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August 2016
Boosting the
effectiveness
of the
American workplace
Top 10
Three technology giants
technologies for information security in 2016
in the US
SPOTLIGHT ON
• Avangrid Renewables (Desert Wind Project) • CIO Association of Canada
EDITORS COMMENT
HELLO & WELCOME to the August issue of Business Review USA & Canada This month, we delve into the world of renewable energy, with an exclusive article exploring the Avangrid Desert Wind Project. The project will see many more wind farms scattered across a nation which had previously been slow on the uptake of renewable energy. Featured too is Chicago Rockford International Airport, which is undergoing an expansion after passenger needs began to exceed what the organisation could offer, and will allow it to grow exponentially. Also included in this edition is a piece by Eleanor Forster, North American MD at Leesman, on boosting the effectiveness of the workplace; Gartner’s list of 10 vital technologies for information security; and career profiles of three of America’s most prolific CEOs – Tim Cook, Satya Nadella, and Brian Krzanich. Enjoy this issue, and feel free to join the discussion on Twitter: @BizReviewUSA and @NellWalkerMG
Nell Walker Editor nell.walker@bizclikmedia.com
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CONTENTS
F E AT U R E S PROFILE
06 30
Chicago Rockford International Airport (Constructino)
14 TECHNOLOGY
LIST
22 4
AUGUST 2016
C O M PA N Y PROFILES CONSTRUCTION 30 Chicago Rockford International Airport
ENERGY 44 Avangrid Renewables (formerly, Iberdrola Renewables)
44 Avangrid Renewables (Energy)
TECHNOLOGY 56 CIO Association of Canada
56
CIO Association of Canada (Technology)
5
PROFILE
Boosting the effectiveness of the American workplace Leesman’s North American MD, Eleanor Forster, discusses the need to optimize processes in every element of business
Writ ten by: ELE ANOR FORSTER, LEESMAN’S NORTH AMERICAN MD
PROFILE
IN LATE DECEMBER 2015, Leesman CEO Tim Oldman was asked to present at a roundtable event for over 100 American and global real estate executives. A mere month later, following a wave of interest, Leesman landed in the US with a permanent home in New York City. Since then, we have actively engaged with an array of North American businesses, spanning a wide variety of sectors and sizes,
Eleanor Forste North Ame 8
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LEESMAN’S NORTH AMERICAN MD
due to a new and improved focus on the importance of the workplace and its link to organizational performance. As a global, independent thinktank, Leesman measures how effectively a workspace supports the activities undertaken within the built environment in question, and our survey has been designed to accurately record employee satisfaction levels with over ninety
er, Leesman’s erican MD 9
PROFILE workplace features and services. We have spoken to more than 155,000 employees across the globe and the latest data has revealed that office environments can and do hinder productivity. The failings of a space also impact employee engagement, health and wellbeing and, ultimately, talent retention and staff turnover - not to mention profit margins. Europe, particularly Scandinavia, is viewed as one of the thought leaders when it comes to workplace effectiveness. However, the USA is one of the world’s top global innovators, only pipped to the post by Japan (Thomson Reuters Derwent World Patents Index), and this natural wave-making ability appears to be evident in the approach to creating workplaces that work. The Leesman Index data, amassed from our work with American businesses, reveals that the USA has scored eight percent higher in employee satisfaction than Europe when it comes to creating productive work environments. That being said, our research has revealed that employees on both sides of the pond are increasingly looking for a variety of workspaces, including social, informal areas to 10
August 2016
collaborate and communicate with colleagues - yet their employers are failing to provide them. So although the US has begun to take the reins on the subject, it’s clear that more work needs to be done. What we see in the highest performing organizations that we’ve worked with is the investment in choice. These businesses are creating the right environments for their people - and they have only achieved this by understanding the needs of their workforce. It’s not just about plonking people at a desk and hoping for the best; the key is offering a range of spaces that suit the various activity portfolios within an organization. From our conversations so far, American business leaders are bracing themselves for a deeper delve into the components of a workplace that can help their organizations flourish. Businesses dotted along the East Coast are crying out the loudest, and we chose New York as our base so we can easily access and respond to the influx of requests coming in. We’re currently in talks with entrepreneurial leaders in New York, Toronto, Boston, DC and Philadelphia, as well as other cities along the D.C.
