He earned a B.S. and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.

Ben is the Director of Grid Research for Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables (Formerly GTM Research), specializing in Distribution Automation, Network Management and Renewables Integration markets. He previously worked as a research analyst for Knwldg Houston, formerly a green energy and healthcare consulting firm, where his research focused on AMI deployment and smart grid regulatory policy. Prior to Knwldg Houston, Ben was a policy intern with Wexler and Walker Public Policy Associates where he performed research for energy, transportation, and defense clients.

He has authored multiple studies on the smart grid market, concentrating on policy evolution, technology innovation, the market's competitive landscape and project economics. Ben has delivered keynote presentations for multiple industry conferences, moderated and participated in panels covering a variety of topics, and regularly hosts industry webinars with GTM Research / Greentech Media. Ben has been a smart grid contributor on CNN Money, NPR, and the Texas Tribune. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science.

Curt Kirkeby holds a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering (BSEE) from Montana State University and a Masters in Engineering Management (MSEM) from Washington State University. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Washington and has extensive experience in the electric and gas utility industry; 6 years in substation design; 18 years in GIS, outage management, asset management, advanced metering systems, engineering modeling; and 14 years in applied research and development focused on energy storage, renewable integration, smart grid, and smart cities. Mr. Kirkeby is currently responsible for innovation strategy and applied research and development, focused on technologies and solutions that enhance the grid and deliver increased value to customers.

Elta is the Grid Edge Content Lead at Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables (formerly GTM Research), working on demand-side management in U.S. electricity markets. Prior to joining GTM, Elta pursued a joint Ph.D. funded by the European Commission on Sustainable Energy Technologies and Strategies at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. During her doctoral studies, she researched demand response policies for the implementation of smart grids and has presented her work at both U.S. and European conferences in addition to publishing in international scholarly journals. Elta holds a Master of Science degree in economics and management of network industries and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Union College.

Rick Kubin is Vice President at Clean Energy Blockchain Network, the North American channel partner for Power Ledger, and leads solution architecture and and energy blockchain evangelism for the western US. Rick has been involved in sustainability and disruptive innovation for over two decades and is passionate about defining strategies and technical architectures to deliver the transactive energy ecosystem of the future, with a focus on the intersection of distributed networks (blockchain), AI and analytics. With a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Victoria he excels in analyzing complex problems crossing multiple domains, synthesizing information and defining innovative solutions with real-world execution plans. Rick is a successful change agent who understands the balance between people and technology and has previously led successful architecture practices and advanced tech projects at PG&E and SunEdison.

Stephen Lacey is Editor-in-Chief of Greentech Media. He manages a team of writers focused on solar, storage, efficiency, mobility, and grid modernization. He’s also host of the Energy Gang podcast, a weekly roundtable on the latest energy and environmental news.

Pete Maltbaek is the Executive Vice President and General Manager, North America of Smarter Grid Solutions.  He has over 30 years of experience in business development, sales and strategic planning, and has been in the electricity power industry for the past 17 years, where he has worked with regulators and utilities across the world.  Pete’s technical expertise includes smart grid systems, power market management systems and grid control and communications systems, the design and implementation of energy demand response programs and data center control and energy efficiency systems, he has been an integral part of the sales and marketing functions for major companies across the US, including global conglomerates like ABB, where he was involved in the sale and deployment of the power market and grid management systems at the California ISO, ERCOT, the Ontario IESO and the New York ISO. He has also stood as Vice President in various Silicon Valley start-ups, including Nexant, CPower, Power Assure and Silver Spring Networks

Andy is an experienced product leader in advanced energy technology with a focus on technologies that enable renewable energy penetration.  He currently leads product development and commercialization for Landis+Gyr’s Distributed Generation and Energy Storage hardware and software platform.  Prior to Landis+Gyr, Andy was a product leader with SunEdison and he was also a business and product developer with the energy storage start-up, Primus Power.  At SunEdison, Andy led commercialization and deployment of the company’s renewable SCADA solutions across renewable technologies for both central and distributed power plants.  With Primus, Andy made the company’s first commercial sales, supported project execution, and led new product introduction.  Andy started his career with McKinsey & Co, leading consulting engagements in operation effectiveness and technology strategy, and he earned a Ph.D. and B.S in Chemistry from Stanford and Notre Dame, respectively.

Mark Martyak is a Registered Professional Electrical Engineer and has utilities and large energy users for the past thirty four years. Mark holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Electrical Engineering and Business Administration from University of Pittsburgh, Purdue University and Tennessee State University. Mark specializes in Distributed Generation Systems. He has consulted with over 100 utilities and 500 mission critical facilities nationally and has served as Engineer of Record for over 800 MWs of Distributed Generation Projects.   Mark’s experience also includes an emphasis on integrating DG technology with code required standby power systems.

