Speakers

Dean Nelson

CEO of Cato Digital, Founder and Chairman of Infrastructure Masons, and Founder and CEO of Dean Nelson Inc.

Dean Nelson is a seasoned technology executive with 32 years of experience deploying $10 billion of digital infrastructure projects across three continents. He holds four U.S. patents and is a leader at three organizations: Cato Digital—a software platform that unlocks stranded power in data centers; Infrastructure Masons—a professional association of industry executives and technology professionals uniting the builders of the digital age; and Dean Nelson Inc.—a strategic advisory and consulting company serving startups, Fortune 500 companies, and investment firms.

Previously, Nelson led Uber's Metal as a Service function, supporting its ridesharing business and delivering over 100 million trips a week in more than 600 cities spanning six continents. This included other company ventures such as UberEats, UberFreight, UberHealth, and UberForBusiness, and Autonomous Vehicles and UberAir development.

Prior to Uber, Nelson was vice president of Global Foundation Services at eBay Inc., where his team served over 300 million active users enabling over $250 billion of commerce volume annually. At the end of his tenure, his team successfully integrated and split eBay and PayPal infrastructures into two independent internet companies. He also worked at Sun Microsystems in various technical, management, and executive leadership roles.

Marc Aveni

Assistant Director, Loudoun County, Virginia, Department of General Services

Marc Aveni oversees a variety of environment, energy, and public works programs for Loudoun County, Virginia—home to the world's densest population of data centers (aka Data Center Alley). He is responsible for the development and implementation of the Board of Supervisors-approved Loudoun County Energy Strategy and supports the county's Environmental Commission and first-ever County Natural Resource Strategy.

Aveni earned both his bachelor's degree in horticulture and master's degree in public administration from Virginia Tech.

Carsten Baumann

Director of Strategic Initiatives and Solution Architect, Schneider Electric

Carsten Baumann joined Schneider Electric in 2012, bringing over three decades of experience in the data center, broadcast, telecommunications, audiovisual, and information technology industries. In his role as a solution architect, he assists clients in the commercial, industrial, and data center markets with energy security initiatives aimed at enhancing resiliency, achieving efficiencies and sustainability objectives, and creating economic benefits. Previously at Schneider Electric, he advised the consulting and engineering community on resource-optimized energy management solutions in the data center sector.

Baumann's work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and he is a frequent speaker at national and international venues. He is a member of Infrastructure Masons and a past contributor to the Green G working group. Until 2018, he served as treasurer and president on the board of Association for Computer Operations Management Southern California and was chairman for The Global Society for Asset Management. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California and completed a program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in smart manufacturing. Baumann holds an electrical engineering degree from the Theodor-Litt-Schule in Giessen, Germany.

Larry Bekkedahl

Senior Vice President, Advanced Energy Delivery, Portland General Electric

Larry Bekkedahl advances Portland General Electric's (PGE's) strategy to build the grid of the future—one that is resilient, smart, and delivers a clean energy future.

He oversees PGE's strategic system architecture and system upgrades, which will serve as the foundation for the smart grid of the future. This includes initiatives related to system integration and operations, smart cities, distributed energy resources, energy storage, dispatchable standby generation, transmission system performance and development, market interfaces, innovation, and R&D.

Bekkedahl joined PGE in 2014 as vice president of transmission and distribution. His more than 40 years of leadership experience in the energy industry includes serving as senior vice president for transmission services at the Bonneville Power Administration and holding leadership positions at Clark Public Utilities, PacifiCorp, and Montana Power Co.

He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Montana State University. Bekkedahl serves on the Electric Power Research Institute Research Advisory Committee, the Stanford University Bits and Watts Advisory Council, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Electricity Advisory Committee, the GridWise Alliance Board, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Advisory Board, and the All Hands Raised Educational Council.

Dan Bilello

Director, Strategic Energy Analysis Center, NREL

Dan Bilello has 25 years of experience in line and program management roles at NREL. His expertise spans energy policy, economic analysis, and strategic planning, with previous assignments at DOE and the U.S. Department of State.

