Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) Begins Executive Director Search

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) today announced the initiation of its search for an Executive Director to lead the organization.  The SGIP Board of Directors has worked closely with existing leadership as the SGIP has transitioned from a federally-funded entity to an industry-financed collaborative which retains a close working relationship with the government.  The creation of the Executive Director position is a key milestone in the ongoing evolution and growth of the SGIP.

"Over the past three years, the SGIP has played a significant role in the tremendous growth of the Smart Grid, both in the U.S. and in numerous countries who've chosen to base their efforts on the SGIP Conceptual Model," said John McDonald, Chairman of SGIP and Director of Technical Strategy and Policy Development at GE Digital Energy.  "The SGIP's efforts have dramatically increased the pace of Smart Grid standards development worldwide, facilitating and promoting an interoperability approach promising benefits throughout the Smart Grid value chain.  I look forward to working closely with our Search Committee and the SGIP Board of Directors to ensure that we hire a world-class leader, one who will provide requisite management and direction for years to come."

The SGIP Executive Director (ED) will be responsible for all aspects of the organization's operation and execution, including strategy, outreach, recruitment, and program management & delivery.  The ideal candidate must be an excellent communicator, have a wide breadth of successful business and technical operational experience, and understand and be able to clearly convey the value of interoperability and standards.  The ED must be comfortable in a hands-on role, as the position will require management of a virtual office, remote subcontractors, and a broad volunteer community.  As the ED will be the public face of the SGIP, the position will require travel to relevant industry conferences and events both domestically and internationally.

"Since inception, SGIP members have worked tirelessly in collaboration with NIST to advance Smart Grid standards and interoperability, helping the agency in carrying out its role as defined in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007," stated Dr. George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability and Director of Smart Grid and Cyber Physical Systems at NIST.  "Recognized worldwide as the industry's key compendium of Smart Grid specifications, the SGIP's Catalog of Standards is just one of the vital outputs from the SGIP's effort to date.  NIST looks forward to continued in-depth involvement with SGIP, and is enthusiastic about SGIP hiring its first Executive Director to ensure continued coordination, development, and delivery of these critical outputs."

Over the past three years, the SGIP has pioneered and championed a number of processes hastening a smarter, safer, and more secure energy grid, including the transformation of energy usage information by facilitating the Green Button Initiative, an effort now supported by nearly 80 utilities and vendors serving nearly 30 million customers.  SGIP serves as the industry's key forum for collaboration across the breadth of the Smart Grid, and conducts activities in technical areas such as cyber security, architecture, testing and certification, and distributed energy resources, as well as in regulatory and policy matters.

About The SGIP

The SGIP is a Delaware-registered 501(c)3 tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting a framework accelerating standards harmonization and advancing interoperability of Smart Grid devices and systems.  The SGIP represents the interests of all seven integrated power system domains--end users, markets, service providers, operations, bulk generation, transmission, and distribution--by facilitating collaboration between the thousands of SGIP participants, led by a volunteer Board of Directors currently representing 22 stakeholder categories.  For more information on how to join the SGIP and on the Executive Director position, please visit www.sgip.org.

Contact:
John McDonald
Chairman, Smart Grid Interoperability Panel
[email protected]
(678) 742-1927

SOURCE Smart Grid Interoperability Panel