LEESMAN’S NORTH AMERICAN MD
corridor. These are the most densely populated cities in terms of building stock and employees. The physicality of Manhattan, for example, has created a largely vertical city and although the stereotypical view of New York is a varied collection of gleaming towers, the reality is that the majority of buildings are around 70 years old, with old and extremely challenging infrastructures. The main challenge faced by businesses in these areas is the cost of space. Given the soaring
price of CRE, businesses need to be increasingly savvy about creating work environments that support employees in their day-to-day roles, regardless of the limitations posed, if they’re to succeed. And when square footage is squeezed to breaking point, it’s imperative to maximize the offering of the space. Having powerful data at your fingertips to make informed decisions is crucial - hence the newfound drive to explore the link between workspace, real estate and productivity. 11
PROFILE
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LEESMAN’S NORTH AMERICAN MD
This is the reason why we are having a lot of conversations around the adoption of Activity Based Working (ABW) models. There’s a new wave of curiosity here in North America and Canada about the potential of such work environments. In order to respond to this interest and offer invaluable insight, Leesman has recently undertaken an extensive research project in partnership with IFMA Sweden on ABW and Employee Mobility - particularly how it actually works in practice. The results of the research, harvested over 70,000 employee responses, were presented at a Data Deep Dive event on the 23rd of June at our NY offices. This offers business leaders a new way of thinking about unharnessing the potential of their workspace. One thing is clear – we are in an era of unprecedented complexity and transformation. Thanks to rapid advances in technology and the emergence of new ways of working, the traditional workplace as we know is undergoing a period of constant evolution. Along with this shift in the nature of work, organizations are increasingly looking for business strategies that fuel growth and
competitive advantage. Some of our clients are looking to expand or consolidate their US-Global portfolios so investment in a data driven strategy is essential for focused change, as is creating environments that fully support employees in their daily activities. Space is essentially a tool that will allow organizations to gain returns on their RE investment. Now we have a base here in New York, we are looking forward to our continued work with American organizations in the drive to optimize the efficiency of work environments, and to contribute towards the ever-evolving dialogue and debate concerning the world of work.
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TECHNOLOGY
Three technology gian
nts in the United States
TECHNOLOGY
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft Born in Anantapur in 1967, Nadella is now CEO of the world’s biggest software company: Microsoft Corporation. Nadella began his higher education attaining a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Manipal Institute of Technology in 16
August 2016
1988. He then moved to the US in order to undertake an MS degree in computer science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, then an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His computing and software career was launched by becoming a member of the tech staff at Sun Microsystems, before entering the Microsoft team in 1992.
TECHNOLOGY GIANTS
Nadella is known for having taken the lead on many major projects during his time with the software giant, most notably heading up the company’s move to cloud computing and aiding in the development of one of the biggest cloud infrastructures in the world. Nadella was the Senior VP of R&D for the Online Services Division of the company, then VP of the Microsoft Business Division. He became the President of the business’s Server and Tools Business, transforming the IT systems from a client services company to a cloud services company. Cloud Services revenue rose from $16.6 billion to $20.3 billion once Nadella took the helm. After enjoying several other job titles within the company, Nadella was named third CEO of Microsoft in February 2014. At this point, Microsoft was
entrenched in its ‘One Microsoft’ campaign, which it launched to combat the company’s image as a union of divided product groups. Nadella made his vision for a cloudfirst company known early on, and has been credited with bringing Microsoft to Azure. His mission statement, as reported by Geekwire via an e-mail to Microsoft employees, states: “Perhaps the most important driver of success is culture. Over the past year, we’ve challenged outselves to think about our core mission, our soul – what would be lost if we disappeared… we also asked ourselves, what culture do we want to foster that will enable us to achieve these goals?” Nadella’s commitment to innovation has allowed him to continue leading Microsoft’s legacy, ensuring that it remains the global leader in its field. 17
TECHNOLOGY
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Tim Cook is the third CEO of Apple Inc., having taken the reins from founder Steve Jobs in 2011. Cook was born in 1960 in Alabama, going on to earn a BS in industrial engineering from Auburn University in 1982, followed by an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in 1988. Post-Auburn, Cook worked at IBM for 12 years, eventually becoming the Director of North American fulfilment. On leaving IBM, he was the COO of the Computer Reselling Division of Intelligent Electrics, and VP for Corporate Materials at Compaq. In 1998, Cook was personally asked by Steve Jobs to join Apple. Despite the advice of friends and colleagues leaning in Compaq’s favour – not to mention logic – Cook met with Jobs, and agreed to become Senior VP for Worldwide Operations.
