Jim Greer is an electric executive with a keen sense of what deregulation means for customers as well as the retail electric providers (REPs).

Since joining the Texas Utilities Company system in 1984, he has held a number of management and leadership positions at Oncor and its predecessor companies, spanning such areas as engineering, operations and governmental relations. He is active in the Texas Society of Professional Engineers, is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and was the 2010 recipient of the IEEE’s national Leadership in Power award.

Randy Guard leads the product strategy and business development efforts for the SAS Business Analytics Framework. Guard and his Product Management teams work closely with SAS’ Research and Development organization to define and manage product road maps based on market needs and customer input. Guard and his Global Practice teams drive revenue growth by delivering market-driven offerings and supporting strategic customer engagements. These teams of product and industry domain experts help customers apply SAS software to solve their critical business problems.

Randy serves as Chairman of the Board for IDeaS, a SAS Company. IDeaS is the premier provider of pricing, forecasting and revenue optimization solutions. Acquired in 2008 by SAS, IDeaS enables global organizations such as leading hospitality, travel and transportation companies to understand, anticipate and react to consumer behavior in order to optimize company-wide revenue and profits.

Before joining SAS in 2000, Guard served as Manager of e-Business Solutions for BuildNet, a provider of builder management solutions to the residential and commercial building industry. He also served as Regional Director for Spectrum Technology Group, specializing in e-business and data warehousing solutions. Guard began his career with Andersen Consulting (Accenture), where he led systems development and implementation efforts for clients across financial services, retail and consumer packaged goods, utilities and public sector industries. Guard holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Duke University.
 

Karl Popham joined Austin Energy in March 2006. He currently leads the utility’s Electric Vehicle and Emerging Technologies teams. Popham has more than 20 years experience in emerging technologies, leadership, consulting, and information technology. Prior to his current role, he was the utility’s interim Chief Information Officer (CIO). Additionally, he has held the role of Division Manager of the Program Management Office and personally managed the utility’s largest IT project of record ($60M/100 staff). Prior to joining Austin Energy, Karl worked as an Outsourcing Executive at Hewlett-Packard Services, Director with Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, and has served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Karl has managed global projects & programs for Fortune 500 clients to include Exxon, Compaq, Lehman Brothers, and USAA.

A graduate of The University of Texas with a degree in Business from the McCombs School of Business, Karl is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Don Denton is a general manager for Duke Energy’s U.S. Franchised Electric and Gas organization, where he is responsible for smart grid strategy and planning.

Denton began his career with the company in 1992, when he joined Duke Engineering & Services Inc. There, he progressed through a variety of leadership roles, balancing his technical expertise with an enterprise-wide view on strategy. In 2002, Denton joined Duke Power in a strategic planning role where he managed Duke Power’s strategic and business planning effort, which resulted in an integrated 10-year strategic plan.

The Charlotte, N.C., native earned a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an executive master of business administration degree from Queens University in Charlotte. He is a registered professional engineer in North and South Carolina as well as a licensed general contractor in North Carolina.

Denton serves on the board of directors of the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative as well as the Community School of the Arts in Charlotte. He also serves as a co-chair of the Gridwise Alliance’s Legislative and Policy working group and as a member of the planning committee for the Smart Grid Roadshow. He also serves as a member of the Clean Energy Advisory Committee for the Philadelphia Naval Yard.

Aseem Kapur, Department Manager Smart Grid Implementation Group, is responsible for the implementation of $272 million smart grid deployment project funded by the Department of Energy. The project advances new capabilities for Con Edison’s electric system and its customers by using advanced system capabilities like rapid restoration and grid reconfiguration, achieving efficient delivery through system losses reduction, enhancing data visualization, and integrating smart grid technologies.

Mr. Kapur originally joined Con Edison in 2003 as a management intern. Prior to assuming his current position, he held the position of Senior Engineer with Distribution Engineering where he was responsible for the development and deployment of distribution automation technologies.

Mr. Kapur holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University. He has attended advanced professional program offered by Siemens Power Technologies Incorporated (PTI).

Becky Harrison is Director, Smart Grid Technology and Outreach for Progress Energy. Harrison was responsible for implementing the Progress Energy’s Smart Grid Program for both its Carolina and Florida service territories. Under Harrison’s leadership, Progress Energy was awarded a $200M ARRA Smart Grid Investment Grant.

Progress Energy is a leader in the industry in deploying technologies on the grid to enhance operations and improve efficiencies. Its  innovative Distribution System Demand Response program has been approved as a DSM/EE program by the North Carolina and South Carolina utilities commissions, and when fully deployed will deliver 310 megawatts of demand response capabilities by leveraging advanced volt/VAR control across the distribution grid. With the ARRA grant dollars and company matching funds combined, Progress is expected to spend $520M on Smart Grid projects across the Carolinas and Florida.   

Harrison has a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Carolina and an MBA from Wake Forest University. She is a registered professional engineer in North Carolina and South Carolina with over 20 years experience in the electric utility business in distribution and information technology. Harrison has managed several successful business transformation efforts that leverage new technologies to drive business value which positions her well to lead Progress Energy’s Smart Grid efforts.  Harrison is active in the industry’s efforts to advance Smart Grid and serves on the board of directors for the GridWise Alliance and the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative.

