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How CEATI International Helps Hydro Utilities Benefit From Industry Expertise
The exhibit hall at CEATI’s Hydropower Conference, March 2020, Palm Springs, California.
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EATI International is a membership-based research and advisory firm focused on the current and emerging needs of the electrical utilities industry. It facilitates userdriven interest groups that cover topics across the activities of an integrated power utility. Interest group members benefit from the experience and knowledge of their peers, as well as guidance and analysis from CEATI’s network of technical advisors. In this interview, CEATI Vice President Chris Hayes and Head of Marketing Lizzie Smith tell us about the company’s activities and the benefits it can deliver to hydro utilities. Hydro Leader: Please tell us about your backgrounds and how you came to be in your current positions.
22 | HYDRO LEADER | October 2021
Chris Hayes: I’m an Anglo-Quebecer, born and raised in Montréal. I went to McGill University, where I obtained a mechanical engineering degree. Although I had strong interests in academics, including math and the sciences, I come from an entrepreneurially spirited family and had a passion for business development. This proved to be a great combination in my professional career. Coming out of school, I spent some time with Bombardier Aerospace as an intern. The opportunity at CEATI came up shortly after my graduation. I started with CEATI in May 2002, and over the past 20 years, I have had the chance to work with and learn from some of best people in the industry. I’m now a vice president, and I look after key account management and business development. Hydro Leader: Please tell us about CEATI and its history. Chris Hayes: CEATI was founded by a gentleman by the name of Jacob Roiz, who, once upon a time, was a director with the research and development group of the Canadian hydroleadermagazine.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF CEATI.
Lizzie Smith: I’ve been with CEATI for just over 10 years. I started straight out of university. CEATI runs 20 different interest groups in various areas of the power industry, including generation, transmission, and distribution, and when I first joined CEATI in 2010, I was working on a couple of groups that dealt with emerging tech and thermal generation. In 2012, I moved over to work on our three hydro groups, and for the past 4 years, I served as their program manager. Our three hydro interest groups are dam safety; hydraulic plant life, which looks at power plant equipment;
and hydro operations and planning, which looks at water management and optimization. Just a few months ago, I took a new position as the head of our marketing department.