Mark is a founding member of PowerSecure, Inc. (NYSE) and has served as Executive Vice President of Engineering & Operations, Distributed Generation Group President and is currently serving as Chief Sales Officer. Mark serves on the Board of the Hope for Haiti Foundation, and volunteers on a number of charitable organizations.

Doug McMahon is the Vice President of Corporarte Strategy for the New York Power Authority, the country’s largest state owned electric utility. He is responsible for the development and execution of NYPA’s corporate strategy. In addition, Doug leads incubation and commercialization of new products, services and technologies at NYPA - aimed at catalyzing New York State’s REV and clean energy goals by developing scalable and financeable solutions that make the energy system cleaner and more efficient, intelligent, flexible and resilient.

Michael is co-founder and Chief Technology Strategist of Mission:data Coalition, a trade association promoting Green Button and streamlined access to smart meter data for the energy management sector. Previously, Michael co-founded Lucid in 2004, an energy management software company serving commercial building owners, and served as its CEO and President. Michael earned his B.A. in Environmental Studies with highest honors from Oberlin College.

Carlos Nouel is the Vice President of National Grid’s New Energy Solutions (NES) team. NES is an agile team focused on developing and launching innovative solutions and technologies that unlock value for National Grid’s customers and communities and accelerate progress towards a sustainable future.

Before becoming its leader, Carlos was the Director of Partnerships for the NES team. In that role, he was responsible for identifying customer’s energy needs and determining the most comprehensive, cost effective and sustainable strategies to fulfill those needs through the creation of innovative partnerships and alliances with key industry players. In addition, he also leads the development and execution of strategies and tactics for our smart grid programs. Before coming to New Energy Solutions, Carlos developed sourcing strategies to support all the requirements for National Grid’s energy efficiency portfolio valued at $400m per year.

Prior to joining National Grid, Carlos worked for companies such as Pfizer, British American Tobacco, IBM and AES in the supply chain area. Carlos holds an M.B.A. from Hult International Business School, and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Andres Bello Catholic University in Venezuela. He is also a Certified Energy Manager.

Edwin has over 18 years of IT experience in finance, telecom, energy and utilities. Prior to founding the Energyworx company in 2012, he worked for a variety of companies delivering innovative technology solutions to complex business problems. He is a multi-disciplinary software technology specialist and enterprise IT architect, designing complex multi-channel and service-oriented architectures (SOA), delivering high-tech solutions for large banking, telecom and utility companies.

The past ten years he has been working for several Energy companies on strategic level, defining enterprise IT strategies and roadmaps. He has been an entrepreneur for more than 10 years and ran his own consulting firm delivering innovative software development and architecture solutions.

Edwin finds challenge in designing and developing sophisticated data management, analytics and data visualization models supporting the flood of data that is entering the smart grid in the energy and utilities sector. He firmly believes that Open Source technology will play an important role in the shift towards energy democracy driven by people and communities, leading the way as a pioneer by founding the Energyworx company.

Steve is the Director of Consulting & Content Strategy. He previously led GTM Research's Grid Edge program, which includes chairing the annual Grid Edge Live conference, overseeing the Grid Edge Executive Council and developing research related to the changing regulatory and business models associated with the energy system of the future. Before GTM, Steve was a Manager at Ernst & Young counseling power and utility companies on business planning, program development and operational improvement initiatives. Prior to that, Steve spent multiple years at PG&E in a variety of customer engagement and program management roles ranging from the Smart Grid deployment to energy efficiency and demand side management initiatives. Steve holds an MBA from INSEAD and a B.A. in Economics from The George Washington University.

Julia Pyper is a Senior Editor at Greentech Media covering utilities, grid issues, electric vehicles, the solar industry and energy storage. Find her on Twitter @JMPyper.

Omar Saadeh is a Senior Analyst with GTM Research and is the lead author of the Grid Edge Customer Network executive briefings. Omar has published numerous utility and smart grid market reports covering policy development, the competitive technology landscape, market evolution and business model economics. He has delivered keynote presentations at industry conferences and has contributed to publications such as Bloomberg, ComputerWorld, E&E’s ClimateWire, PV-Tech, Utility Dive, Yahoo News, and others.

Before joining GTM Research, Omar completed a Master of Engineering degree in power engineering at McGill University, where he was awarded a Graduate Excellence Fellowship, authored research for IEEE and Cigré, and contributed as a staff writer to The McGill Daily. He has also worked as a building efficiency sales associate at Johnson Controls and holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from McGill University with a minor in economics.