Lee Krevat is director of the smart grid initiative at San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). SDG&E’s smart grid program, led by Krevat, is one of the most ambitious and comprehensive in the nation, receiving POWER magazine’s prestigious 2012 Smart Grid Award for implementing the nation’s most advanced smart grid, and ranking as the smartest utility in the nation for three years in a row by IDC Energy Insights and Intelligent Utility Magazine.

Krevat also focuses on promoting the benefits of the smart grid and energy independence on a national level.  He serves on the Board of Directors of the GridWise Alliance and the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA).  He also serves on the Board of GridX, a startup that has developed the industry’s first revenue grade, utility scale, cloud-based billing engine.

Ryan Keel joined EPB in 1997. Ryan began his career at EPB as en electric system planner.  He has gone on to work in the area of substation and controls engineering as well as in system operations.  He led EPB’s first automation project 7 years ago which allowed automatic restoration of service on EPB’s sub-transmission system.  He currently holds the position of Assistant Vice President in the Electric System Division which includes engineering and operations as wells as responsibility for the development of EPB’s Smart Grid. Ryan earned his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Tech University and his MBA from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

EPB was established in 1935 as a non-profit agency of the City of Chattanooga and has grown to be one of the largest municipal power distributors in the country, serving more than 169,000 homes and businesses in a 600-square mile area. 

In 2009, the company was awarded $111 million matching grant from the Department of Energy to expedite the completion of the Chattanooga area’s smart grid, the largest per capita amount awarded to any utility in the country.

Today, the fiber optic network constructed for the purpose of powering the most automated smart grid in the country is also serving to expand EPB’s communications service offerings to include residential customers throughout the service area.  Currently offering Internet speed up to one gigabit-per-second, the communications services offered by EPB Fiber Optics also include IPTV services and phone.

As CEO of Efficiency 2.0, Tom oversees the strategic direction of the company and ensures alignment among the energy science, technical and business development groups. He has previously worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the law firm of Davis, Polk & Wardwell, and the Governor of New York, where he managed a legislative portfolio spanning energy, environmental and pension law. Tom received a bachelor's and master's degree with honors from Harvard University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Matthew Crosby joined Austin Energy in September 2011, where he currently manages the utility’s Plug-in Partners™ home charging program. He leads Plug-in EV readiness activities to include business case and program development for the Electric Vehicles and Emerging Technologies business unit. His work also supports the DOE-funded Texas River Cities Electric Vehicle Initiative, a regional PEV infrastructure planning initiative, and Pecan Street, Inc., a community-wide collaboration to reinvent the energy delivery system.

Crosby was previously the Lead Energy Division Analyst for the Alternative-fueled Vehicle Proceeding at the California Public Utilities Commission. California led the nation with the first PUC regulatory proceeding to consider current alternative-fueled vehicle tariffs, infrastructure, and policies to support greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals. Matthew has also worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development, and holds a Masters of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University.

Don Bowman was literally born and raised within the rural electric cooperative family - his grandfather, uncle and father each held the General Manager position at electric cooperatives in Virginia. After receiving an engineering degree from the University of Virginia, Don earned his MBA at American University. In 1998, Don began working at NRTC, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, where he held the position of Vice President of Utility Solutions. At NRTC, Don worked with over 120 different utilities with their development of AMI and telecommunications strategies, assisting them in the improvement of operating efficiencies. After eleven years at NRTC, Don moved his family of four to North Carolina to assist TSE Services with a cooperative Smart Grid evaluation. In March of 2010, Don joined Wake EMC as the Manager of Engineering to develop, implement and maintain the technology roadmap.

Wayne started his career in distribution engineering with Houston Lighting and Power. He then analyzed demand side management programs before becoming product manager for the new home and air conditioning energy efficiency programs. Wayne held several positions coordinating electric service for residential, commercial and industrial customers and managed various teams that launched bills on the internet for residential customers and websites for commercial and industrial customers. He currently is Principal of Smart Energy at Reliant Energy and has responsibility for reviewing new technology and partnership opportunities.

Wayne earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Technology from University of Houston. 

Tony Tewelis joined Arizona Public Service (APS) in February of 2008. He currently is the Director, Technology Innovation. He is responsible for the overall strategic development and implementation of the Company’s advanced technology based solutions, with a key focus on smart grid technologies and the integration of renewable energy. These responsibilities include the oversight and management of the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the Company’s key asset deployments and pilot projects, including all small scale (<10 MW) solar power plants, as well as the engineering research, studies, economic evaluations and technical intelligence necessary to support the commercialization and integration of renewable energy resources

Prior to his current role, Tewelis was responsible the corporation’s renewable distributed energy program (end-use applications derived from Solar, Wind, Biogas/Biomass, Geothermal, Hydro, and other renewable fuel sources). His duties included policy development, program design, stakeholder management, market intelligence, budgeting, and other program related activities that result in the overall achievement of regulatory compliance targets, customer satisfaction levels, and other sustainability related goals that were consistent with APS’s strategic and integrated resource plans.

Prior to joining APS, Tewelis worked for nearly twenty years in Wisconsin with utilities, most recently as the Director of Customer Relations and Interconnection Services for the American Transmission Company (ATC). Before ATC, he held several management positions with Alliant Energy (formerly Wisconsin Power & Light).

Paul Kalv is the director and chief smart grid system architect for the City of Leesburg, Florida electric utility and is accountable for all financial, operational, and transformational matters of the utility serving 24,000 customers.   The utility was recently nominated for the American Public Power Association’s “2012 Energy Innovator Award.”

