Dr. Fahimeh Kazempour, Head of Grid Modernization, Wood MacKenzie
Dr. Fahimeh Kazempour, Head of Grid Modernization, Wood MacKenzie
Fahimeh Kazempour is the Head of Grid Modernization at Wood MacKenzie. The path that led her there was paved by an unrelenting drive to make the world a better place through optimizing our energy systems. From an early age, Fahimeh loved mathematics and by the time of her undergraduate studies, electrical engineering emerged as a passion and a field she knew would be one of the most impactful for our planet. After completing her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in designing control systems at the Isfahan University of Technology, she knew that climate change and how she could get involved from an engineering perspective would be the focus of her doctorate.
A Big Move and the Next Step in the Journey
Fahimeh received a scholarship from the University of Toronto, and the next thing she knew, she was arriving in Canada from Iran with only two pieces of luggage and her dream to complete her PhD. Not one to shy from a challenge, Fahimeh defended her thesis on virtual power plants “VPPs”, one of the first on this concept, with limited existing literature to draw upon. A strength of Fahimeh’s that emerges right away is her ability to always be looking multiple steps ahead. She knew that Alectra was the major player executing pilot projects on VPPs in Canada and where she needed to land next. Having previously networked within the organization, she reached out as graduation approached, defended her thesis on a Thursday, and started working for Alectra the following Monday.
What was admirable about Fahimeh as she took on this new challenge, was her humbleness to get her foot in the door to chase where she needed to be. The only position open at the time was for an intern, and Fahimeh took this on with grace, working alongside junior undergraduates, which did not take long to pay off for her. Fahimeh progressed quickly through the organization from analyst to technical lead and technical managerial roles, until she landed the position of Head of Advanced Planning. In this role, she tackled the full spectrum of innovation project design from engineering the single line diagrams, to participating in deployment activities in the field, to rushing to the boardroom to present progress reports to the executive team. Fahimeh was proud of the work her team was producing, and felt it rivaled many advanced utilities in the US at the time and was important to understanding what was possible to improve the broader energy ecosystem.
Branching out for Global Perspective
Two years ago, Fahimeh’s curiosity of the industry from more of a global lens led her to make her next career move to her current role at Wood Mackenzie as the Head of Grid Modernization. Once again carving the path to make the role her own, Fahimeh loves the research challenges she has taken on as part of the organization’s grid edge service. Tackling how our grids need to transform to accommodate today’s energy transition is no small feat, and Fahimeh is determined to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together through shedding light on the challenges that we will need to overcome, and the potential solutions that will help propel us to net zero by 2030.
Closing Thoughts
Fahimeh remains primarily motivated by the impact climate change has not only on our generation, but future generations to come and the part her work can play to raise awareness, propose solutions, and ensure we continue to have an earth to live on. She is proud of the teams she has been able to mentor and the leading-edge technical solutions they have designed together from EV charging solutions that do not negatively impact the grid, to how a household can effectively operate at net zero.
Fahimeh’s advice for all new professionals is to consider the energy industry for a career that will have one of the longest standing impacts on our society, regardless of your area of study. She feels strongly that it will take a team from many different disciplines and perspectives to tackle climate change from research engineering to financial considerations, political support, and reforming the regulatory framework to best enable the launch of new energy transition initiatives. Finally, regardless of what stage of your career you are in, she stresses the importance to always believe in yourself and your abilities and never be afraid to speak up. When you have the knowledge to speak about something, you will be heard, regardless of whether it is a colleague or a senior executive that is listening. The climate change crisis and the race to net-zero will not be easy, but it is inspiring engineers like Dr. Kazempour that provide the optimism that it can be achieved.
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