Our team.
National Grid Partners has expertise and discipline in Incubation, Corporate Venture Capital, Innovation and Business Development. But what sets us apart is the backing by the National Grid brand, our unique investment strategy and approach towards innovation. Learn more about this passionate group, made up of proven technology and innovation executives, below.
Lisa Lambert
Chief Technology and Innovation Officer
Founder & SVP, National Grid Partners
Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, National Grid
Founder & SVP, National Grid Partners
Lisa Lambert is Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at National Grid and Founder & Senior Vice President of National Grid Partners. She is responsible for leading investments and innovation initiatives across the company.
Prior to National Grid, Ms. Lambert was a Managing Partner at The Westly Group, a clean technology private venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley, where she was responsible for investments in software, internet of things, and energy technology companies. She closed several direct equity investments in companies such as Cognitive Scale and Paxata and sourced and/or closed key strategic LP investments. Prior to The Westly Group, she worked at Intel Corporation for 19 years and was Vice President and Managing Director of Intel Capital’s Software and Services Fund and the Founder and Managing Director of the $125 million Intel Capital Diversity Fund.
During Ms. Lambert’s tenure at Intel Capital, she led investments, incubations, commercial agreements, strategies, and innovation projects for Intel. She also managed an apprenticeship program designed to train high potential professionals in innovation and investment disciplines. Ms. Lambert led global investments in over 100 companies over her career at Intel Capital such as VMware (IPO), MySQL (acquired by SUN), Endeca (acquired by Oracle), JBoss (acquired by RedHat), Nexmo (acquired by Vonage), and managed a large organization of investment professionals. Ms. Lambert produced top decile returns, including seven IPOs and over 35 M&A exits and delivered operating returns through commercial agreements with strategic partners. Ms. Lambert has been a director on the board of several portfolio companies including most recently X+1 (acquired by Rocket Fuel), Silkroad Technology (on-going), and Brit+Co (on-going) for the Intel Capital Diversity Fund. She is also on the board of directors for the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and is co-chair of the NVCA Venture Forward initiative.
Ms. Lambert began her career at Owens-Corning as a software developer, and also worked in sales, strategy, and business development roles. Ms. Lambert is the founder/CEO, and chairman of UPWARD, a global network of executive women. UPWARD is a non-profit organization with 18 chapters, over 60 corporate sponsors, and nearly 5000 members worldwide. Ms. Lambert earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Management Information Systems from The Pennsylvania State University.
Incubation
Dillon McDonald
Vice President, Incubation
Vice President, Incubation
Dillon.McDonald@nationalgrid.com
Dillon McDonald joins National Grid Partners from A3Ventures where he was managing partner responsible for investments in a broad range of mobility, IoT, and AI companies. Before A3Ventures, Dillon co-founded Greenstart which provided seed investments in energy & IT companies. He invested and advised companies across DG, IoT, and EV’s. As co-founder of Jumpstart, he led the company through acquisition and became CEO of the combined entity including Car and Driver, Road & Track. Dillon holds a B.S. in Business and Managerial Economics from University of California, Davis.
Avra Durack
Director, Incubation
Director, Incubation
Before joining National Grid, Avra was director of Growth at AltSchool, a company transforming K-8 education through personalized learning. Prior to AltSchool, Avra led business development at Stem, an AI and battery storage company. She has spent her career focused on tackling tough problems, including increasing renewable energy at One Block Off the Grid, rebuilding New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina, and developing affordable housing in New York City. Avra has a BA in Urban Studies from Stanford University and a MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Hilary Flynn
Director, Incubation
Director, Incubation
Hilary Flynn is Director of Incubation at National Grid Partners where she works with, and invests in, early stage startups. Prior to joining National Grid, Hilary was a Managing Consultant for Lux Research, an emerging technology advisory firm, and responsible for the Asia Pacific consulting practice. At Meister Consultants Group, she was the Director of International Business where she advised investment and development banks on energy policy in developing countries. She has also held positions with MJ Bradley & Associates and PHOTON Consulting, and holds board seats at Worcester Cleantech Incubator and Elemental Excelerator. Hilary earned her MS in computer modelling of energy policy at Washington State University and her BS from Rutgers University. She also holds a certificate in Strategy & Innovation from MIT.