Leesburg has embarked on a $21 million utility transformation to provide cutting edge technology that can help customers save electricity, lower energy bills, and reduce impacts on the environment. More than half of the project is funded by federal economic stimulus grants through the U.S. Department of Energy.

Kalv has served more than 43 years in management and technical leadership positions at an investor-owned and five municipal utilities.

He has successfully managed the deployment of multiple power/technology projects including an advanced fiber-optic data network serving school and municipal government locations in Danville, Va.

Paul holds an electrical engineering degree from the University of Florida, an MBA from the University of Miami and a public management certification from Florida State University.  He is a Past President of the Florida Municipal Electric Association and currently serves as Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Florida Municipal Power Agency.

Mozhi Habibi is a member of the Global Energy & Utilities Strategy & Solutions team, responsible for leading IBM’s energy and utility solutions strategy worldwide.  Mozhi focuses on IBM’s strategy around challenges in the industry, including power generation, intelligent utility network, distributed generation, business analytics & optimization and cloud computing.  The strategy encompasses solution strategy, client & partner interactions, and IBM’s M&A activities.

Previously, Mozhi was the head of Product Management at Space-Time Insight, a provider of geospatial situational awareness software, responsible for overall product strategy.  Prior to STI, she was Sr. Director of Strategic Marketing at Ventyx a company in the energy, utility and telecommunication industries providing asset and workforce management and smart grid operations solutions. Ventyx was acquired by ABB in 2010.

Prior to its acquisition by Ventyx in 2007, Mozhi was responsible for go-to-market strategy, new product innovation and product management at Global Energy Decisions and Henwood Energy, providers of energy operations, analytics and ETRM software for the energy and utility industry.   Mozhi started her career in the energy industry as a field engineer, with General Electric Energy.

Mozhi serves on the board of a number of non-profit organizations in the education field focusing on Science & Math for girls, and is a member of Society of Women Engineers.  She received her Bachelors degree in aeronautical engineering from California Polytechnic State University, in San Luis Obispo and her masters in business administration from San Jose State University.  Mozhi lives with her husband and 2 children in San Carlos, California. 

Deepak Divan is President and CTO of Varentec, a company funded by green-tech venture capital firm Khosla Ventures, that is providing innovative solutions to achieve a smart and dynamically controllable grid.  He has over 35 years of experience in industry and academia in the areas of power electronics applied to utility and industrial systems.  Deepak is a Fellow of the IEEE, past President of the IEEE Power Electronics Society, and has been requested to speak at dozens of conferences and symposiums on topics related to next generation power electronics to emerging solutions for dynamic grid control. From 2004-2011, he served as Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Founding Director of the Intelligent Power Infrastructure Consortium at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.  Previously, Dr. Divan was a Professor in Electrical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He has over 250 papers and 40 issued and pending patents. Recently, Deepak spoke on a keynote panel at the ARPA-E Summit in Washington DC, on the topic “Future Grid: Beyond Smart Meters”.  Dr. Divan combines unique perspectives on the changing landscape on the Transmission & Distribution grid, and the need for a transition to dynamic grid control, including advanced power electronics solutions.  His research interests are in dynamic grid control, sustainable energy and advanced power electronics.

Erich is the Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of EnerNex Corporation in Knoxville, Tennessee where he helps EnerNex clients define their strategic direction in basic R&D, technology, and product development. Erich has 30 years of experience in the design and development of innovative solutions to a wide array of power system problems, most notably in ways to take advantage of communications networks and technology to improve the efficiency, operating practices, and security of the electric power system.

Since 2009, Erich has been the stakeholder relationship management lead for the NIST Smart Grid interoperability standards development and harmonization effort. Most recently he is working with utilities and large campus based organizations to apply new technology including microgrids to support a new level of grid resiliency expectations in the wake of recent storms and other natural and manmade disasters that impact the grid.

In 2004, Erich was appointed to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) GridWise Architecture Council for which he currently serves as chairman. The council is a team of experts assembled to articulate the guiding principles that constitute the architecture of a future, highly interoperable, intelligent, energy system.

Erich and his team at EnerNex were recognized at the 2007, 2008, and 2010 GridWeek conferences by receiving the GridWeek Smart Grid Award for “Smart Grid Implementation and Deployment Leadership” and was named by Greentech Media in their 2010 and 2012 Networked Grid 100 list of Movers and Shakers in the Smart Grid, and by FierceEnergy in 2011 as one of the “Fierce 15 Power Players” for Innovation and Industry Leadership.

Michael Loiacono is responsible for the Smart Grid communications technology business for Siemens in North America. He and his team focus on providing unbiased communications analysis, consulting, and solutions to utilities. Prior to joining Siemens Smart Grid, Dr. Loiacono spent eight years at Siemens Corporate Research in Princeton, NJ, where he managed and conducted advanced R&D in the field of wireless communications, with a particular emphasis on performance analysis of mission-critical communications systems.

Dr. Loiacono has contributed to the development of several wireless and Smart Grid standards, and has held voting positions in the IEEE 802.11 Working Group, Wi-Fi Alliance, and IEEE P2030. He has authored over a dozen publications in peer reviewed journals and conferences, and holds 7 U.S. and international patents. Dr. Loiacono received the B.S.E. degree in Computer Systems Engineering from Arizona State University, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University. Michael and his wife, Christina, reside in the Raleigh, NC area. 