Catherine J.K. Sandoval was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in January 2011 to serve as a Commissioner at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Her appointment and confirmation to that post made her the first Latino to serve as a CPUC Commissioner in the agency's 100-year history. She serves as the Co-Vice-Chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Telecommunications Committee, on the NARUC Federalism and Telecommunications Committee, and on the NARUC Utility Market Access Committee. She is the Policy Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services. She has served since 2007 on the California Emerging Technology Fund Board of Expert Advisors. She is a tenured professor at Santa Clara University School of Law where she joined the faculty in 2004 and taught Telecommunications, Broadcast, and Internet Law, Antitrust Law, and Contracts. As an Adjunct Professor at U.C. Berkeley School of Law she taught Communications and Internet Law. She served as Undersecretary and Staff Director of the State of California's Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency, which oversaw 47,000 employees, and worked on California’s energy crisis, restructuring, and development of demand response programs from 2001-2004. She directed the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities and was a senior manager at the FCC from 1994-1999.

She clerked for Judge Dorothy W. Nelson on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after earning her J.D. from Stanford Law School. She earned a Masters of Letters in Politics from Oxford University in England where she was the first Latina to win a Rhodes Scholarship. She graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. from Yale University. She hails from East Los Angeles and Montebello, California, and lives with her husband in California's Silicon Valley.

Allan Schurr joined the Enchanted Rock team in 2018 and brings go-to-market expertise from over 30 years of experience in commercial and industrial energy services and innovative utility solutions.  Allan is responsible for direct sales, corporate and product marketing, and channel sales functions.

Prior to joining Enchanted Rock, Allan was founding president of Edison Energy LLC, an energy advisory and solutions unit of Edison International, was vice president for IBM’s Energy and Utilities industry, led marketing and business development at Silicon Energy, a pioneer in enterprise energy management software that was later acquired by Itron, and utility and non-utility senior roles at Pacific Gas and Electric.

Allan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Davis, a masters degree in business administration from St. Mary’s College in California, and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of California.  He is co-inventor on seven patents related to distributed energy.

Justin Segall is the President and Founder of Simple Energy, an energy customer engagement software company. Simple Energy delivers a turnkey solution to help utilities build a customer relationship for the future by motivating customer action and streamlining transactions and program adoption. The Simple Energy customer engagement and marketplace solutions use data science, behavioral psychology, energy analytics, and integrated incentives with e-commerce to deliver energy and demand savings while enabling distributed energy resource adoption. With years of experience serving utilities across the US and Canada, Simple Energy offers proven technology and marketing capabilities to help utilities profit from the sale of new products and services while improving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Justin brings experience in the energy industry, community engagement, and business development. Justin leads strategy, partnerships, sales and operations for Simple Energy. Previously he served as VP of Resource Development for Renewable Choice Energy. Justin led the firm’s trading and origination, executing significant transactions in renewable energy and carbon markets. Previously Justin served in senior roles with the $3 billion Atlanta BeltLine project, the largest, most comprehensive sustainable urban redevelopment project in the U.S. He helped secure project funding and led many early elements of project implementation. Justin graduated cum laude from Duke University where he spearheaded Duke’s path to leadership in sustainability.

At Intel Geoff helps energy and industrial companies develop solutions to business challenges by applying “Internet of Things” technologies in their operations.  Throughout his career, Geoff has combined technical, operational and business understanding to bring new technologies to market. 

He has worked for a US and a European utility, internet and enterprise software companies, as well as wind and solar companies including such companies at Google, EDF and PSE&G. Roles have included finance, engineering, supply chain and sales.

Geoff holds an MBA from Cornell University and degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Matthew has over 25 years of entrepreneurial experience in the energy, home computer, and consumer electronics industries, At Silver Spring Networks Matthew sets the global business and product strategy for the grid management line-of- business. This involves managing company initiatives to provide networking solutions that enable utility use cases such as FLISR, CVR/IVVC, demand response, distributed energy resource (DER) management, & outage management. Prior to Silver Spring Networks Matthew worked at Greenbox Technology, an early leader in customer-facing smart grid applications, where he was head of Marketing and Sales. Matthew earned his MBA from the Presidio School of Management and his B.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Scott Stephens, a Director of Technology Development, is leading NRG Renewables’ solar technology adoption efforts based on comprehensive engagement with upstream technology development and manufacturing firms.  Key focus areas include emerging technology diligence, quality assurance process development, market analysis, and technical engagement with tax equity investors.  These efforts increasingly include the integration of storage and controls into advanced photovoltaic (PV) systems. Prior to NRG, Stephens served as a portfolio manager for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Program.  In this role, Stephens lead technical management of solar manufacturing projects including due diligence review of over 40 companies as well as technical oversight of construction and operations for ten ground-mount solar projects totaling over 2.5GW and $8.7 billion in debt financing.  Prior to the DOE Loan Program, Stephens served as a PV technology manager for the DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Program.  In this role, Stephens managed over $100 million of annual grant funding across universities, national labs, and start-up photovoltaic manufacturers.  More generally, this time at the DOE offered Stephens a unique vantage point on an industry undergoing tremendous change.  Stephens started his career at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examining applications pertaining to optical systems.  He earned a M.S. in Physics researching thin film PV at the Institute of Energy Conversion at the University of Delaware and a B.A. in Physics from Gustavus Adolphus College in MN.