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At this time, Apple’s profits were in decline, but the addition of Cook brightened the company’s future considerably. Less than 12 months after he joined the team, Apple was reporting profits – a sharp contrast to losses of $1 billion in the previous year, thanks in part to Cook’s sales, service, support, and leadership expertise. He went on to become Executive VP of Worldwide Sales and Operations, before he was CEO. Steve Jobs died six weeks after passing the role to Cook, but they had formed a very strong relationship, aided by Cook taking over from Jobs whenever his battle with cancer forced him to take time off.
TECHNOLOGY GIANTS
At his Auburn University commencement speech in 2010, Fast Company reported Cook as saying: “There are times in all our lives when a reliance on gut or intuition just seems appropriate – when a particular course of action just feels right. And interestingly I’ve discovered it’s in facing life’s most important decisions that intuition seems the most indispensable to getting it right.” Cook is rightly credited as having saved Apple when the company needed it most, thanks to him grasping the risk Steve Jobs presented him with and running with it.
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TECHNOLOGY
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TECHNOLOGY GIANTS
Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel California native Brian Krzanich, born in 1960, has been the CEO of Intel since 2013. Krzanich attained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from San Jose State University, joining Intel as an engineer in 1982. Prior to becoming the company’s sixth CEO, Krzanich was Executive VP and COO, heading up a 50,000-strong team across Intel’s Technology and Manufacturing Group, Intel Custom Foundry, supply chain operations, NAND Solutions group, HR, IR, and the company’s China strategy. Before the COO role, he held numerous senior leadership positions, taking responsibility for many different sections of the company. Proving his aptitude in such a varied way paid off when, after a six month executive search, Krzanich was elected to take over from incumbent CEO Paul Otellini in May 2013. Krzanich is credited as being openmindedly connected to customers, helping to expand the company to meet the needs of its users. He was the driving force between the 2006
transformation of Intel’s factories and supply chain, which had a massive impact on the business, improving factory velocity by over 60 percent. As reported by CNBC, Krzanich said of his continued vision of Intel: “One of my big goals is to show people that we are an innovation engine and that innovation will drive growth. We have had to turn it back on and really get it moving faster.” Krzanich’s continued dedication to the company he has worked at for 34 years has enabled it to remain one of the top technology businesses in the world.
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TOP 10
Top 10
technologies for information security in 2016
Gartner’s analysts have examined industry trends in the IT sector, and chosen the top 10 security technologies available. Neil MacDonald, Vice President of Gartner, describes these and their impact
Writ ten by: NE IL MACDONALD
TOP 10
01 CLOUD ACCESS SECURITY BROKERS Cloud access security brokers (CASBs) provide information security professionals with a critical control point for the secure and compliant use of cloud services across multiple cloud providers. Many software as a service (SaaS) apps have limited visibility and control options; however, SaaS adoption is becoming pervasive in organizations, which exacerbates the frustration of security teams looking for visibility and control. CASB solutions fill many of the gaps in individual cloud services, and allow chief information security officers (CISOs) to do it simultaneously across a growing set of cloud services, including infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS) providers. As such, CASBs address a critical CISO requirement to set policy, monitor behavior and manage risk across the entire set of enterprise cloud services being consumed.
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02 ENDPOINT DETECTION AND RESPONSE The market for endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions is expanding quickly in response to the need for more effective endpoint protection and the emerging imperative to detect potential breaches and react faster. EDR tools typically record numerous endpoint and network events, and store this information either locally on the endpoint or in a centralized database. Databases of known indicators of compromise (IOC), behavior analytics and machinelearning techniques are then used to continuously search the data for the early identification of breaches (including insider threats), and to rapidly respond to those attacks.
SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES
03 NONSIGNATURE APPROACHES FOR ENDPOINT PREVENTION Purely signature-based approaches for malware prevention are ineffective against advanced and targeted attacks. Multiple techniques are emerging that augment traditional signature-based approaches, including memory protection and exploit prevention that prevent the common ways that malware gets onto systems, and machine learning-based malware prevention using mathematical models as an alternative to signatures for malware identification and blocking.
04 USER AND ENTITY BEHAVIORAL ANALYTICS User and entity behavioral analytics (UEBA) enables broad-scope security analytics, much like security information and event management (SIEM) enables broad-scope security monitoring. UEBA provides usercentric analytics around user behavior, but also around other entities such as endpoints, networks and applications. The correlation of the analyses across various entities makes the analytics’ results more accurate and threat detection more effective.