Gary Rackliffe is the VP of Smart Grids, leading ABB's initiative in North America which includes business development, establishing alliances and partnerships, product strategies, and sales and marketing.  Gary has 30 years of T&D experience, working for ABB in Raleigh the last 20 years.   

Gary is the chair of the GridWise Alliance Smart Grid Implementation Workgroup, a member of the DistribuTECH Advisory Committee, the chair of the NEMA Smart Grid Council, and a member of the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster Advisory Committee.  

Gary holds BS and ME degrees in Power Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a MBA from Carnegie Mellon.  He is a Registered Professional Engineer and an IEEE Senior Member.  He has co-authored a T&D planning book, and has written numerous technical papers.

Doug Houseman has extensive experience in the energy and utility industry and has been involved in projects in more than 30 countries. He is routinely invited to speak at international events in the industry and has been widely quoted in a number of international publications. Doug was named part of the World Generation Class of 2007, one of 30 people in the global utility and energy industry so named.  Doug was the lead investigator on one of the largest studies on the future of distribution companies over the last 5 years working with more than 100 utilities and 20 governments.

Jack Mc Gowan, CEM, CEA, CSDP, CDSM, DGCP is President of Energy Control Inc. (ECI), an OpTerra Energy Company and is Chairman Emeritus of the U.S. Department of Energy GridWise Architecture Council. He is a member of the Galvin Electricity Initiative Team of Leaders. He was Founding Co-Chair of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Building to Grid Working Group. The Association of Energy Engineers admitted him to the “International Energy Managers Hall of Fame” in 2003. ECI was included during selection of the 11 companies to watch in the Smart Grid space in 2011 by Smart Grid News and won a 2008 American Business Award sponsored by Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal as Best Overall Company in the U.S. with less than 100 employees. Mc Gowan is an author with 5 books on Fairmont Press and Prentice Hall and has published 200+ articles. 

Based at S&C Electric Company’s headquarters Chicago IL, Michael Edmonds is Vice President of Strategic Solutions. This group consists of new businesses, product and portfolio management, M&A, brand management and includes traditional switching & protection, power quality/energy storage, automation, software and the communication systems required to enable the grid. An increasing number of real grid deployments combine to provide business case examples, white papers & speaking event material - that include energy storage, static VAR compensation, distribution automation and communication systems.

S&C Layered Intelligence™ solution set for the smartgrid are developed from strategic solutions and augmented via alliances. These include the IntelliTeam Self healing grid solutions, grid efficiency, demand response, communication systems, IntelliRupter pulse closer, active dynamic protection, energy storage, renewable integration and operations. Combined these offer product and solutions for the challenges the electrical power grid such as Grid Reliability, Efficiency & Capacity.

Prior to joining the S&C Electric Company his previous roles included VP & GM of Siemens Energy Automation and Power Technologies Inc (PTI).

Carlos Romero is responsible for sales, product positioning, market messaging and overall growth strategy for the Utilities Business Unit. He has more than 16 years of experience in the design and implementation of regulatory frameworks, business strategies and solutions for smart grid commercial operations, portfolio optimization, hydro scheduling, bidding strategies and asset-centric trading operations. He has worked with dozens of customers around the world implementing software and consulting solutions and re-engineering business workflows to enhance profitability on utilities operations within the smart grid framework and GenCo operations. Romero has directed and lectured in numerous seminars and conferences focused on the planning, operation, structure and development of competitive and deregulated energy markets worldwide. He earned his BSc in electrical engineering from La Salle University and his MA in financial administration from Business Administration School.

Bill Lowry is Vice President, Cloud Services at Terremark, where he leads strategic sales engagement and evangelism for the company's enterprise-class cloud computing solutions, working with large enterprises to help apply the power of the cloud to their IT strategies. Prior to joining Terremark, Mr. Lowry was Vice President of Sales for Revere Security. Mr. Lowry has more than 20 years of experience integrating security, storage, network and data center technologies into solutions for utilities, telecommunications providers and Fortune 500 enterprises, with strategic roles at companies including EMC, 3Com, Brocade and Data Return. He earned a B.A. In Advertising from Texas Tech University and resides in Dallas with his wife and children.

Mr. Kushman joined Blue Pillar in August 2010 after having served as Chairman since 2009. Kevin brings a 14-year track record in energy technology executive management, investing and integration, project development and corporate finance to Blue Pillar. Kevin was the co-founder and managing director of CleanBridge Energy Partners, an energy asset development company, focused on clean, distributed energy projects. Prior to CleanBridge, Kevin was CFO of ZeroPoint Clean Tech, Inc., a biomass gasification and renewable fuels technology company, and previously, CFO of Current Group, a privately-held, Smart Grid communications technology and services company, whose investors include Google, Goldman Sachs, Hearst Corporation and General Electric. Kevin held several management positions at Cinergy Corp. (now Duke Energy) from 1997-2004, most recently as co-founder and Managing Director of Cinergy Ventures, Cinergy’s $180 million corporate venture investment fund. Kevin holds an MBA from Xavier University and earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

Chris is the President & CEO of Energent Incorporated. Prior to joining Energent, Chris served since 2003 in a number of senior management positions for ANSYS Inc., a leader in engineering simulation software. Most recently, he served as their Vice President of Business Development.