Jeff St. John comes to Greentech Media from The Fresno Bee, where he covered solar-power, biofuel and biomass developments in California's Central Valley, and the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Wash., where his beat included nuclear power and nuclear-waste remediation, as well as the research and development of biofuels, fuel cells, energy-management systems and other energy technologies. He also has written for the Anchorage Daily News, UpsideToday.com, the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and he won a National Headliner Award in 2005. Jeff has a master's degree from the U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and believes green technology will save the planet.

Rick Thompson co-­founded Greentech Media in 2007, leading the company from unknown upstart to the authoritative information services provider covering the transformation of the global electricity system.

Prior to GTM, Thompson spent 15 years at leading technology start­ups, incumbent networking and telecommunications companies, and technology media and market research firms. Rick was senior telecom analyst at Light Reading/Heavy Reading, the dominant online media & research firm in the telecommunications market, acquired by CMP Media in 2005. Mr. Thompson previously served as the vice president of marketing at PanGo Networks, a wireless software startup, and as director of product management and marketing at Sycamore Networks Inc., where he defined the product strategy and launch of the industry’s first intelligent optical switching platform through their IPO in 1999. Under his leadership, Sycamore deployed several of the world’s largest intelligent optical network infrastructures. Prior to joining Sycamore, Rick held product management positions with Packet Engines, a pioneer of Gigabit Ethernet switching that was later acquired by Alcatel; and FORE Systems, a leader in ATM networking that was later acquired by Marconi and, subsequently, Ericsson. Mr. Thompson earned a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

Katherine Tweed writes on smart grid, demand response, energy efficiency and home networking for Greentech Media. Her freelance work has appeared in a range of media outlets, from Scientific American and FoxNews to Audubon Magazine and Men’s Health. She has a master’s degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting from New York University. Katherine never leaves her electronics in stand-by mode.

Jan van der Lee is Director of EDF Innovation Lab in the USA, which belongs to EDF R&D. Prior to his current position, Jan van der Lee was Director of the Materials Ageing Institute (MAI), an EDF-owned international organization of scientific collaboration among the world’s largest nuclear utilities and related industries from France, USA, UK, Russia, China and Japan. Among others, he created the MAI Scientific Network, gathering experts in materials degradation science from about 20 universities worldwide. Janvan der Lee furthermore collaborated in several international initiatives which focus on safe long-term operation of nuclear power plants and was member of several scientific committees and societies.
Before joining EDF in 2009, he was researcher and professor at Mines-ParisTech for 20 years. He received his M.S. degree in hydrodynamics from the Amsterdam Free University in 1989 and a Ph.D. from Mines-ParisTech. Jan is married, has three sons and is fluent in English, French, German and Dutch.

Paul Wattles is Senior Analyst, Market Design and Development, at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the Independent System Operator for 90% of Texas electric load.  The Market Design team leads initiatives to enhance the long-term efficiency of ERCOT’s markets.  Among the group's current initiatives are scoping development of real-time co-optimization of the energy and Ancillary Services markets, and developing a framework for wholesale market participation by Distributed Energy Resources.  Paul has been with ERCOT since May 2004 and has over 16 years of electric industry experience with an emphasis on market design, advanced metering, demand response, and governmental affairs.  He is a graduate of the University of Arizona in Tucson with a degree in journalism.

Tom Willie, CEO of Blue Pillar, brings over 15 years of visionary leadership, entrepreneurial success, and product innovation to Blue Pillar and is an avid evangelist and active change agent for the transformation of the global energy ecosystem from the utility down to the consumer.  As CEO of Blue Pillar, he is leading the company’s efforts to bring disruptive change by using energy network of things solutions to make the world’s facilities and critical infrastructure more energy efficient, resilient, and self-sufficient.