Bilello is a fellow in the Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program, overseen by the National Laboratory Directors' Council. Before joining NREL, he worked in the donor community, in the private sector, at the U.S. Department of State, and at the National Economic Council. He holds a master's degree in U.S. foreign policy and international economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Stephanie Greene

Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability Advisory, CBRE

Stephanie Greene is responsible for delivering sustainability services and solutions for occupier and investor clients across CBRE's global business. She engages with clients to understand their needs, diagnose challenges, and provide solutions and partners across functions to drive innovative strategies—working to address clients' evolving needs by leveraging the breadth of CBRE's service offerings.

Greene also advises on strategies related to real estate portfolio decarbonization; net-zero roadmaps; benchmarking; green leasing; building ratings and certifications; electrification; on-site renewables; electric vehicles; reporting requirements; and governance deployment. Before CBRE, Greene led a global team at the Rocky Mountain Institute, where she pioneered market-based solutions that enabled the adoption of electric, zero-carbon, grid-interactive buildings. She previously played a pivotal role at Pacific Gas and Electric Co. as director of Clean Transportation Strategy and Policy, managing its electric vehicle initiative. Greene also held positions in renewable energy procurement strategy, energy efficiency, and demand response programs. Her proven track record, industry insights, and passion for driving change have made Greene a leader in accelerating the transformation of the built environment. With nearly two decades of experience in sustainability and clean energy, Greene's visionary perspective and deep industry knowledge reinforce CBRE as a leading voice at the forefront of advancing sustainable real estate practices.

Greene has bachelor's and master's degrees in earth systems from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business.

Sean James

Senior Director of Datacenter Research, Microsoft

Sean James runs Microsoft's Datacenter Research and Development program, housed within its Cloud Operations and Innovation team. He drives new data center technology for Microsoft's next-generation data centers, including evaluation, development, and testing.

James joined Microsoft in 2006 to manage operations at one of its data centers and later joined the construction team to oversee new data center design and assembly. James started his career in the U.S. Navy submarine fleet as an electrician. He then worked in data center management, overseeing day-to-day maintenance and repair operations for information technology hardware and critical infrastructure, such as electrical infrastructure and cooling equipment.

James earned an information technologies degree from the University of Phoenix. He holds many patents related to data centers and energy.

Prasanna V. Joshi

Vice President, Low Carbon Solutions Technology, Exxon Mobil Corp.

Prasanna Joshi leads a team of scientists and engineers focused on technology delivery in carbon capture, carbon storage and transport, hydrogen, low-emissions fuels, lithium, and carbon offsets. His mission is to deliver the technology solutions critical to ExxonMobil leading the energy transition.

Joshi joined ExxonMobil in 1998 and has held a variety of roles, including research engineer at its development labs in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and leadership roles in process and modeling research, planning for research and engineering, supply and transportation, and global marketing and sales. In 2018, he was named global sales director for ExxonMobil's specialty elastomer business based in Shanghai, China, and in 2020 became the corporate strategic research director.

Joshi serves on the management board for the Singapore Energy Consortium. He previously served on advisory boards for United Way of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, the Chemical Reaction Engineering Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the University of Delaware's Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation.

Joshi earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Mumbai, his MBA from Tulane University, and his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware. He lives with his wife and two children in the Houston area, where he is active in the local Indian community.

Lynne Kiesling

Director, Northwestern University's Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics in the Center on Law, Business, and Economics

Lynne Kiesling is an economist focused on regulation, market design, and the economics of digitization and innovation in the electricity industry. She leads the Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics within the Center on Law, Business, and Economics.

Kiesling's academic positions include faculty fellow in the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Energy and Sustainability at Northwestern University; adjunct professor in Northwestern's Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability program; research professor at the University of Colorado Denver; external faculty member of the Santa Fe Institute; and a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. She also provides advisory and analytical services as the president of Knowledge Problem LLC. She is a member of DOE's Electricity Advisory Committee, has served as a member of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's Smart Grid Advisory Committee, and is an emerita member of the GridWise Architecture Council.

She earned her bachelor's degree in economics from Miami University (Ohio) and a doctorate in economics from Northwestern University.