Prior to ANSYS Inc., Chris served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the CFX business of AEA Technology from May 2001 to February 2003 until the time of its acquisition by ANSYS Inc.

During his career, Chris has held a variety of senior management positions in sales, marketing, strategic planning, and product development - 20 years of which were with Honeywell International Industrial Automation and Control. Subsequent to Honeywell, Chris served as Chief Operating Officer with SNC-Lavalin ProFac Inc., a leading supplier of real estate outsourcing services.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

Subhashish Bhattacharya received his B.E. (Hons), M.E. and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee (University of Roorkee), India in 1986, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India in 1988, and University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003, respectively. He worked in the FACTS (Flexible AC Transmission Systems) and Power Quality group at Westinghouse R&D Center in Pittsburgh and Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution, from 1998 to 2005. He joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU) as an Assistant Professor in August 2005, where he is the ABB Term Associate Professor since August 2011 and also a faculty member of NSF ERC

FREEDM systems center (www.freedm.ncsu.edu) and Advanced Transportation Energy Center [ATEC] (www.atec.ncsu.edu) at NCSU. His research interests are FACTS, Utility applications of power electronics and power quality issues; solid-state transformer, high-frequency magnetics, active filters, high power converters, converter control techniques, integration of energy storage to the grid, and application of new power semiconductor devices such as SiC for converter topologies.

Rick Bain is currently the Director of Business Development for Cree, a technology based company located in RTP, focusing on the LED lighting market and power systems. Some of the focus in this role has been the EcoSmart fixture rollout in Home Depot and Utility Incentive Programs for the US. Prior to that Rick was the Director of Global Sales for ISA, an automation technology based organization in RTP. In addition, Rick has served as an advisor to venture groups in the area of smart grid and renewable energy on a national basis. Rick is a founding member of the North Carolina Sustainable Entrepreneur Group and he also serves on the Board of Directors of the Eco-Industrial Council, a North American based development group which focuses on the development of the establishment of “Eco-Parks”. In addition, he has been involved in providing technical assistance through the Revitalization Institute, an international organization focused on the restoration economy.

Rick has held executive management positions focusing on sales and marketing of new ventures for companies that have included GPU, First Energy, Centerior Energy, PECO, Home Director(an IBM venture) and Invensys(a UK based energy and infrastructure company). Rick is founder of a development group focusing on edge city concepts. Rick holds a BS in Economics and BA in Marketing from Edinboro University and MBA /Graduate work in Strategic Planning and Entrepreneurship from Penn State.

As a result of his work in the energy ,environmental and advance cluster sectors, Rick has developed a number of comprehensive programs for communities and professionals focusing on strategic visioning, adaptive reuse of properties and land, and land/community development and workforce development in both rural and urban areas on a national basis.
 

Badri is a technology leader specializing in transformative business analytics and optimization applications with an emphasis on application of Machine Learning techniques to solve real world, high ROI business problems. Over nearly two decades his career has spanned many verticals including Energy & Utilities, Banking & Financial Services, Retail, Telecom and Healthcare. Prior to FirstFuel, Badri helped lead the development of a global analytics framework for Energy & Utilities at IBM Research. He co-founded Prediction Machines, an analytics startup in the Smart Grid space with proprietary Analytic software. Badri has also held technical and business leadership positions at FICO and SAS Institute, including co-founding and building out FICO's Bangalore, India, offices.

Badri holds a Ph.D. from Northeastern University and MS degrees from IIT Kanpur and Carnegie Mellon University.
 

Bill is a RF wireless networking professional with 20+ years of experience in point to point, point to multi-point and mesh networking for the utility space. In his current role as Director of Product Management responsible for Network Infrastructure and Smart Grid technology products for Silver Spring Networks, Bill provides direction and leadership in the development of Silver Springs Distribution Automation networking solutions as well as alternative transport options for backhaul and Smart Grid applications. Prior to joining Silver Spring, Bill was in charge of the Americas for Harris/Stratex Networks heading up the solutions teams for their PTP and PTMP microwave offerings and helped architect one of the first ship to shore wireless IP based microwave links. Bill holds patents in several networking application areas and is driven by technology challenges and development.

Elie Nasr is Director of Business Development, Utility Segment, at SMA America.  He is responsible for the development of new opportunities in the North American utility-scale PV market segment and compliance with interconnection requirements for large scale and high penetration DG systems.  

Prior to joining SMA, Nasr founded Xtensible Power Technology Inc., a consulting company providing a variety of executive-level advisory services to utilities and firms servicing the renewable and T&D segments.

Before that, Nasr served as the vice president of business development for the utility segment of Satcon Technology Corporation.

Nasr’s utility-related career spans almost 25 years. He began as a power systems engineer at GE Energy, where he held increasing levels of responsibility in the development and marketing of EMS and DMS solutions to utilities.  Nasr then transitioned to Siemens Power Technology International, a division of Siemens Energy, where he served as Executive Consultant of Business Development and led the go-to-market strategy and architecture of Siemens PTI common information modeling and analysis (CIM) software tools that include PSSODMS, “Model on Demand” (MOD) and associated interfaces to PSSE.   

Nasr holds a BS and MS in electrical engineering and an MBA in finance from Florida Institute of Technology.  He is an IEEE member and a frequent speaker/presenter at renewable energy conferences.