Corporate Venture Capital
Pradeep Tagare
Vice President, Corporate Venture Capital
Vice President, Corporate Venture Capital
Pradeep.Tagare@nationalgrid.com
Pradeep Tagare joined National Grid Partners from Intel Capital where he worked for over 13 years in Silicon Valley and India. At Intel Capital, Pradeep led 16 investments which resulted in 2 IPOs and 8 M&A exits with 3 Unicorns in the portfolio. Prior to Intel Capital, Pradeep spent over 12 years in Silicon Valley in technology/product marketing roles at startups such as Inference, BroadVision, Healthon, and as an entrepreneur starting Yopa, a mobile middleware software company (acquired by XDrive/AOL). Pradeep has an M.S.E.E from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a BE (EE) from the University of Bombay, and is a Kauffman Fellow.
Kristian Bodek
Director, Corporate Venture Capital
Director, Corporate Venture Capital
Kristian.Bodek@nationalgrid.com
Kristian Bodek is Director of Corporate Venture Capital, NGP. He is responsible for sourcing and deriving strategic and financial value from investments in external venture capital funds, including Energy Impact Partners. Previously, Kristian was a senior member of the power practice at IHS Markit, a research and advisory firm. He led techno-economic, market fundamentals and policy analyses on a range of topics spanning generating technology cost and performance to electricity demand forecasting. While at IHS Markit he also developed and chaired the CERAWeek Energy Innovation Pioneers program, a platform for introducing established companies to innovative startup companies working across the energy value chain. Kristian holds a BS in Physics from Bates College and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Technology & Policy from MIT.
Ian Cooper
Managing Director, Head of CVC Europe
Managing Director, Head of CVC Europe
Ian Cooper joined National Grid Partners from Ardent Capital, where he was Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure at Ardent Capital, Ian oversaw new and follow-on investments into more than ten early stage companies. Prior to Ardent, Ian spent ten years with Intel Capital based in their London, UK office, where he made investments into 13 companies, which resulted in 1 IPO and 7 M&A exits, one of which was a Unicorn. Before joining Intel Capital, Ian worked for four years in corporate finance with Paris-based investment bank Bryan Garnier and Associates, was Founder and CEO of cybersecurity startup Cequrux and worked in consulting for IBM. Ian holds a MBA from HEC Paris and a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Psychology from the University of Cape Town.
Andre Turenne
Director, Corporate Venture Capital
Director, Corporate Venture Capital
Andre.Turenne@nationalgrid.com
Andre Turenne is Director of Corporate Venture Capital, National Grid Partners. Andre has more than 30 years of venture capital, business development, operating and technical experience in the technology sector. His investment experience spans a wide range of areas, including enterprise software & services, SaaS/cloud, IT & network infrastructure, IoT/connected, wireless and security. Andre was previously a senior vice president of D. E. Shaw & Co., a global investment and technology development firm, and a Partner at D. E. Shaw’s venture capital unit. Prior to joining D. E. Shaw, Mr. Turenne was a managing director of NeoCarta Ventures, a venture capital investment firm. Prior to that, he served as senior manager of strategic investments at Intel Capital, the venture capital unit of Intel Corporation. He has also held roles in engineering, operations and product marketing.
Patrick Walsh
Director, Corporate Venture Capital
Director, Corporate Venture Capital
Patrick.Walsh2@nationalgrid.com
Mr. Walsh joined National Grid Partners in 2018 to focus on investments in emerging technology that will shape the future of energy for National Grid and our customers. Prior to National Grid, Mr. Walsh spent 11 years at Intel Capital investing in software and related technology companies. Before investing for Intel Capital, Mr. Walsh worked in technical sales, product marketing, and software/hardware development for Intel Corporation. Mr. Walsh graduated from Oregon State University with an undergraduate degree in Computer Science; and from Boston University with an MBA/Finance.