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TOP 10
05 MICROSEGMENTATION AND FLOW VISIBILITY Once attackers have gained a foothold in enterprise systems, they typically can move unimpeded laterally (‘east/west’) to other systems. To address this, there is an emerging requirement for ‘microsegmentation’ (more granular segmentation) of east/west traffic in enterprise networks. In addition, several of the solutions provide visibility and monitoring of the communication flows. Visualization tools enable operations and security administrators to understand flow patterns, set segmentation policies and monitor for deviations. Finally, several vendors offer optional encryption of the network traffic (typically, pointto-point IPsec tunnels) between workloads for the protection of data in motion, and provide cryptographic isolation between workloads.
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06 SECURITY TESTING FOR DEVOPS (DEVSECOPS) Security needs to become an integral part of DevOps style workflows — DevSecOps. DevSecOps operating models are emerging that use scripts, ‘recipes,’ blueprints and templates to drive the underlying configuration of security infrastructure — including security policies such as application testing during development or network connectivity at runtime. In addition, several solutions perform automatic security scanning for vulnerabilities during the development process looking for known vulnerabilities before the system is released into production. Whether security is driven from models, blueprints, templates or toolchains, the concept and the desired outcome are the same — an automated, transparent and compliant configuration of the underlying security infrastructure based on policy reflecting the currently deployed state of the workloads.
SECURITY TECHNOLOGIES
07 INTELLIGENCE- 08 REMOTE DRIVEN SECURITY BROWSER OPERATIONS CENTER ORCHESTRATION SOLUTIONS
An intelligence-driven security operations center (SOC) goes beyond preventative technologies and the perimeter, and events-based monitoring. An intelligence-driven SOC has to be built for intelligence, and used to inform every aspect of security operations. To meet the challenges of the new ‘detection and response’ paradigm, an intelligencedriven SOC also needs to move beyond traditional defenses, with an adaptive architecture and contextaware components. To support these required changes in information security programmes, the traditional SOC must evolve to become the intelligence-driven SOC (ISOC) with automation and orchestration of SOC processes being a key enabler.
Most attacks start by targeting end-users with malware delivered via email, URLs or malicious web sites. An emerging approach to address this risk is to remotely present the browser session from a ‘browser server’ (typically Linux based) running on-premises or delivered as a cloud-based service. By isolating the browsing function from the rest of the endpoint and corporate network, malware is kept off of the end-user’s system and the company has significantly reduced the surface area for attack by shifting the risk of attack to the server sessions, which can be reset to a known good state on every new browsing session, tab opened or URL accessed.
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T H E C N O L O G I E S F O R I N F O R M AT I O N S E C U R I T Y
09 DECEPTION
Deception technologies are defined by the use of deceits and/or tricks designed to thwart, or throw off, an attacker’s cognitive processes, disrupt an attacker’s automation tools, delay an attacker’s activities or disrupt breach progression. For example, deception capabilities create fake vulnerabilities, systems, shares and cookies. If an attacker tries to attack these fake resources, it is a strong indicator that an attack is in progress, as a legitimate user should not see or try to access these resources. Deception technologies are emerging for network, application, endpoint and data, with the best systems combing multiple techniques. By 2018, Gartner predicts that 10 percent of organisations will use deception tools and tactics, and actively participate in deception operations against attackers.
10 PERVASIVE TRUST SERVICES As enterprise security departments are asked to extend their protection capabilities to operational technology and the Internet of Things, new security models must emerge to provision and manage trust at scale. Trust services are designed to scale and support the needs of billions of devices, many with limited processing capability. Organizations looking for larger-scale, distributed trust or consensus-based services should focus on trust services that include secure provisioning, data integrity, confidentiality, device identity and authentication. Some leading-edge approaches use distributed trust and blockchain-like architectures to manage distributed trust and data integrity at a large scale.
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The sky is the limit: The Chicago Rockford International Airport ascends above and beyond its competitors Written by Dale Benton Produced by Tom Venturo
C H I C A G O R O C K F O R D I N T E R N AT I O N A L A I R P O R T
Later this year, the Chicago Rockford International Airport will open the doors to two 100,000 sq. ft. maintenance and repair hangars following a $40million development project – needless to say, the third largest airport in the state of Illinois is flying high.