Inspired by the mainstream boom of hybrid cars and a shared passion for consumer electronic products, Seth and his co-founders set out to create a technology solution for reducing home energy consumption. The tools they developed empower consumers and utilities to understand and control how energy is being used, and identify opportunities for savings.

As CEO of EnergyHub, he oversees the overall direction and operation of the company. He devotes extra focus to creating an exceptional user experience for EnergyHub customers.

Prior to founding EnergyHub, Seth served in several managerial and technical roles at Honeybee Robotics. During his tenure at Honeybee Robotics, he worked on the Mars Science Laboratory mission, the Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program, and payloads and tools for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) robots.

He was the principal investigator for a DARPA research effort to build a miniature laser vision system for search and rescue robots. Seth has a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, where his research focused on Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) for Ultracold Atom Optics.

Joe DeLuca leads the definition, development, launch and lifecycle management of Petra Solar’s smart energy solutions, including the industry's first smart grid connected utility grade solar systems.

He has held senior management positions for over eight years in the communications industry where he led Conexant to a market leadership position delivering next generation DSL Technology for IP TV services. The products developed under his direction are now widely deployed for AT&T's U-Verse TV service.

Joe also spent eight years in the Missiles and Space Division of Lockheed in senior engineering positions in which he led the systems integration and test for a NASA earth science satellite, and Mars Probe.

Joe received his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University, and holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. 

Dr. Daniel Hullah is a Partner with RockPort Capital and has been with the firm since 2006. Originally from the UK, he has a background in chemistry and sales and marketing strategy and puts both of these to good use at the intersection of energy technology and market innovation. His areas of interest run the gamut of the sector, including alternative and traditional energy, energy efficiency, biofuels / renewable chemicals, and unconventional oil and gas.

Daniel is a Director at GaN Systems, and is a board observer at Microseismic, Project Frog, and Satcon Technology.  He is also a founding member of the Boston chapter of the International Building Performance Simulation Association.

Prior to RockPort, Daniel was an engagement manager at ZS Associates, a management consulting firm focused on sales and marketing strategy. He has a BA (Hons) in Chemistry and a DPhil in Physical Chemistry both from Oxford University, and an MBA (with distinction) from INSEAD. His passions include brewing, squash, cricket and West Ham United.

Michael Campbell is a veteran of the wireless and software industries where he focused on technologies that help companies improve their business by connecting real time, real world information to applications and end users. He spent the past 12 years running companies in the Machine to Machine (M2M), or Internet of Things (IOT) markets and leveraging the power of Cloud computing to deliver innovative and disruptive solutions to customers around the world. Most recently he was CEO at SensorLogic which was recently acquired by Gemalto. Previously he was CEO of PanGo Networks which was acquired by InnerWireless where he was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development.

Simplifying the process of building 'Connected Applications' is the focus of MachineShop where he is now the President and CEO. MachineShop is deeply engaged with hardware, software and systems integration companies that are building the next generation of intelligent applications and cloud-based managed services in markets that include Networked Grid, Security, Asset Monitoring and eHealth.  

Yoav co-founded Simple Energy in June 2010. Simple Energy is changing how millions of people consume energy. Our Customer Engagement Platform leverages data from users’ lives, friends, and environments to change how they think about and act on saving energy.

Prior to Simple Energy, Yoav helped build Synteractive, a IT services firm in Washington, DC, where he lead the effort to rebuild Recovery.gov. Yoav has worked as a Managing Director with Teach For America. He has also worked with Crisis Commons to build crowd-sourced disaster relief applications. As an undergraduate at Duke University, Yoav helped start Camp Kesem, a free residential summer camp for children of cancer patients, now on over 30 campuses.

Michael Rigney is Vice President of Business Development for Gridco Systems, an early stage company developing intelligent power management solutions for electric utilities and large commercial/industrial customers. Prior to Gridco Systems, Michael held sales and marketing management positions at EnerNOC during its growth from $10M to $300M in revenue. Before EnerNOC, Michael worked at General Electric Wind Energy and co-founded BlueTarp Financial, a specialized financial services company for the construction industry. Michael has a MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College.

Louis Szablya is the Vice President of Marketing for Energate and is based in Houston, Texas. He is responsible for marketing, product management, business development, and partner programs. Since graduating in electrical engineering in 1979 his 30 plus years in the energy industry have spanned many diverse jobs, including 15 years at a utility, providing him with a wide range of technical, commercial, contractual, and policy experience.

Dave Buster is an industry veteran with over 30 years experience is designing, building and operating communications systems. As an engineer in the Telco world in the 1980s, Dave built outside plant systems and deployed early trunk fiber optic systems. As an engineer in the vendor community, Dave also supported industry standards activities and early deployments of innovative fiber systems and test systems. Later, Dave spent over 13 years with Cisco systems in product management and technology planning, rising to the level of Director of Product Management in the Global Government Solutions Group. While there, he spent several years supporting federal government agencies with data security architectures. Recently, Dave has joined Elster Solutions as a Customer Solutions Architect, with a special focus on security.

Dave has a B.S. Engineering and M.B.A. from North Carolina State University. He is an Amateur Radio operator (KK4ELT) and also plays trombone and guitar… but not at the same time.
 

