Scientist and innovator in the field of energy transmission with 25 years of technical and managerial experience.

Current positions: Director and Editor-in-Chief at Merit Media Int.

Portfolio: Transformers Magazine, Transformers Academy, Industry Navigator, Transformers Forum, and  Switchgear Magazine.

During his career, he managed the development of products and systems for worldwide use in electric power grids up to 1200 kV (currently the highest level in the world), the development and deployment of systems for smart grid and automated design, testing, diagnostic and monitoring systems.

Education: PhD, MSc, and BSc degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Zagreb, Croatia.

Affiliations: IEEE Senior Member, CIGRE, European Association of Science Editors (EASE), etc.

Marcelo Werneck is the VP Business Development, Energy at Optics11, where he leads the global adoption of advanced fiber-optic sensing solutions for partial discharge and condition monitoring in high-voltage assets. With over a decade of international experience in the energy sector, Marcelo combines deep engineering expertise with commercial leadership to bring innovative monitoring technologies from concept to market.

His career spans key roles in offshore wind, oil & gas, and rail, where he managed complex engineering projects, developed strategic partnerships, and delivered cutting-edge solutions to industry leaders. A certified PMP with a background in Mechanical Engineering, Marcelo is recognized for his ability to translate technical innovation into practical applications that enhance grid reliability and performance.

Aydin Zadeh is a seasoned technology leader at Optics11, where he drives innovation at the intersection of advanced monitoring solutions and asset owners needs and requirements. Aydin earned his PhD in signal processing and fiber optic sensing from Delft University of Technology. He has played a pivotal role in shaping Optics11’s strategic direction in both the energy infrastructure.
As head of Application Engineering and Pre-Sales, Aydin leads a multidisciplinary team of engineers and system architects, supporting the successful deployment of the partial discharge monitoring system on critical HV infrastructure and in subsea surveillance applications. He has spearheaded key initiatives with major European TSOs and DSOs, as well as OEM partners and HV asset manufacturers.

Franck Thomas work for EDF DTG in diagnosis on oil immersed transformer since 2007.

He performed electrical test on field, form turn ratio and all «classical tests», to acoustic localization and partial discharge with a mobile unit.

Now, he is more involved in e-monitoring (thermal, dissolved gasses analysis and bushing) and sharing knowledge.

Luc Paulhiac is a Senior Expert at EDF (Électricité de France), working at the corporate level within the Maintenance & Support Department for Nuclear Generation, which supports France’s fleet of 56 pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Since 2007, he has been responsible for all equipment located between the main generator and the electrical grid. This includes Isolated Phase Busducts (IPB), Generator Circuit Breakers (GCB), Power Transformers (over 310 units), and Switchyards (both AIS and GIS technologies).

His core responsibilities include:
1) Operational support for nuclear power plants, with a focus on real-time troubleshooting and risk management.
2) Defining maintenance strategies, including supplier panel management and long-term asset renewal policies across the fleet.
3) Sponsoring R&D programs related to transformers and substations, with a strong commitment to innovation and technical excellence.
4) Active participation in international working groups, including: – CIGRÉ (A2 Study Committee – Power Transformers and Reactors) – Eurelectric (FGAS-SF6 Task Force) – EPRI (Transformer and Switchyard User Group – TSUG) – WANO (Equipment Reliability International Working Group – ER I-WG)

Franco Pizzutto was born in 1983. He received his engineering degree in Power Engineering from the University of Applied Science in Ansbach in 2008 and started his career in the Sales department of Maschinenfabrik Reinhausen.

Since 2013 his work is foused on the application of voltage regulating distribution transformers and the associated on-load tap-changers.

From Belfast Northern Ireland, qualifications in Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Working for GE Vernova for 14 years, began my GE career as a Field Service Engineer traveling around Europe installing DGA and bushing monitoring equipment. Then as a Global Technical Support Engineer and recently joined European Sales Team as a Technical Applications Engineer.
Deliver bespoke Online Bushing Monitoring Training & Data Analysis

Marius Grisaru, an expert in DGA and insulating liquid tests, assists electrical engineers and transformer owners in maintaining their assets through vital oil testing and treatment. With over 32 years of global experience, he specializes in oil testing, tender reviews, and post-mortem inspections. A trained electrician and M.Sc. electroanalytical chemist, Marius has published 25+ columns in Transform Magazine, IEEE, and other journals since 2014. He teaches at Transformer Academy and contributes to IEC standards, CIGRE brochures, and international conferences on insulating oil chemistry and DGA

Luca Pezzini specializes in storytelling applied to environmental issues and science communication. He holds a master’s degree in Mathematics and a PhD in Sociology of Cultural and Communicative Processes, and he is currently a «Cultore della materia» at the Department of Humanities at the University of Turin. His doctoral research, co-funded by Sea Marconi Technologies and the Programma Operativo Nazionale Ricerca e Innovazione, employed a transdisciplinary approach to analyze storytelling strategies in circular economy communication, integrating traditional frameworks in semiotics, narratology, and communication studies with AI techniques.
His research interests revolve around the interplay between science and the humanities, with a focus on environmental communication, computational narratology, the application of AI techniques to the study of large textual corpora, and the semiotics of AI.

