Blockchain in Energy Forum 2019

Abhinav Tiwari is a Data & Analytics leader with experience supporting Digital and Analytical transformations for large organizations across Financial Services, Retail, Health & Public Services. His key focus areas have been Data Strategy, Governance, Architecture and Delivery of Enterprise-wide centralized as well as distributed solutions. Through his patented innovations, Abhinav has led some key initiatives across Health & Public Services with a direct positive impact on people’s life. As the Head of Advanced Planning at Alectra, he is currently leading initiatives on Transactive Energy and Data Strategy, as well as supporting Smart Cities and related ecosystem using technologies such as Blockchain, AI, IoT and Big Data.

Mr. Nayeem Mohammad Abdullah is a Principal Project Manager in the Smart Grid and Innovation group at ComEd. Nayeem is passionate about enabling solutions for an advanced grid through leveraging innovative technologies and methodologies. He has previously been with ISO New England, Vermont Electric Power Co, Google and Vision Club in various engineering roles. He has a Masters of Science degree in Electrical Engineering specializing in Power Systems from Florida International University, and Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from JNTU.

Mr. Gerber is the Director for New Energy & Environment in IBM’s Energy, Environment & Utilities Industry. He is responsible for the development of solutions for non-traditional utility functions, specifically focused on integrating distributed energy resources, environmental issues focused on air and water, and energy efficiency. Previously he was the Director of the Smart Lifecycle Asset Management (SLAM) initiative. In this role he was responsible for the Strategy, Sales, and Solution Development of SLAM solutions. SLAM is focused on asset intensive clients across the Aerospace, Automotive, Electronics, Manufacturing, Energy & Utilities, Oil & Gas, and Travel & Transportation industries. SLAM solutions seek to leverage information across an asset’s lifecycle through information management, advanced analytics, and optimization. Prior to that, Mr. Gerber was the Power Generation Leader for the Energy & Utilities industry at IBM. In this position he was responsible for devising, developing and executing the solution portfolio strategy and capabilities for all of IBM’s power generation business. This includes capabilities for fossil, nuclear, and renewable generation areas.   Mr. Gerber has over 30 years of industry experience providing advanced solutions to the utility industry. He has been deeply involved in electric utility solution development and implementation, as well as having served in executive management positions. Prior to working at IBM Mr. Gerber was the CEO of a power plant simulation company, which was successfully sold to a major control system company, where the business continues to operate to this day. Mr. Gerber also served as the VP of operations and strategy for an internet-based file storage company. Mr. Gerber has a Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters of Control System Engineering degree from Stanford University.

CK Umachi currently works as an Expert Product Manager focused on blockchain at PG&E. He is co-leading efforts to develop blockchain based applications for the energy space. Prior to his current role, he worked as a Senior Risk Management Engineer at PG&E. CK has a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT as well as a professional certification in Strategic Decision and Risk Management from Stanford. He became excited about blockchain in 2017 through personal investments and research and continues to be active in the blockchain space.

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.

Killian is an engineer with an MS in computer science and applied knowledge of system optimization using neural networks and genetic algorithms. Killian has consulted or sold software to utilities for over 18 years. He was responsible for energy platform sales at Oracle Utilities and business development at Uptake (the fastest growing startup of 2015 according to Forbes, beating Slack and Uber).

Mohit is an expert on blockchain adoption based out of Berlin. Having led client success as a Director at OST, a tech startup building core blockchain protocol and SaaS to process in-app micro-transactions, Mohit has advised companies on unlocking the power of blockchain for P2P payments, customer insights tracking, asset ownership and supply chain management.

In addition to his blockchain expertise, Mohit is an experienced cleantech consultant having advised international companies and investors for close to a decade on solar and distributed energy technologies, new energy business models, market risks and financing with a focus on emerging markets. He has in the past led GTM Research’s global solar coverage and also co-founded two cleantech consultancies – TFE Energy and Bridge to India, leading large consulting projects across North America, Europe and Asia. Mohit holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University.

Skylar Hurwitz is a Capacity Building Consultant at Jelurida with global experience expanding access to distributed ledger technology (DLT). One of his most recent achievements includes serving as editor on several reports by the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) Focus Group on Applications of DLT (FG-DLT), which had a heavy focus on addressing climate concerns and achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Prior to his transition to the blockchain industry, he worked for 3 years at CEPF supporting small environmental NGOs in biodiverse countries build capacity around financial management to receive funding from donors that included the World Bank and European Union. He holds a B.A. specialized in Global Environmental Policy from American University in Washington, DC.

Sean’s professional experience lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, software engineering, and biotechnology, with over a decade of experience working with neural systems. Sean has been involved in the submission of over a dozen patents and academic conference submissions that range from the formation and enhancement of mammalian memory, to modular jewelry that enabled remote biometric monitoring. His previous work includes building installation packages as a software engineer at Oracle Corporation, cofounding two smaller startups that respectively built biometric, modular jewelry and augmented reality contact lenses, and assessing the commercial viability of emerging technologies and inventions through the MIT Technology Licensing Office and the Columbia Technology Venture Fellows. Currently, Sean works at BMW’s Research and Engineering division, where he both develops software that enables artificial intelligence, and engages in strategic partnerships with industrial and academic clients to build proof-of-concept prototypes for corporate adoption. Some of his most recent work spans collaborative robotics, augmented reality for improved manufacturing and knowledge sharing, next generation infrastructure connectivity, the virtualization of work-stations, enhancing robotic performance in virtual environments, and developing novel approaches for coordinated control of IoT devices. Sean graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. He also completed study at both the Imperial College of London, where he earned a Master’s of Research in Bioengineering with a specialization in neural processing algorithms, and the University of Oxford Said Business School, where he earned a Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Biotechnology. Following this, Mr. Batir enrolled in a Ph.D. program studying Theoretical Neuroscience at Columbia University, and is currently on a leave of absence to work at the interdisciplinary crossroads of IoT, AI, and swarm intelligence.

Henry Pease is an R&D engineer at the BMW Group Technology Office in Mountain View, CA. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Robotics and Intelligent Systems from Princeton University. He is passionate about outside the box ideas in everything from backend software to mechanical hardware. In his free time, he enjoys sailing, skiing, and running.

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.