Andres is an award winning engineer, executive, speaker, and author. Andres is one of the early pioneers and developers of the Smart Grid concept and technology. He championed Austin Energy’s vision, program, and implementation from 2003 – 2010, as their CIO, and co-authored the book “The Advanced Smart Grid”. He is a member of the IEEE and ASME. He has over 26 years of experience in the Energy, Telecommunications, Software and Computer industries. He is currently the EVP & Chief Strategy Officer at Proximetry, offering AirSync - the first smart grid network management platform. He is a board member of the Utility Telecom Council’s Smart Networks Council, and an advisor to KU, UCLA, UT Austin, KLD Energy, Amperion, and Zpryme. He has received over 33 awards for his industry contributions. He is a well-known speaker on Energy, Telecommunications, and IT topics. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas and he has completed executive programs at Stanford University in business, at The Wharton School at The University of Pennsylvania in quality management, and at The University of Idaho in electric utility management. Andres started his career at Microsoft as a product manager for Windows in 1986.

Joaquin Silva co-founded On-Ramp Wireless in 2008 to address the large technology gap for pervasive wide-area wireless in the Smart Grid and utility automation markets. Under his leadership, On-Ramp has become an industry pioneer in the Smart Grid space, obtaining a DOE grant for below ground monitoring of distribution grid assets. Joaquin is a frequent panelist and speaker at industry events, including Greentech Media’s Networked Grid 2011 and UTC Telecom 2011, discussing Smart Grid applications and the use of wireless technology. Based on Joaquin’s leadership and direction, On-Ramp Wireless was also selected as a World Economic Forum 2011 Technology Pioneer, and as a 2011 Bloomberg New Energy Finance Pioneer. Prior to founding On-Ramp Wireless, Joaquin was co-founder, President and COO of Ostendo Technologies Inc., where he was instrumental in developing a unique display technology and winning several new customer and government programs. Prior to Ostendo, Joaquin was a Vice President at the investment banking firm Montgomery & Co., where he led their wireless and semiconductor franchise for 6 years. Earlier in his career, Joaquin was a Captain in the United States Air Force. He has an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles and a BS in Management from the United States Air Force Academy.

Tom Key a Technical Executive at the Electric Power Research Institute. He has over 30 years experience in energy related R&D in the US Navy, at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, and at EPRI. He currently manages EPRI renewable generation integration activities. His key areas of study are the photovoltaic and electronic inverter performance, utility ownership models for solar, analysis and tools to understand integration of distributed generation into the electric distribution system.

Prior to assuming his current position at EPRI, Key was manager of renewable generation at EPRI and Vice President of Technology at EPRI Solutions (a former wholly-owned subsidiary of EPRI). He is a founder of EPRI’s laboratory for power quality, distributed generation and end-user applications in Knoxville, Tennessee. Prior to his EPRI career, Key was Manager of RDT&E for a utility grid-compatible interface at Sandia National Laboratories. His work included characterizing high-performance dc/ac inverters and electronic appliances, analyzing effects of power disturbances on sensitive electronic equipment, and developing design criteria and recommended practices for cost-effective application of power-enhancement equipment.

Key holds a Master’s degree in electrical power engineering and management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1974 and a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico 1970.

Key is a Fellow of the IEEE and nationally recognized in power system compatibility research, integration of distributed and renewable energy resources, applications of energy storage and power electronic technologies. He has published more than 150 publications and presented at numerous conferences, forums, and given testimony to the House Committee on Science and Technology Hearing on Energy Storage Technologies.
 

Gary High serves as Landis+Gyr’s Vice President of Systems and Services sales for North America. An industry veteran with more than 20 years experience marketing to electric, gas and water utilities, Mr. High brings a diverse background in metering, software and communications to his position. Mr. High is responsible for managing the sales strategy for the Systems, advanced metering and smart grid communications segment of the business, Distribution Automation and the Services business practice.

Prior to joining the Landis+Gyr organization, Mr. High was VP of Sales and Marketing at Logica, a global provider of IT and business services where he focused on work and asset management systems, system integration and consulting. Mr. High also held various senior level positions within Schlumberger during a 15-year span with that company’s metering and utilities segments.

Mr. High is a graduate of Texas A&M University. He resides with his family in Atlanta, GA and can be reached at gary.high@landisgyr.com.
  

Dr. Mani Vadari is the founder and President of Modern Grid Solutions.  He consults to smart grid companies (utilities and vendors) seeking subject matter expertise in setting the strategic and technical direction for developing key aspects of the generation/transmission/distribution system of the future.  A frequent keynoter and speaker at industry events in the US and abroad, he also serves on the board of the GridWise alliance and the Smart Grid Roadshow.

Dr. Vadari brings about 25 years of experience delivering solutions to the electric utility industry focusing on Transmission/Distribution (T&D) grid operations, Generation operations, Energy markets, and Smart Grid. His experience spans the regulated and unregulated arena for utility and energy companies. His roles have primarily been Business Architect, and/or solution delivery for many leading utility companies in North America and around the world. Dr. Vadari is considered a Smart Grid subject matter expert, offering much sought-after subject matter expertise in setting the strategic and technical direction for developing key aspects of the generation/transmission/distribution system of the future.