T
he Chicago Rockford International Airport is the third largest airport in the state of Illinois, home to 30 industrial tenants and vendors as well as being the largest regional parcel-sorting facility in the UPS system. Serving both commercial passenger domestic/ international flights and cargo flights, the Chicago International Rockford Airport is continuously evolving and investing in the future, with the
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CONSTRUCTION
construction of two 100,000 sq. ft. aircraft maintenance and repair hangars as well as an additional passenger terminal space. Building a future The process of constructing a new maintenance and repair hangar was born out of an anticipated increased influx of larger cargo aircraft heading into the Chicago Rockford
International Airport. Following feedback from the large cargo operators, a strategy was developed. “The issue that seemed to come to light was if cargo operators brought a large aircraft here such as a Boeing 747-8 and it had a maintenance issue, they were concerned that there wasn’t anybody here at the airport that could address those maintenance needs or to repair the aircraft before departing,”
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Year founded: says Jeff Polsean, Economic Development Manager at Chicago Rockford International Airport. “So as our Airport Director Mike Dunn looked at that process he discovered that in order to have a maintenance repair type MRO here you needed to be able to train Airframe Maintenance and/ or Powerplant mechanics. (A&P)” Rock Valley College does just that. In 2015, a state of the art 30,000 sq. ft. Aviation Maintenance Educational Facility as part of the Junior College was opened within the Airport, providing the Rockford community with 120 future A&P mechanics a year. The repair and maintenance
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facility was $40 million collaboration between the airport Authority and AAR, a leading provider of aviation services on a global scale. “One of the things AAR has not had in previous developments was a hangar specifically built for their needs and operations. In the past they would find an old military aircraft hangar or a used hangar from a commercial operation, revamp it and set up their operations there. We were able to work out terms with AAR for a lease and the airport decided to build two hangars, each a little under a 100 000 sq. ft. apiece, able to occupy largest aircraft, like a 747-8 or an airbus A380,” adds Polsean.
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C H I C A G O R O C K F O R D I N T E R N AT I O N A L A I R P O R T
Cleared for takeoff The maintenance hangars project started in July 2015, on schedule and within that original $40 million budget, but as with most large scale development projects there has been some turbulence along the way. “The major challenge of course for
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any taxing body such as the airport authority is to be able to fund a project like this,” Polsean explains. “Fortunately, Director Dunn was able to put together a financial package with the city of Rockford and Winnebago county, the airport authority, federal government
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“The major challenge of course for any taxing body such as the airport authority is to be able to fund a project like this” – Jeff Polsean, Economic Development Manager
and the state of Illinois. This allowed us to build and lease back the facility to AAR.” Throughout the process however, there was a freeze on state government funding due to some budgeting issues – in came the Rockford community. “Actually, five local banks stepped up to the plate and we were able to work out a deal with the banks where they have given us a $17 million
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line of credit. When the state wraps up the budget issues we will pay the banks back,” adds Polsean. “It has become a huge community effort in order to see this project go forward and reach completion.” Welcome aboard Collaboration with and supporting the local community is one of the major driving forces for Rockford International Airport. “From a community standpoint, which is what the airport is concerned with, it is about building and strengthening our workforce and providing an opportunity for individuals to have a quality of life here in the U.S and be able to raise a family and buy a home,” Polsean says. Another way in which the Rockford airport works with the community is through the Illinois Workforce, a program through the Illinois Department of Employment
designed to support innovative workforce programs connecting employers to skilled workers. Polsean has helped create what he describes as a consortium of partners creating jobs for the community. “The Illinois workforce works closely with AAR in order to establish a pipeline of applicants. AAR has also worked with the Rock Valley college to specifically design a training program for A&P mechanics,” he says. “Even our local tier-one parts suppliers such as Woodward, UTC Aerospace Systems, B/E Aerospace, and GE Aviation they also need A&P mechanics. It’s now a consortium of local companies helping the Rock Valley college design and tailor their programs to educate the graduates and open up career prospects for them.” The great airspace race Rockford is the seventh largest
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C H I C A G O R O C K F O R D I N T E R N AT I O N A L A I R P O R T
“My saying is, if you fly in an aircraft, commercial or private, some part of that platform was produced in the Rockford region” – Jeff Polsean, Economic Development Manager
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aerospace cluster in the U.S and the area is historically known as an industrial manufacturing supply house for the United States, supplying parts to major air operators. Polsean believes that through the local workforce development, Rockford International Airport is continuing to grow that heritage to supply the “tool and die and punch operators and engineers” of the industry. “My saying is, if you fly in an aircraft, commercial or private, some part of that platform was produced in the Rockford region,” he adds. Being the third largest airport in the state of Illinois alongside O’Hare and Midway, how does the Rockford International airport compete? One word - space. “We have our own air space. When an aircraft approaches our airport, it doesn’t have to get into the Chicago air traffic