Business Development
Kareem Fahmy
Vice President, Business Development
Vice President, Business Development
Kareem joins National Grid Partners from Intel Capital where he was Managing Director, leading teams delivering business development alliance and GTM programs driving commercial success for portfolio companies. Prior to Intel Capital, Kareem spent 12 years in various operating roles at Intel including: sales, marketing, operations and software development. Kareem has an MBA from University of California at Berkeley, M.S. in CIM Engineering from North Carolina State University and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from The American University in Cairo.
Swati Dasgupta
Director, Business Development
Director, Business Development
Swati.Dasgupta@nationalgrid.com
Swati has been driving growth for large technology incumbents through corporate venturing and external innovation for nearly 20 years. She is currently Director of Business Development at National Grid Partners, where she drives collaboration between portfolio companies and National Grid businesses. Prior to National Grid, Swati was with Next47, a global venture firm created by Siemens to identify and create its next generation businesses. At Siemens, she worked primarily with startups in AI, IOT, Big Data, Cloud, and edge computing in order to help Siemens leverage and accelerate digitalization. Before Next47 and Siemens, Swati was a long time member of IBM Venture Capital Group. Swati started her career in venture capital at SOFTBANK, where she led global portfolio development and international scaling. Early in her career, Swati was Desktop Segment Manager at IBM Microelectronics and senior product manager in storage and PCs at Digital Equipment Corporation. She has a Master of Science in Management from MIT Sloan School of Management. She is a Charter Member of TiE Silicon Valley.
Jonathan Glass
Director, Business Development
Director, Business Development
Jonathan.Glass2@nationalgrid.com
Jon has over twenty years of executive experience in corporate development, corporate venture investing, technology commercialization, new business creation, product development and IP licensing. He has led strategic transactions in the technology, industrial, and financial services sectors across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.
From 1998 to 2014, Jon served in multiple executive roles at General Electric. As the business development leader at GE Licensing, Jon acquired strategic patent and technology portfolios and worked with external companies, investors and entrepreneurs to launch new products and businesses around GE’s intellectual property assets. As managing director at GE Equity, Jon worked closely with GE’s business units to source, structure, close and manage a portfolio of strategic venture capital, private equity and joint venture investments. As managing director at GE Capital’s commercial lending business, he led new product development initiatives, including the launch of GE’s first interest rate derivatives business.
Immediately prior to National Grid Partners, Jon served as a leader at several technology start-up companies. As the chief commercial officer at Vener8 Technologies, an innovative business which partners with Fortune 50 corporations to license and commercialize its partners’ proven technologies in new markets, Jon structured new corporate partnerships, identified candidate technologies from each partner, and developed new businesses around licensed technologies. Jon also co-founded and led Wise Labs, an open innovation platform company that connects world-class scientists, engineers and technologists to businesses seeking new invention ideas and deep technical expertise. Jon began his career as a consultant with Mercer Management Consulting (now known as Oliver Wyman), where he advised Fortune 500 clients in the technology, financial services, consumer goods, and transportation sectors.
Jon received an MBA, with honors, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an AB, magna cum laude, from Harvard College. Jon lives with his wife and two children in Connecticut and enjoys cycling, cooking and rooting for Boston sports team in his spare time.
Daniel White
Director, Business Development
Director, Business Development
Daniel.J.White@nationalgrid.com
Daniel White joined National Grid Partners from Thimbleberry Research L.L.C., a finance and strategy consulting firm he founded after leaving The Boston Consulting Group. Before BCG, he was a finance manager at Intel Capital, where he led finance activities for the Enterprise and New Devices investment sectors. Daniel held several finance and strategy roles over the course of his 10-year career at Intel, and he began his career in the institutional equity research group at boutique investment bank D.A. Davidson & Co. Daniel is a CFA charter holder, a licensed CPA, and a Certified Management Accountant. He has an MBA with distinction from Cornell University and graduated magna cum laude from the College of Idaho. He also completed the Private Equity & Venture Capital executive education program at Harvard Business School.
