Michael Marullo
Conference Chair

Mike Marullo is Editor-in-Chief of Electric Energy T&D magazine, where he previously served as a contributing editor since 2004. He is also the owner and President/CEO of InfoNetrix LLC, a New Orleans-based market research and consulting firm focused on automation/IT as well as Managing Director/CEO and Principal Consultant for cfar International Ltd., a diversified technical market research and consulting firm he founded in 1984.

Mike holds professional memberships in AWWA (American Water Works Association), GITA (Geospatial Information & Technology Association), IEEE-PES (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-Power & Energy Society) and ISA (International Society of Automtion).

Michael J. Carlson
Chief Information Officer and Vice President
Xcel Energy, Inc.

Mr. Carlson is Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Xcel Energy.  In this role, he is responsible for all information technology operations and governance, enterprise-wide physical and cyber security functions, and the company’s business continuity program.  As CIO, Mr. Carlson is expected to drive innovation and transformation in the company by leveraging technology to create business value.  He oversees Xcel Energy’s Utility Innovations program, an incubator for proof-of-concept projects, and chairs the company’s Strategic Advisory Board, a panel of senior leaders representing various leading-edge technology companies.

Carlson is considered an industry leader who is willing to share his insight and personal learnings with other technology organizations and utilities.  He is often sought out for his experience in outsourcing strategies, IT governance, and the use of innovation to drive business value.

Over the past year, Carlson’s work has been referenced in more than 25 publications, including InformationWeek, Public Utilities Fortnightly, and CIO Magazine.  He has also served on various industry and technology advisory boards such as the Ventyx Advisory Board, the Energy Insights Council, and the Motorola Enterprise Customer Advisory Board.  Carlson is in demand as a conference speaker and panel participant; he recently provided a keynote address at the 2007 DistribuTECH Conference and was a featured speaker at the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2007 GridWeek event. He was selected as one of CIO Magazine’s “Ones to Watch” in 2005, and he has been recently nominated as one of ComputerWorld’s Premier 100 Leaders in 2007 (selection pending).

Carlson joined Xcel Energy in 2002 from Arthur Andersen, LLP, where he was a consulting practice director in the areas of technology integration and financial operations.  Prior to his consulting career, Carlson served in a number of senior management roles within the medical industry, including CEO of a large medical practice and CFO of a public laboratory services group.  Carlson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Management Systems from Union College and an MBA in finance from Pepperdine University.

ML Chan
Executive Advisor and Vice President, Asian Business Development
Quanta Technology, LLC

Dr. ML Chan, as Executive Advisor for Smart Grid, and Vice President of Asian Business Development of Quanta Technology, LLC, is an expert in the areas of Smart Grid and the utilization of computer and communications system technologies to deliver power system reliability, performance improvement, and optimal asset management for utilities.  He combines his power system planning and operations expertise to integrate renewable, distributed energy resources, demand responses and load management, AMI/AMR systems, Home Automation Network (HAN), feeder automation, substation automation, SCADA, asset condition monitoring, condition-based maintenance (CBM), phasor measurement unit, wide area protection and FACTS technologies into a Smart Grid vision for utilities.  The full realization of that vision is made possible when Dr. Chan guides utilities in developing and implementing enterprise IT system architecture to provide business intelligence for utility operations.  His environmental resources background since the 70’s also provides with significant insight to integrate renewable resources, demand side management and efficient energy building technologies into utility operations and planning.   For more than 30 years, Dr. Chan has provided consulting services to over 70 utilities in the United States and around the world. He has published over 60 technical papers in the open literature, and has given many presentations and speeches in seminars and tutorials.  He is the Chair of IEEE Power System Planning and Implementation Committee, and a member of Executive Advisory Committee for DistrbuTECH Conferences.  He is also on the Editorial Board of IEEE Transactions on Power Systems.  Dr. Chan has SB, SM and Electrical Engineer’s degrees from MIT, and PhD from Cornell University.  Prior to joining Quanta Technology, he has worked with Energy Resources Company, Tetra Tech, Systems Control, Inc., Energy Management Associates, ECC, Inc., ML Consulting Group, SchlumbergerSema, and KEMA, Inc.

George L. Clark
Principal Engineer-Power Delivery
Alabama Power Company

George Larry Clark is Principal Engineer-Power Delivery for Alabama Power Company (APC), Birmingham, AL and supports the deployment of the Distribution SCADA, Distribution Automation and Electronic Mapboard technologies at APC, and the development of the Integrated Distribution Management System and the Smart Grid Strategy for APC and the Southern Company. Mr. Clark is Chairman of the Distribution Automation Subcommittee of the DistribuTECH Advisory Committee, Vice Chairman of the IEEE PES Distribution Automation Working Group and member of the IEEE PES Intelligent Grid Coordinating Committee.
During 42-years of employment at APC, Mr. Clark’s previous assignments include responsibilities for the operation and maintenance of Transmission and Distribution substations, and for the planning, operation and maintenance of the electric distribution system. Mr. Clark was named Project Team Leader for the Distribution Automation Project in June 1989.  In 1994-99, Mr. Clark served as Project Manager for the Southern TCMS Demonstration Project. In 1999-2000, Mr. Clark served as Project Manager for the Alabama ARMS Project. In 2001, Mr. Clark was named Business Project Manager for the Distribution Electronic Mapboard (EMB) project for deployment in Alabama Power’s Distribution Operations Centers.  He teaches SCADA/Distribution Automation courses for APC and is a SME for development of the Advanced Distribution SCADA Operator Training Curriculum.
Mr. Clark received a B. S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of South Alabama. Mr. Clark has published 16 papers and made 44 presentations in the areas of Distribution Automation and SCADA, is a coauthor of the book Electric Power Engineering Handbook, published by the CRC Press in 2000, and is a coauthor of the book Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution (Electric Power Engineering Handbook Second Edition), published by the CRC Press in 2007. Mr. Clark is a Senior Member of IEEE and is a registered engineer in the State of Alabama.

Robert J. Sarfi
Partner
Boreas Group LLC

Robert Sarfi, a partner of Boreas Group LLC, is widely recognized for his experience in delivering business vision and technology solutions to electric utilities.  Dr. Sarfi has successfully led numerous business transformation initiatives for large and mid-tier utilities across the Americas.  Prior to founding Boreas Group in 2001, Dr. Sarfi held management and leadership positions with management consulting and engineering firms.  Dr. Sarfi received a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (First Class Honours) from the Royal Military College of Canada, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo.  He is a registered professional engineer in the Province of Ontario and a member of the IEEE.  Dr. Sarfi has published and presented over forty papers related to improving T&D operations, smart grid planning, and technology benefit realization.