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control air space,” Polsean explains. “If a cargo aircraft approaches the Chicago Rockford International airport, it would land and it would taxi and be able to turn off its engines within three to five minutes. “At O’Hare and Midway, as there is such a high volume going into the airport that same cargo aircraft will spend around 30- 45 minutes taxiing before being able to turn off its engine. Think of the fuel cost savings that short time generates.” Two tickets to the future In reducing the taxiing time, the airport allows cargo companies to unload and transport their cargos to market at a faster rate, becoming more profitable in the process. “Going forward, we believe it’s a huge advantage in order for us to attract more cargo vendors,” says Polsean. Another key advantage that Polsean believes Rockford has over O’Hare and Midway is the land
JEFFREY W. POLSEAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
Jeffrey Polsean is the Economic Development Manager for the Greater Rockford Airport Authority at the Chicago International Airport (RFD). Mr. Polsean is responsible for overseeing the economic development initiative designed to spur economic growth around the airport. Jeff has strong roots in Rockford and the surrounding communities. Previously, he served as The Department of Economic Development Northern Stateline Region Manager for the State of Illinois and the Regional AdministratorHuman Capital Development for the State of Illinois Department of Human Services and Business Administrator for the Northwestern Illinois Building & Construction Trades Council in Rockford. He has a BA in labor studies from Antioch University of Ohio. “Jeff is well versed in working with business and community leaders. As a strong advocate for Northern Illinois, he understands the needs of these communities and will work to ensure that they reach their economic potential,” Airport Director Mike Dunn said.
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C H I C A G O R O C K F O R D I N T E R N AT I O N A L A I R P O R T
“In order to have a maintenance repair type program here you needed to be able to train Airframe Maintenance and/or Powerplant mechanics.” – Jeff Polsean, Economic Development Manager
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around the airport. There are 3,000 acres of land around the airport, with 900 acres used for airport operations. “We have a lot of land that we are able to develop and continue to attract new businesses. RFD is a worldclass airport with 24/7 operations, CAT II/III LS, independent airspace, hard-surface runways of 10,000 and 8200 feet that are 150’ wide with
40’ paved shoulders, with a history of avoiding service disruptions, and experiencing no weather related closings in over 25 years. “Looking ahead with regards to infrastructure, we believe that this is a key advantage that we have over the other airports in the state,” concludes Polsean.
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Wind in their blades: Avangrid Renewables’ plans to revolutionize US wind energy Written by Jennifer Johnson Produced by Tom Venturo
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Avangrid Renewables
With two major wind farms in the works, and nearly 60 renewable energy projects already generating power, Avangrid Renewables is leading the charge for clean energy in the US.
L 208MW The amount of power generated by 104 turbines at the Amazon Wind Farm US East
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ast summer, construction began on the first utility-scale wind farm in North Carolina, Avangrid Renewables’ Amazon Wind Farm US East, aka Desert Wind, located across a rural section of the state’s northeastern Perquimans and Pasquotank Counties. Once completed, the wind farm will boast 104 turbines, a capacity of 208MW and one very famous client: Amazon Web Services. “It’s one of our first large projects for somebody other than a traditional utility or municipality,” said Erik Lallum, Avangrid Renewables’ Vice President of Engineering and Construction. “That opportunity is what has helped us grow this North Carolina project from a development opportunity to a construction project that will be delivering MW of electricity by the end of the year.” Avangrid Renewables, based in Portland, Oregon, is currently the second-largest provider of clean energy in the US. Over the course of the last decade, it has been transformed from a non-regulated subsidiary of ScottishPower
ENERGY
to the innovative, US renewable energy division of one of Europe’s biggest utilities. Lallum began his career at the company in 2005, when it was still known as PPM Energy and had yet to crack the 1000MW of renewable energy milestone. When Iberdrola — Spain’s largest energy group and a global leader in wind energy — purchased PPM’s parent company, ScottishPower, in 2007, Lallum was tasked with building a project management organization for the new entity. And a major growth period ensued. Today, the company owns approximately 6000MW of wind and solar generation and has been rebranded as Avangrid Renewables, a non-regulated entity of the publicly traded Avangrid (AGR). “We had multifunctional energy development capability on the West Coast in Portland, Oregon,” Lallum says. “I was part of that in the project management group so when Iberdrola purchased us, they asked me to move to the East
Coast to duplicate the model that we had developed under PPM Energy. So I moved out to the East Coast, began hiring project managers and engineers and built a very capable project organization.” At first, the newly created Iberdrola Renewables proceeded with two parallel teams working on either side of the USA. As the organization matured through its peak growth period, however,
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Lallum saw an opportunity to merge the construction group with the engineering group in 2011. “I brought the development support technical team together with the project management and construction team and made one integrated team to support development and manage the construction of our projects,” he explains. “Now we have a really seamless process that starts in development, advances through project approval and construction and allows us to deliver a project that has really had all of the right input from the very beginning.” When Avangrid Renewables sets about constructing a
