SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Grid Net, developer of the leading software platform for 3G/4G smart grid solutions, announced that it has appointed John W. Combs as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. John will work closely with Grid Net Founder and Chief Technical Officer Ray Bell and the entire Grid Net team to deliver our best-in-class products to our utility customers and solution partners around the world.
John brings to Grid Net more than 40 years of experience in the network communications industry, including senior positions in sales and operations at leading organizations such as Bell System, Fujitsu Business Communications, Mitel Inc. and Nextel before becoming CEO at three consecutive companies. Most recently, John was the Chairman and CEO of ShoreTel, which he took public after growing revenues from under $20 million to nearly $200 million in annual run rate in just six years. During John’s tenure the company’s market share grew from being lumped into the ‘other’ category to the third largest supplier of IP enterprise communications systems in the United States. His success came from his unrelenting focus on customer satisfaction and his ability to bring teams together to achieve exceptional results.
"I am thrilled to join Grid Net at such a pivotal moment in the evolution of the company," said John W. Combs. “Our software has the unique ability to deliver value beyond any alternative in the market today, and we have all of the ingredients necessary to become the leader in this global industry. Grid Net is poised to do great things for the smart grid and the world at large, and I am very excited to be a part of it."
“With recent customer wins at Ausgrid's Federally-funded Smart Grid Smart City Program, ETSA Utilities' dynamic load control program, SP AusNet's advanced metering deployment, and numerous other smart grid projects around the world, Grid Net's smart grid network operating system, application software and secure policy networking technologies have been to proven to scale for real-time, mission-critical smart grid deployments," said Ray Bell. “Our customers are thrilled with the stability and flexibility of our software, and view it as their core platform for their smart grid, smart home, and smart electric vehicle innovations. Our board searched for someone who shared our energy and enthusiasm for delivering high-impact smart grid solutions and unparalleled customer success. We couldn't be more excited to have John join Grid Net as Chairman and CEO to lead the company’s next phase of commercial growth, worldwide sales, and customer satisfaction."
About Grid Net
Grid Net’s smart grid networking operating system, application software, and policy networking technologies enable utility distribution companies and energy services retailers to deliver more reliable and energy-efficient products and services to their customers. Grid Net cost-effectively implements secure, real-time smart grid infrastructure, smart metering platform, smart home, and smart grid distribution monitoring and control system solutions at a scale of millions of devices, all on a single deployment. Based on Internet Protocols (IP) and embedded SELinux, Grid Net software provides trusted distributed networking capabilities that are telecom carrier and utility-grade and built to meet the most stringent regulatory and governmental smart grid interoperability and cyber-security standards. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia and Tokyo, Japan, Grid Net is backed by world-class investors Intel Capital, Braemar Energy Ventures, Catamount Ventures, Cisco Systems, and GE Energy Financial Services. To learn more, visit grid-net.com.