Innovation
Brian Ryan
VP, Innovation
VP, Innovation
Brian leads the Innovation team at National Grid Partners. Previously, Brian spent four years leading innovation efforts at New Zealand’s largest distributor of gas and electricity and transformed the culture of a traditional electricity distribution company to be recognized internationally, as leader in energy, environmental, social and commercial innovation. Reporting to the CEO Brian led the Emerging Technology team that focused on the company’s growth and development, through the implementation of disruptive customer solutions and new technologies. Brian also managed Solar, Battery storage and the Vector Communications businesses, across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands. Brian holds an Engineering degree and an Honours MBA from the University of Cork, Ireland.
Colette Lamontagne
Director, Innovation
Director, Innovation
Colette.Lamontagne@nationalgrid.com
Colette Lamontagne is a Director in National Grid Partners’ Innovation team where she supports both the regulated and non-regulated businesses in ideation and innovation related to emerging technologies. Previously, she was a Director at Navigant Consulting, Inc. where she led the Business & Technology Strategy group and focused on distributed energy resources (DER) and smart grid technologies. Over 10 years, she consulted with utility, technology provider, and government clients to conduct market research, opportunity assessments, strategic planning, demonstration oversight, and procurement support. During her six years with the Energy Storage Association Board of Directors, she held leadership positions including Board Chair. Prior to Navigant, she worked for SAIC, FOCIS Associates, and Arthur D. Little consulting on emerging technologies for government and industrial clients. Ms. Lamontagne holds an M.S. in Civil/Environmental Engineering and a B.S. in Biology & Environmental Studies from Tufts University.
Stephen Marland
Director, Innovation
Director, Innovation
stephen.a.marland@nationalgrid.com
Stephen has had experience in project management, strategy, finance, regulation and commercial roles. He specialised in energy-system scenario planning, technology scouting, and innovation strategy and delivery. Stephen has been with National Grid since 2001 and had several roles in Gas Distribution, GB System Operator (power and gas) and Corporate Development teams. Stephen has a Ph.D. and Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham (UK), is an Associate Member of the IChemE, member of the Institute of Directors, and has an MBA from Warwick Business School (UK).
Michael Cooper
Principal Analyst, Innovation
Principal Analyst, Innovation
Michael.Cooper@nationalgrid.com
Michael is responsible for sourcing new innovation ideas both internally and externally. The role provides ideation, lean start-up and entrepreneurial training, and supports innovation activities across the company to foster consistency in managing innovation portfolios. The role also stimulates co-development with external partners, promotes spin out and spin in concepts to our incubation function, and takes a lead on internal innovation cultural development. Michael also previously managed R&D for National Grid’s US electric business.
Prior to his engagement with National Grid, Mr. Cooper worked for a leading Northeast utility where he directed the design, deployment and sales of a $30 million 200+ mile fiber optic network. He also established a “first of a kind” Joint Venture between an electric utility and a national telecommunications company where he directed the construction of a $250 million advanced fiber rich Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) telecommunications network. The network is an integrated broadband platform providing advanced telephony, video and data services deployed in twelve Massachusetts cities and towns, Michael also designed and implemented a SmartGrid pilot with 15,000 metering points in a Boston suburb demonstrating the viability of an integrated metering and distribution automation system.
Mr. Cooper earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, MA with a minor in Computer Engineering.
Aaron Marks
Lead Analyst, Innovation
Lead Analyst, Innovation
Aaron joined National Grid in 2017. Since joining, he has worked on energy storage implementation and education, as well as innovation management strategy. Prior to joining National Grid, Aaron worked at IHS Markit, in the North American Power practice. Aaron has written reports, client presentations, and multi-client studies on a wide range of power topics including wholesale electricity market design, carbon market impacts, emerging technologies, and scenario analysis for American power generation and emissions. Outside of the energy industry, Aaron has worked in management consulting and academic research. Aaron holds an MS in Engineering and Technology Innovation Management and a BS in Mechanical Engineering and Public Policy, both from Carnegie Mellon University.