clean energy project — be it a solar park or a wind farm — ensuring quality and durability is of paramount importance. “We are a developer who is also a long term owner-operator,” says Lallum. “The quality of projects, and what goes into projects, from development through construction, is very important to us so that we have a reliable project for many years after construction.” Currently, Lallum and his unified team are overseeing the construction of two major wind farms: the Amazon Wind Farm U.S. East and New Mexico’s ‘El Cabo’. The latter is located in Torrance County, New Mexico,
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Avangrid Renewables
“At Avangrid Renewables, we want to be part of the solution. We strive to be the cleanest IPP in the US and are committed to combatting climate change. We believe that renewable energy is the right way to do this” – Erik Lallum, Vice President of Engineering & Construction
roughly 60 miles from the state capital, Albuquerque, and will produce more than 298MW of wind power once it is constructed and operating. El Cabo will feature up to 142 Gamesa G114 2.1MW turbines and produce enough energy to power at least 75,000 homes annually. Earlier this year, it was announced that the energy generated at the wind farm will be supplied exclusively to a California utility, Southern California Edison. “We will have back feed power to the plant and begin commissioning turbines in May of 2017 in order to meet New Mexico tax incentive requirements”, Lallum says. “And then the entire project will be completed prior to the end of the year. Besides these two projects,
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Lallum indicated his team will be starting construction on 3 more projects yet this year. “It feels good to be on a growth trajectory again and my team is ready and very capable of delivering safe, quality projects.” However, building a wind farm is not as easy as simply showing up on a suitable plot of land and attaching rotor blades to towers. Avangrid Renewables must select its sites based on market need — and contend with the court of public opinion from there. “We select our sites for a couple of reasons,” Lallum explains. “We start with guidance from our energy management team. It is this team that provides our view of the market and through interface with existing and potential
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75k
The number of homes that will be powered by the El Cabo Wind Project
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VDH/GSMI®
34.5 kV Vacuum Circuit Breaker and High Speed Grounding Switch for Wind Power Substations
Ema Electromechanics LLC is the designer and manufacturer of model VDH/GSMI® combined 34.5 kV vacuum circuit breaker and high speed, mechanically interlocked grounding switch, a unique and patented system specifically designed for switching and de grounding of wind energy collection circuits.
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customers, guides our development efforts where we see the greatest opportunity and market need.” “Beyond that, we look to combine the market opportunities where we have development pipeline and favorable policy to support our projects. I should also note that while we maintain the capability to self-develop greenfield projects from our development pipeline, we can also step into projects at any phase of development.” Historically, some populations have been opposed to the construction of wind farms in their communities — with some citing noise pollution and aesthetic concerns as reasons to protest the installation of turbines. As a result, Avangrid Renewables must
set about conducting significant public consultation before work can commence on any new wind project “In development, we try to be transparent with communities by hosting open houses, preparing simulations and listening to the concerns of local communities.” Lallum reports that both Desert Wind and El Cabo were met with “overwhelming” community support in their early stages, and with these projects scheduled for completion in 2016 and 2017 respectively, he is turning his gaze toward the future. “Our plan is to develop and build approximately 1500 megawatts by 2020,” he says. “With that said,
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Avangrid Renewables
we feel this is our base plan and we’re exploring ways to expand that. It truly is an exciting time for our industry and company.” With renewables finally starting to take a firm foothold in the US energy market, Lallum is confident that innovations in clean energy will continue to deliver cost competitiveness and be a viable mainstream energy source. He speaks of battery storage as a key technology still in its infancy, but with potential to address a number of grid stability concerns, including mitigating the intermittency of renewables. Lallum also stresses that wind turbines themselves are continuing to improve in efficiency and cost. With that said, he believes the current technology to watch is PV solar, where costs continue to decline and efficiency continues to improve. For utility scale, this technology is headed to less than $1.00 per watt DC all-in, which makes solar very attractive in a number of markets and locations. “In wind, we’re going to continue
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to see taller towers and larger rotors. Additionally, turbine manufacturers are delivering new turbine control solutions leading to greater output on an individual turbine basis, and more efficient ways in which to operate these turbines. This is what is driving the next phase of growth in wind.” As it stands, the demand for power will continue to rise on a global scale — as will concerns about reducing carbon emissions. Avangrid Renewables operates, and thrives, at the intersection of energy needs and environmental concerns. “The point is: people are very concerned about climate change, not just in the US, but globally,” Lallum says. “At Avangrid Renewables, we want to be part of the solution. We strive to be the cleanest IPP in the US and are committed to combatting climate change. We believe that renewable energy is the right way to do this.”
