Andrew Colman – Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Colman has over 30 years of experience in executive management, business development and finance in the electricity supply and energy efficiency arena, with expertise in product development, software, sales, marketing and engineering. He joins GRIDiant from Scientific Conservation, Inc, a provider of energy efficiency, maintenance and continuous commissioning SaaS for commercial buildings. Mr. Colman was SCI’s CFO and was instrumental in securing A round venture funding. Prior to SCI, he was CEO of EnFlex Corp, a leading provider of commercial building energy management software and hardware. Mr. Colman led the company through a major expansion and acquisition by SunEdison LLC. Prior to EnFlex, Mr. Colman was at MACH Energy, where he was co-Founder and vice president. He conceived MACH, a provider of energy efficiency software for office buildings, and helped raise venture funding, recruited the founding team, designed core applications and closed key sales. Earlier, he built and led the dominant sales teams for New Energy Ventures, now Constellation New Energy, and for First Pacific Networks, a provider of utility energy management systems. Mr. Colman was an energy strategist with Booz & Company focusing on the utility industry, and started his career as a research engineer at Westinghouse Advanced Reactors Division. Mr. Colman attended the University of Virginia, where he earned a B.S. and an M.E. in Nuclear Engineering plus an M.B.A. from Virginia’s Darden School. Mr. Colman is based in Silicon Valley.
Soorya Kuloor, Ph.D. – Chief Technology Officer
With a Ph.D. in power network optimization, an electrical engineering degree, and over 16 years of research and development experience in power system design and optimization, Dr. Soorya Kuloor’s knowledge, experience, and expertise are unparalleled. Prior to his position as Chief Technology Officer at GRIDiant Corporation, Dr. Kuloor’s diverse background has included senior technical development roles for major international technology companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Agilent Technologies, and Verano where his focus has been design and development of real-time, distributed mission critical systems; integration of real-time systems into ERP systems such as SAP and Oracle; and design, development and testing of real-time SCADA databases. Dr. Kuloor has authored several publications on topics in the areas of grid power flow, power system simulation, and sub-station switching. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Calgary, and has the high distinction of having received a National Merit Scholarship in India where he also received his Electrical Engineering degree with honors.
Roger Friedberger – Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Friedberger is an integral part of the GRIDiant management team responsible for financial, legal and administrative management of its operations. Prior to joining GRIDiant, Roger was the CFO of a wind energy services company. Previously, he was at SPL WorldGroup as their SVP and CFO and was instrumental in preparing and sell SPL to the Oracle Corporation, becoming the foundation of its Utilities Business Unit. Earlier he was the CFO of ILOG, a provider of business rule management, optimization and visualization software and services. Mr. Friedberger led their IPO onto Nasdaq in 1997 and their dual listing in 1998 on the Euronext Paris Exchange. He was also CFO at Insignia Solutions and Micro Focus, both UK/Silicon Valley software companies, which he helped take public on Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange, respectively. Mr. Friedberger started his career as an auditor with Price Waterhouse in London, England and San Jose, California. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Leeds, England and has qualified as a Chartered Accountant, England and Wales and a Certified Public Accountant, California early in his career. Mr. Friedberger is based in Silicon Valley.
Richard Hammond – Sr. VP, Government and Regulatory
Mr. Hammond has an extensive background in energy, environmental, and natural resources law and policy, with emphasis on development and implementation of new policies, programs, and technologies. He has been involved for nine years in structuring, funding, and implementing GRIDfast technology demonstration projects, which have provided opportunities for testing, verifying, and developing GRIDfast product applications, while generating initial industry contacts and customers, and company revenues. Mr. Hammond was a partner in an international corporate law firm from 1986-2000. He served previously as an environmental policy consultant to a major gold mining company, as a Special Assistant to the Governor of California, as Undersecretary for Resources in the State of California Resources Agency, as Senior Energy Advisor in the California Governor’s Office of Planning & Research, and as Legal Counsel to the California Coastal Commission, where he led the research, development, and early applications of the Commission’s initial coastal energy facility siting plans, policies, and procedures. Mr. Hammond is a graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School. He was admitted to the Bar Associations of California and New York, and is an active member of the California Bar Association.
Kelly Dietz – Vice President of Sales
Kelly Dietz joins GRIDiant with over 15 years of sales experience to the Utilities industry. Prior to GRIDiant, she held positions with SmartSynch, a leader in Smart Grid technology, as Director of Sales for the Southeast, where she expanded SmartSynch’s business with a number of Investor Owned Utility companies. Kelly was also VP of Sales for DevonWay, a leading provider of software solutions to the nuclear industry. She spent 6 years at Mincom, Inc., a leader in Enterprise Asset Management Solutions for Utilities, Mining, Government and Defense, where she held leadership positions in sales including Vice President of North American Sales. Prior to Mincom, Kelly ran International Sales for Tava Technologies, a global Systems Integration Firm specializing in Manufacturing and ERP systems. Kelly also ran sales and operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa for Network Power Systems, a strategic partner of NCR Corporation. Kelly has a BS in Business Administration from The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio and a certificate for German as a second language from Die Universitat Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.