Venture Fellowship
Matthew Bloom
Lead Analyst, Venture Fellowship
Lead Analyst, Venture Fellowship
Matthew.Bloom@nationalgrid.com
Matthew Bloom is a lead technology analyst at National Grid Partners, responsible for scouting emerging technologies and driving innovation in both the regulated and competitive business. Matt spearheads market research efforts for blockchain, artificial intelligence, IoT, and energy SaaS solutions, as well as supports National Grid Ventures strategic partnerships with seed accelerators, universities, and research firms. Before his current role, Matt helped manage a 40+ IT project portfolio at National Grid for electric, gas, customer, and shared services departments. Previous stints also include Pfizer, NetCracker Technology, and co-founder of a web design startup. Matt is an advisor the Department of Energy on distributed energy and a founding member of the New York Utility Blockchain Consortium. He also is an advisor on distributed energy to the Department of Energy and a member of MIT’s Enterprise Forum Cleantech Committee. Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems from Quinnipiac University and a Master of Science in Technology Management from Georgetown University.
Soolmaz Moshiri
Manager, Venture Fellowship
Manager, Venture Fellowship
Soolmaz.Moshiri@nationalgrid.com
Soolmaz has over 10 years of experience in the electricity sector in the areas of R&D and Innovation, technology development & commercialization, IP, working for Utilities and Start-ups in the UK and Strategic planning and supply chain in the Automotive sector in the Middle East.
Soolmaz joined National Grid in 2016, to scout emerging and disruptive technologies and to identify commercial development opportunities. Soolmaz holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA.
Liena Vilde
Manager, Venture Fellowship
Manager, Venture Fellowship
Liena has been with National Grid for nearly 7 years and has spent the last 2 years in an Innovation capacity focusing on energy storage, EVs, hydrogen and digital technologies.
Prior to this role, Liena worked for the System Operator where she lead the development of the GB System Operability Framework.
Liena has a BEng in Electronics, Telecommunications & Internet Engineering and MSc in Electrical Engineering & Renewable Energy and is a Chartered Engineer.
Administrative
Ian Barth
Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff
Ian Barth is Chief of Staff for Lisa Lambert and the National Grid Partners team. Previously, Ian was at a startup in the additive manufacturing space where he lived at the intersection of hardware, software, and materials science on a mission to reinvent manufacturing. He has experience in application and production engineering across verticals including aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, and life sciences. He also worked on strategic partnerships, as well as go to market functions to help lead the launch of a new vertical. He has an M.S. and B.S. in Architectural Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Ian enjoys building things, nature and the outdoors, aviation and the beautiful California weather!
Caue Mancanares
Graduate Intern
Graduate Intern
Caue has 6 years of experience as an entrepreneur, having started AMS – a 3D printing company in Brazil, at the government of Brazil working with Fintech regulation, and with management consultanting at The Boston Consulting Group. Most recently, he worked with venture capital investing at The Westly Group. His areas of interest are Enterprise software, Artifical intelligence, Cloud applications, Fintech, Internet-of-Things, Security and 3D printing.
He is an Industrial Engineer with a Masters in Additive Manufacturing at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and is currently an MBA candidate at the Harvard Business School. He enjoys barbecues on the weekends and plays Squash in his free time.
Linda Ponikvar
Executive Assistant
Executive Assistant
Linda.Ponikvar@nationalgrid.com
Linda joins National Grid Partners with nearly 30 years administrative experience in the legal and tech sectors. Her experience spans from large global firms as a Law Firm Administrator to Executive Assistant for tech giants such as Safra Catz and Larry Ellison (CEOs, Oracle Corporation). On any given weekend, you might find Linda enjoying walks on the beach with her two pups Sadie & Oliver, relaxing by a fire with friends in her backyard, or wine tasting at one of the local wineries.
Kathleen Stannard
Personal Assistant
Personal Assistant
Kathleen.Stannard@nationalgrid.com
Kathleen has over 20 years’ experience providing EA support to senior executives at high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. Her background includes experience supporting business groups in Finance, Marketing, Sales, Human Resources and Health Care Technology. In her personal time Kathleen enjoys spending time with family, cooking, traveling, training with her running club and working on creative projects.
