GSEF Ambassadors

Mr Ravi Seethapathy : GSEF Ambassador - Americas

After a 35+ year career in Canadian Electric Utilities and Power Systems area, Ravi Seethapathy is now an Advisor to the Utility/Industry. He sits on the Boards of Power Transmission & Distribution (IC) Division of Larsen & Toubro, India; Smart Grid Canada, India Smart Grid Forum and Biosirus Inc. His current international technical activities include (1) International Convener CIGRE WGC6.28-Remote Islanded Grids; (2) Member, IEA PVPS Taskforce 14 – High Penetration PV in Electricity Grids; (3) CSA/Expert IEC TC 120 - Energy Storage; (4) Member, CSA/SysC LVDC; and (5) Chair, WG 5 (Renewables and Microgrids), India Smart Grid Forum. He is an invited speaker globally (Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Slovenia, Panama, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, USA and many EU countries) on Smart Grid, Smart City, Renewable Energy integration, E-mobility infrastructure, Energy Storage, Energy Efficiency and Microgrid areas. He has co-authored over 50 technical papers in Smart Grid and served over 9 years as an Adjunct Professor in Canadian Universities in the area of Energy Systems. He also mentors/advises SME technology companies and their investor organizations. Retired in 2014 after 31 year career in Hydro One/Ontario Hydro, a leading Utility in Canada where he managed leading portfolios in R&D, Innovation, Smart Grid Projects, Energy Storage, Renewable Energy Integration, Asset Management, Corporate Operations/Technical Audit, M&A (500M$), Generation Performance, Field Operations, and Relaying and Control. His Past Corporate Directorships include Toronto Atmospheric Fund, Ryerson University, TV Ontario, Scarborough Hospital, Nevaro Capital Corp, Engineers without Borders (Chair), Canadian Club of Toronto (President), Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (President). He has received numerous honours and citations including Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), Fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering (2012), Hydro One President's Award (2008), Honour Roll of the Shastri Institute (2008), Honorary Fellow, Centennial College (2005), Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (1996) to name a few. His education includes a B. Tech (Hons) in Electrical Power from IIT, Kharagpur, India; an M. Eng. in Electrical Power from the University of Toronto; and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business, York University. He together with his family has endowed an IEEE Award in "Rural Electrification Excellence".

Ms Valérie-Anne Lencznar: GSEF Honorary Ambassador –Europe & Francophone Africa Regions

Valérie Anne Lencznar is a communication specialist and Executive MBA (HEC) graduate. She has previously served as the GSEF Vice-Chairperson from July 2019 till July 2021. She carries more than 20 years of experience in the energy sector. She was the Communication Director of the main nuclear power plant in Europe situated in the northern part of France. She was general secretary of the Franco-Spanish joint venture between RTE and REE (the TSOs) from 2009 to 2015. She worked as the managing director of Think Smartgrids, the professional association gathering the French players in smart grids, from its inception in 2015 to 2021. Valerie-Anne is currently the advisor to the President of ENTSO-E, the association of the European TSOs.

Mr Nick Singh : GSEF Honorary Ambassador - Anglophone Countries in Africa

Nick Singh has been at Eskom Research Testing and Development since Jan 1998, specialising in Smart Grids and Control Systems. He leads a team of engineers and scientists, and facilitates laboratories in the Smart Grid domain, equipped to service the requirements of the power utility, which starts at Generation, Transmission, and Distribution ending at the customer. He currently holds the position of Head of Smart Grids Centre of Expertise. He is involved in centre management, technical support and strategy for Research Testing & Development and Line divisions. Nick is a member of the Study Committee of Technology Technical advisory Committee (SCOT TC), South African Smart Grid Initiative (SASGI), ISGAN, Global Smart Grid Federation & EPRI. He is an Industrial mentor at a number of Universities local and abroad. Nick has 21 years of experience in the Field of Electronic Engineering and Project Management; Graduate School of Business Leadership (UNISA, SBL), and Wits Business School and is the lead on Smart Grid Collaborations between ERDF(France), ISGF(India), EPRI(USA) in the respective areas. Nick’s team has recently launched the 1st Smart Rural MicroGrid in the Freestate combining Battery Storage, Renewables and a DERMS system that actively manages supply and demand. Other demonstration Pilots include residential PV in Stellenbosch, Enhanced situational Awareness and Advanced Analytics(ESA3) and  a Smart Home demonstration at RT&D incorporating IOT, Smart inverters and PEV integration. Nick is presently managing DER implementation within the Commercial, Industrial and Agricultural sectors, as well Renewable Containerised Off-grid applications for rural areas.

Mr Eddie Widiono : GSEF Honorary Ambassador - Asia-Pacific Regions

Mr Eddie Widiono has worked in the Indonesian Power Sector mainly with PT PLN for more than 18 years. He was the President Director of PT PLN (PERSERO) and before reaching this position also acted as Director, Marketing and Distribution and Head Network Operations and Logistics for PT PLN (PERSERO). He has also served PT PLN PJB as Director Commercial and Development. He is also a member of Indonesia Engineers Association (PII), Indonesian Professional Engineers Association, Institute of Electricals & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Indonesia Cyber Security Forum (ICSF). Besides this, he is also the founder of Indonesia Electricity Society and a member of Board of Supervisions in Indonesia Energy Conservation & Energy Efficiency Society. Eddie is an Electrical Engineering graduate from Institute Technology Bandung with Masters in Control Systems from Imperial College, London and also has done MBA in International Management from Business Institute of Prasetiya Mulya, Jakarta, Indonesia. Eddie strongly encouraged Indonesia towards the use of renewable energy. He is also elected as Indonesian Energy Expert representative for Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO) and also now been elected and given the mandate to be the chairman of the expert board of the Indonesian Solar Module Manufacturers Association (APAMSI) in 2021. He is very pro-active in building Renewable Energy and Smart Grids for Indonesia.