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“At Avangrid Renewables, we want to be part of the solution. We strive to be the cleanest IPP in the US and are committed to combatting climate change. We believe that renewable energy is the right way to do this” – Erik Lallum, Vice President of Engineering & Construction
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Digital CIO leadership in Canada Written by Gary Davenport
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hief Information Officers (CIOs) live in tumultuous and exciting times. Similar to other c-suite executives, CIOs never have enough time nor money to do all of the things that are inherently required to optimize organizational performance for the key stakeholders, including customers, employees and shareholders. However, unlike other c-suite executives, CIOs are in the eye of the storm for digital transformation initiatives and must master the plethora of new technology opportunities while not missing the beat in supporting the existing operations. They must also demonstrate the prerequisite leadership and judgement skills to discern the greatest value drivers out of all of the noise in the market. Not an easy task for CIOs and certainly not for the faint of heart. The CIO Association of Canada
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(CIOCAN) is a not-for-profit, vendor independent organization that exists to serve the needs of CIOs in Canada. This is accomplished through networking, sharing of best practices, promoting executive and next generation leadership development, and being the “voice of CIOs� on issues of significance for the profession and the information, communications and technology industry within Canada. This is the 12th year for CIOCAN which has grown from humble beginnings to now having 325 members right across Canada with local chapter operations in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa. CIOCAN has strategic relationships with a number of leading edge organizations and academic institutions, with the focus being on providing greater value to existing members, growing the number
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of members and increasing the collective influence for the benefit of Canadian businesses. This is encapsulated in the CIOCAN vision of: Growth; Influence; Impact. Our members are busier than ever before. Be it cloud computing, social media, mobile apps, big data analytics or the Internet of Things (IoT), CIOs are moving aggressively to become “Digital CIOs”. These successful CIOs are not spending their time mainly on internal back of house activities, but instead are actively engaged with their customers, peers, subordinates and strategic suppliers in constantly looking for new ways to improve both business effectiveness and efficiency. They are letting go of some of the traditional way of doing business and being open to new possibilities. At the same time, they understand that they
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never lose primary executive leadership accountability for IT operations and the corresponding service levels, so they build organizational structures and third party relationships that make those things happen but without the need for their direct oversight and hands-on involvement. The “Digital CIOs” communicates in the language of the business, not techno speak. These CIOs are not afraid to challenge the status quo. They are current on the latest trends and directions in their industries and have an awareness of external threats and opportunities. They are comfortable in dealing with the ever increasing complexity of technology infrastructures and the related regulatory and legal requirements, while also being able to simplify and focus on the essence of any issues. They
Gary Davenport President, CIO Association of Canada w w w. c i o c a n . c a
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understand that positive user experiences and appropriate data security and protection measures are givens in today’s world. They operate in an agile and flexible environment, but also understand that structure and processes are necessary to ensure consistent quality and predictable results. The “Digital CIO� does not forget the lessons from the past and, in fact, respects and values those things that may have been painfully learned so that the actions that they take today and tomorrow in support of the ongoing digital transformation agenda
can be enhanced and amplified for all the key stakeholders. They understand that their ultimate success is dependent on building bridges between the past, present and future to create value for all stakeholders. Most importantly, they lead by example to advance the CIO profession and organizational innovation and productivity, which benefits all of us. CIOCAN is pleased to be part of the facilitating a support environment for Canadian CIOs and amplifying the successes and lessons learned for businesses across the country.
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