Amy Fletcher
Personal Assistant
Amy Fletcher
Personal Assistant
Amy support Dillon McDonald, VP of Incubation and Bryan Ryan, VP of Innovation. Amy joined National Grid in 2009 on the Regulation & Pricing Team and served as the executive assistant for the VP’s of Regulation and Pricing NE and NY. In 2016, she moved roles to supporting John Bruckner, now President of the New York Jurisdiction. Previously, Amy spent over 13-years working in healthcare environment in both NH and MA, and earned a BA in Communications at Southern New Hampshire University in 2003 while working full time. In prior years, Amy spent many proud years as a full time mother raising her three children in New Hampshire.
Corporate Functions
Mitchell Carroll
Vice President & Deputy General Counsel
Vice President & Deputy General Counsel
Mitchell.Carroll@nationalgrid.com
Mitch Carroll joined National Grid from Morgan Lewis & Bockius where he was a partner in the Energy & Project Finance Group. Mitch has more than 20 years of private practice and in-house experience representing developers, investors, sponsors, financial institutions and other asset owners in the energy and infrastructure sectors. In addition to extensive experience in development, construction, financing, M&A and restructuring of energy and infrastructure projects, Mitch has experience in corporate venture capital in the energy technology sector while at TechQuest Capital. Mitch earned a LL.M in Financial and Banking Law from Boston University School of Law, JD from New England Law and a BA in Economics from Boston College.
Tom Williams
Head of Finance, NGP
Head of Finance, NGP
Thomas.Williams5@nationalgrid.com
Tom has recently seconded to the US to join the Partners team. Tom has held a number of senior finance roles within National Grid, joining the company 6 years ago, and has extensive experience in driving strategic and operational performance across large areas of the UK regulated business. Most recently, he was leading a team responsible for the finances of Operations, Capital planning, Asset Engineering and an efficiency transformation program, all across a multi-billion pound portfolio in the UK. Prior to joining National Grid Tom worked in Deloitte’s corporate finance practice focusing on corporate restructuring, insolvency and lender due diligence. Tom is a chartered accountant with the ICAEW, is qualified with the Institute of Asset Management and has a B.A in Economics, Politics and International Relations from the University of Warwick.
Rafael Sulit
Head of Marketing, NGP
Head of Marketing, NGP
Rafael is the external storyteller for National Grid Partners (NGP), the VC and innovation group of National Grid plc. He oversees brand strategy, creative content, and channel delivery. Prior to NGP, he was Director of Brand Marketing and Digital Engagement Director for National Grid U.S. Before being recruited in 2012, he helped grow Mastercard’s fintech portfolio as a VP, Brand Marketing, for 8+ years. Campaigns he has led have received multiple industry recognitions for effectiveness. Rafael holds BA and MS degrees from University of Iowa and Columbia University.
Jacquelyn Rapp
HR Business Partner, NGP
HR Business Partner, NGP
Jacquelyn.Rapp@nationalgrid.com
Jackie is the HR Business Partner supporting National Grid Partners, and National Grid Ventures’ US commercial and renewable energy businesses. Jackie has been with National Grid since 2009 when she joined as part of the Company’s Graduate Development Program, and has since held a number of roles within Human Resources. She earned her MBA and BS in Human Development from Boston College.
Bepie Louis
Senior IT Analyst
Senior IT Analyst
My Name is Bepie J Louis, I was born in Haiti and raised in Boston MA. I started as a Contractor for National Grid’s Main office in Waltham as a Help Desk tech and was promoted a few months later to the Executive support team. That is where I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Lisa and Linda. I continued to provide support for Lisa and the NGV team here in Los Gatos CA and eventually ended making the move out West on a full time basis to provide support as a Systems Analyst. My hobbies are cars, eating and cooking (I’m a bit of a foodie). I’m a geek at heart and love technology so being able to live in Silicon Valley has been really exciting for me.