Kevin Meagher is responsible for a wide range of product direction, business development and strategic planning. As the creator of the power system analytics concept and definition, Kevin leads the Company’s technology development and strategy as well as critical strategic relationships in emerging technologies. Recently named to the “100 People You Must Know in Smart Grid” list by GreenTech Media, Kevin is recognized as an industry expert in the areas of data acquisition, data analysis, expert systems and artificial intelligence. Prior to joining Power Analytics, Kevin was president of a boutique business consulting company that worked closely in product planning, strategic planning and business valuation for public companies such as Eaton, Invensys General Electric, and Alpha Technology, as well as leading venture capital and private equity firms from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Kevin has authored numerous technology works and has been a frequent speaker on power and energy management and related technologies. Kevin has undergraduate degrees in Biochemistry and Business, and an Executive MBA from the University of Colorado as well as doctoral work in Knowledge Management. Kevin also holds a Master Captain's License from the USCG and has a current commission in the U.S. Merchant Marine.

Howard A. Scott is the Managing Director of Cognyst Advisors. He specializes in market research, utility operations and expert services and recently advised the Obama Transition Team on the ability to introduce Smart Metering across the United States. His technical and business experiences include AMR/AMI and Smart Metering, telecommunications, project and business management, market research, and software development. He worked a dozen years at Bell Labs and Bellcore developing innovative telecommunications technologies. An accomplished public speaker, he has published numerous articles including an extensive market study of the automatic meter reading industry titled The Scott Reports. He has a doctorate in physics and has held a variety of leadership positions in both business and civic organizations.

Dale Pennington is the Managing Director of UtiliWorks Consulting, an international professional services organization that helps utility clients assess, design, procure and deploy advanced metering systems and smart grid technologies. He has approximately 25 years of extensive experience in the water, gas and electric utilities. Dale is recognized for his authority in compiling profitability analyses and mentoring government partnerships at small and large US based cities. Dale has been the front runner for projects that capture UtiliWorks' leading position in Smart Grid developments.  Dale utilizes proven workflow and asset management techniques to critically optimize existing and new utility investments.

Rick Thompson brings 14 years of industry experience from leading technology start-ups, incumbent networking and communications companies, and technology market research firms. Most recently, Rick was senior 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. Prior to Heavy Reading, Rick was a principal at PointEast Research, where he led market analysis and strategic consulting across a wide range of network communications market segments.

Rick previously served as the vice president of marketing at PanGo Networks, a wireless software company, and as director of product management and marketing at Sycamore Networks Inc. At Sycamore, he defined the product strategy and executed the launch of the industry's first intelligent optical switching platform. Under his leadership, Sycamore deployed several of the world's largest intelligent optical network infrastructures for global wired and wireless service providers. Prior to joining Sycamore, Rick held similar 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's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.

David Leeds directs the smart grid research practice at GTM.  Mr. Leeds has guest lectured on the subject at MIT, Stanford, and The Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania). He has been quoted as an expert by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post; his perspective pieces have appeared in a variety of publications including BusinessWeek, Power Magazine and Fortune.  He is the author of the groundbreaking report “The Smart Grid in 2010,” which has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.

An avid world-traveler, David has come into contact with many of our most pressing environmental and social challenges. His research, focused on the convergence of IT, telecom and energy networks, leads him to believe that a smarter future is possible if we can reinvent our collective relationship with energy. Mr. Leeds completed his degree in international business and finance at Trinity College at Oxford (U.K.) and the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. He lives and works in New York City.

Emma Ritch is an analyst at GTM Research, focused on communications and networking technologies for the smart grid. She has been quoted as an expert by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Nature scientific jounal and The Guardian. She previously worked as senior research analyst at the Cleantech Group, a research and consulting firm, where she advised clients on technologies, trends and investments in energy efficiency in the built environment. Prior to Cleantech, Emma worked as a cleantech reporter for the Silicon Valley Business Journal, where she covered topics including energy storage, biofuels, solar, smart grid and lighting. Emma graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and studied at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands before beginning her career as a business reporter at the Associated Press and The Sun News. She lives and works in San Francisco.

Ben is a Smart Grid Analyst for GTM Research. He previously worked as research analyst for Knwldg Houston, a green energy and healthcare consulting firm, where his research primarily focused on automated metering infrastructure and smart grid regulation. 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. Ben graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science.

Prior to joining Greentech Media, Eric Wesoff founded Sage Marketing Partners in 2000 to provide sales and marketing-consulting services to venture-capital firms and their portfolio companies in the alternative energy and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Wesoff has become a well-known, respected authority and speaker in these fields. He also was the publisher of the Venture Power newsletter, a subscription-only newsletter covering venture-capital investment in renewable energy.

Eric's expertise covers solar power, fuel cells, biofuels and advanced batteries. His strengths are in market research and analysis, business development and due diligence for investors. He frequently consults for energy startups and Silicon Valley's premier venture capitalists.

MJ Shiao is a Senior Analyst for GTM Research with a focus on PV inverters, electronics, thin flm PV and U.S. non-utility markets. A 5-year veteran of the solar industry, MJ has experience ranging from fabrication of crystalline silicon solar cells to PV project development. Before joining GTM Research, MJ managed and designed over 5 MW of residential and commercial PV projects with Solar Design Associates. Prior to project management, MJ consulted with the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) on residential solar rebate programs and with the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on PV experience curves by technology. MJ holds a bachelor's in electrical engineering from the University of Delaware, where he was named a National Truman Scholar. A believer in the social benefits of solar power, MJ has researched, installed and tested rural off-grid PV in India and Thailand and currently serves on the Steering Committee of SustainUS, a non-profit engaging U.S. youth in sustainable development advocacy.