Advisory Team
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Mr. Derek Howe currently serving as the Chief Operating Officer for Lake Country Power. In his current position as the COO, he oversees the engineering and operations departments from Utility metering, substation automation, outage management and power restoration. Mr. Howe, worked for an investor owned utility prior to working for the cooperative for ten years. Mr. Howe is a registered P.E. in MN, retired from the Navy after 26 years of service. Graduated from Naval Nuclear Power school and flight school, obtained a BSEE from the University of Idaho, an MSEE from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and currently working on a PhD in Business Leadership from the University of the Cumberlands.

Mr. Chuck Richardson served with Duke Power Company from 1985 to 2001 in the fields of Electrical System Design, Transmission Planning, and Power Quality. He previously participated with IEEE in the Low Voltage Surge Protection Committee and was awarded several Innovator awards from EPRI for developing a Power Quality Database and for contributions to EPRIs Low Voltage Shocking Guide. In 2012, he joined South River Electric Membership Corporation in Dunn NC and currently operates as VP of Engineering.

Clint Whitney is the Energy Services Director for the City of Richland. The City serves approximately 26,000 electric customers and is currently implementing an advanced metering infrastructure project for improved data analytics. Mr. Whitney has worked in electrical utilities and public service for 30 years in a variety of electrical engineering, operations, and management positions. Mr. Whitney has a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MBA, both from Washington State University. He is a licensed professional engineer in Washington and a Senior IEEE member

Mr. Jon Clack has worked in the water / wastewater utility industry for the past 32 years, in both the public and private sectors. For the past 13 years, he has served as the Assistant Director of Public Services Water/Wastewater for the City of San Marcos. The Water and Wastewater Utility provides operations and maintenance for water treatment, water distribution, wastewater collection, wastewater treatment, and reclaimed water distribution for the City of San Marcos by some of the most dedicated water and wastewater professionals in the state. A resident of San Marcos, Jon is a proud husband, father, grandfather, and fifth generation native Texan.

Shivani is a CEO and co-founder of AriesPro, key utility and airport systems integrator and data analytics company, specializing in analytics solution. She has more than 16 years of water, electric and gas utilities industry technology consulting and management experience. At AriesPro, Shivani is responsible for managing next generation electric and water loss and conservation analytics initiatives through data driven cloud analytics solution in the utility industry. More frequent drought conditions, less efficient electric energy infrastructure and apparent water and electric losses have created urgent need for predictive models and data driven decision making process more important than ever before. She's an active member of WBENC, NRECA, APPA, AWWA and TAWAA.

Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University, Mr. Rex LaRowe has worked for an electric cooperative for over 15 years in various roles within the engineering department. His current position as the Chief Operations Officer oversees the engineering and operations departments from Utility metering, substation automation, outage management and power restoration. He has been involved with our cooperatives AMR system since its installation in 2007.

Ace Kumar is a president and co-founder of AriesPro, key utility systems integrator and data analytics company, specializing in Cloud Analytics Solution. He has more than 19 years of water, electric and gas utilities industry and airport systems technology consulting and management experience. At AriesPro, Mr. Kumar is responsible for managing innovative smart grid, AMI, water systems, natural gas systems analytical solutions. Big data mining and analyzing existing operational data sources are vital process to identify energy, water and gas operational improvement. He is also responsible for managing next generation smart airport and travel 2030 initiatives through data driven revenue increment and cyber security innovative analytics solution in the global airport industry. He's an active ACI-NA, NRECA, APPA, AWWA, TAWWA member.

Mr. Tony Stone joined Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative in South Carolina as System Engineer. He is responsible to supervise the AMI Smart Metering department, provide support for Energy Services group by assisting in P.V. system sizing, energy storage and E.V. charging solutions and administer data analytics program for system planning. He is an Electrical Engineer from Clemson University.

Tim Mays has been serving Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative as Rates Analyst and developer since 1985, and he is focused on transforming electric utilities. He had earned certifications from multiple organizations, including the association of South Carolina energy managers and the South Carolina energy office. Tim Mays is also currently the board member of the Greater Easley chamber of commerce, and he holds many awards and recognition both in the field of true education and leadership.