Founder & Managing Partner
Bonnie Datta
Passionate about disruptive clean technologies, Bonnie is an international market strategist who brings to bear a combined policy and business background to positively impact decarbonization pathways, with deep expertise in transport electrification and grid modernization.
Bonnie is the co-founder of Zemetric, a charging infrastructure start-up based in Silicon Valley. She is also the founder of Plug to Grid Strategies, a niche advisory firm that focuses on early-stage start-ups in clean energy. Bonnie played a leadership role in the establishment of smart energy and transport electrification frameworks in multiple US states and select Southeast Asian markets during her tenure at Siemens USA. She has previously worked at the inward-investment arm of the Singapore Government.
With career pivots from disrupting telecom to advanced energy to clean transport via a stint in government, Bonnie leads with a philosophy of continuous learning and knowledge agility. She holds Bachelor of Science (Honors) and Master of Arts degrees.
Bonnie serves on the Board of Interstate Renewable Energy Council, and has previously served on the Advisory Board of Electrada.
Panel of Experts
Plug to Grid Strategies is honored to be guided by the following climate-tech industry stalwarts
Chris King, JD
A cleantech industry thought-leader, Chris enjoys innovating in the smart energy space, with a number of successful Silicon Valley start-ups behind him. Chris developed “Metering as a Service” for advanced energy metering and invented Peak Time Rebates, which were key to the rollout of smart meters in California.
With deep knowledge of the electricity business, Chris enjoys creating products and services in software and hardware related to the full range of DERs and electrified transportation, and currently leads the eMobility partnerships portfolio at the European conglomerate that purchased the start-up that he had co-founded.
A flag-flying alumnus of Stanford University and its business school, Chris has been invited to testify (twice) before the U.S. Congress on clean technology and is licensed to practice law in California.
Carolin Funk, PhD
With a career supporting renewable energy programs in government agencies, multi-nationals, and early-stage ventures, Carolin is a multi-faceted professional who thrives at solving technology challenges with a focus on software and AI.
She has been actively involved in the start-up space in Silicon Valley, first in a corporate-backed incubator and then, successfully scaling two storage-based start-ups in EV infrastructure and telecom.
Carolin seamlessly traverses, the European and US venture financing worlds with an eye on spotting the next interesting “thing” in clean technology, putting to use her German engineering and business school credentials.
Suzanne Bertin
With extensive knowledge of the Government machinery in the great state of Texas, Suzanne works with clean technology companies to modernize energy policy and create opportunities for clean energy to thrive.
With experience across the electricity grid spectrum and DERs, Suzanne has held key positions advocating for a wide range of wholesale and retail legislative and regulatory issues including experience in the workings of ERCOT since the inception of competitive retail market in the state.
A lifelong Texan and a proud alumna of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, Suzanne puts to creative use her rare combination of engineering and public affairs degrees.
Neil Lessem, PhD
Specialising in environmental, behavioural and regulatory economics, Neil is an energy economics expert with an international track record working with utilities, policymakers and clean technology providers on complex topics such as innovative electricity rate design, experimental pilots and policy impact metrics.
His tenure with the Brattle Group saw him involved on innovative projects across four continents, giving him a deep appreciation of the degree to which alternative regulatory and market regimes can drive outcomes.
Now based in Australia, Neil is a director at Econalytics, where he continues to apply intellectual rigour and a consumer-focused lens to cleantech decision-making for clients across Oceania, Asia and North America.