Jessica Lau

Founder, Artful Pathways, and Grid Strategy Consultant and Stakeholder Engagement Expert

Jessica Lau has over 17 years of experience in the energy industry, including expertise in grid-modernization strategies, transmission-and-distribution planning, smart grid technology, wholesale energy markets, and resilience projects. At Artful Pathways, she integrates technical expertise with human-centered strategies to power the future grid with a focus on holistic and collaborative approaches that break down silos and improve organizational efficiency.

Lau has led multiyear initiatives for Fortune 500 companies and DOE, establishing vital partnerships with local communities and technology developers. She has held previous roles at ISO New England, NREL, Xcel Energy, and Con Edison. She is chair of Women in Energy at the International Council on Large Electric Systems United States National Committee and co-founder of the United States National Committee's Next Generation Network, where she launched its first paper competition to support emerging leaders. Lau holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and mathematics and a master's degree in power systems management.

Bill Mannel

Director, Chief Technology Office and Higher Education Sales, High Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (North America)

Bill Mannel is a seasoned veteran of the servers and high-performance computing (HPC) industry. In his current role, he leads Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (HPE's) HPC team in crafting ideal solutions for customers' problems—with a focus on science, technology, and speed.

He joined HPE in 2014 as general manager of HPC, overseeing significant expansion, including its Apollo line of servers reaching $1 billion in revenue and HPE's acquisition of the HPC companies Cray and SGI. In recognition of his leadership, he was named an HPCwire Person to Watch in 2016. Before HPE, Mannel served as vice president and general manager for Compute and Storage Products at SGI. Previously, he worked as a structures flight test engineer and flight control systems engineer at NASA and the U.S. Air Force, contributing to programs such as the X-29, F-16, B-1B, and AFTI-111.

Mannel holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and materials science from Duke University and an MBA from San Jose State University, both with honors.

Caitlin Murphy

Group Manager and Senior Analyst, Impacts Analysis Group, Strategic Energy Analysis Center, NREL

Caitlin Murphy's research focuses on assessing how energy policies and technology innovation shape the evolution, operation, and environmental impacts of the U.S. energy system. Her research portfolio centers on renewable-based hybrid energy systems, including the economic, reliability, and operational impacts of coupling utility-scale renewable energy and storage technologies.

She holds a doctorate in geophysics from the California Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Anand Ramesh

Chief Technology Officer, Verrus

Anand Ramesh has infrastructure experience across data center engineering, energy, and software product management.

Prior to joining Verrus, he was senior vice president of advanced technology for EdgeConneX, a global data center provider. Ramesh worked for Google for 14 years, including serving as the technical lead for advanced technology and innovation for its data center division, overseeing Google's data center architecture and technology roadmap.

He earned his bachelor's degree in engineering from Government College of Engineering, Pune, his master's degree in materials engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, and his doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Kelly Speakes-Backman

Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, Invenergy

Kelly Speakes-Backman leads policy and corporate affairs activities at Invenergy, the largest privately held American developer, owner, and operator of clean energy solutions. She is a nationally recognized thought leader in the clean energy industry who serves on the Energy Advisory Council for the Bipartisan Policy Center and the External Advisory Board for the Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute.

Prior to Invenergy, Speakes-Backman served as the acting assistant secretary for DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, where she led its $3.2 billion portfolio of renewable power, energy efficiency, and sustainable transportation. Previously, Speakes-Backman was the first CEO of the Energy Storage Association and a commissioner of the Maryland Public Service Commission. She has spent 30 years working on energy and environmental issues in the public, nongovernmental organization, and private sectors, including at United Technologies, SunEdison, and Wartsila North America.

Sherry Stout

Laboratory Program Manager, State, Local, and Tribal Activities, NREL

Sherry Stout supports initiatives across DOE, primarily focusing on its Office of State and Community Energy Programs, Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, and Integrated Strategy Office, within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

Stout has developed and led multiple technical assistance programs at NREL, working with a diverse range of stakeholders, including American Indian Tribes, Alaska Native villages, state governments, and federal agencies. She is keenly interested in finding ways to better enable partner governments and stakeholders to achieve their energy goals through delivery of technical expertise. She holds a master's degree in environmental and sustainability engineering from the University of Colorado Denver and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from New Mexico State University.