27 years of experience in the transformer industry.

Well-known Speaker and Advisor to many utilities and OEMs globally. 10 years at Nynas, 17 years with Ergon and now acting as Senior Technical Consultant.

Flavio Tarallo leads the engineering team responsible for deploying Hitachi Energy’s digital strategy across Europe.

He is deeply engaged in exploring how emerging technologies can improve product and service delivery, while offering strategic consultancy to both production units and customers. Flavio began his career in the R&D and engineering departments at Enel and brings over a decade of experience in transformer services at ABB (now Hitachi Energy), where he led the sales team with a strong focus on customer solutions and technical excellence.

Letizia De Maria received the M.S. degree in physics, from University of Milan, Italy, in 1985. She started her activities at CISE S.p.A, Milan, on research and development of coherent optical fibre sensors and spectroscopic techniques for industrial applications.

She is senior research at RSE Research on Energetic System S.p.A, Transmission and Distribution Technologies Department; her main research focuses on innovative optical sensors for monitoring electrical equipment of the Transmission and Distribution network. Until 2024 she has been Member of the Presidential Council, Italian Society for Optics and Photonics (SIOF).

She is an active member of TC-10 “Fluids for Electrotechnical Applications” and of CIGRE- D1.76: “Tests for verification of quality and ageing performance of cellulose insulation for power transformers” (2021-2024) working Group.

Bruce Forsyth is the Director of Global Application Engineering for Cargill Bioindustrial – Power Systems. He leads the activities of a global team of Application Engineers providing support for Cargill’s bioindustrial fluids.

Bruce holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics, Mathematics, and Electrical Engineering. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in multiple states within the US, a Senior Member of IEEE, as well as a member of IEC TC10, IEC TC14, and CIGRE USA. Bruce has been an active member of the IEEE Transformers Committee for over 30 years and had the privilege of serving as a committee officer from 2016 to 2023 and Chair of the Transformers Committee for the 2020-2021 term.

He has a strong background in transformer design and forensic analysis, and his current interest is in the application of natural ester liquids in distribution and power transformer design.

Electrical Engineer with a Master’s Degree from the University of Padua and background in testing, customer support, and service management. Began professional career in 2016 at ABB as a Test & Homologation Engineer, later transitioning to the After Sales & Customer Support department. Since 2020, serving as Service Manager at Comem, overseeing technical support for accessories and insulators, as well as the installation, commissioning, electrical testing, and both routine and extraordinary maintenance of all types of transformers

Giulia Frattini holds a degree in Electrical Engineering and is an Instrumentation, Control, and Electrical Maintenance Manager with six years of experience in power plant maintenance and eight years in industrial plant maintenance.

She currently serves as the I&C and Electrical Maintenance Manager at A2A Gencogas, based at the large Sermide Power Plant, which has an installed capacity of 1,236 MW. She obtained a Green Belt Six Sigma certification after developing a project focused on online monitoring systems and predictive maintenance for step-up transformers.

She conducts seminars on electrical machines and predictive maintenance techniques at various Italian universities.

Jelena Lukić, PhD in Chemical Engineering, has been working in the field of power transformers paper/oil insulation testing, condition and risk assessment and development of mitigation techniques in domain of corrosive sulfur removal, PCB decontamination and aged oils reclamation. She holds three 3 patents, published more than 100 papers, among them, 14 peer review papers in scientific journals and 12 papers as invited lecturer at international conferences worldwide.

Jelena is delegate of Serbian National Committee in International Electrotechnical Committee Technical Committee 10 (IEC TC 10) – Fluids for Electrotechnical Applications, member of advisory groups of CIGRE SC A2- Power Transformers AG 2.4 and SC D1- Material and emerging testing techniques AG D1.01. She has been member of more than 30 CIGRE and IEC TC 10 working groups and a convener of CIGRE WGs: A2.40: „Copper sulphide long-term mitigation and risk assessment “(2015-2019), currently ongoing CIGRE D1.76: “Tests for verification of quality and ageing performance of cellulose insulation for power transformers” (2021-2024) and CIGRE SC A2.02 TF on silver corrosion (2024-2025). In 2024 she has been selected as distinguished member of CIGRE.

Dr. Peter Werelius, Member of IEEE, holds an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, earned in 1991 and 2001, respectively.

He began his professional career in 1996 by founding WaBtech in Stockholm, a company focused on manufacturing FDS/DFR diagnostic equipment primarily for cables and power transformers. In 1999, he continued his work on FDS/DFR applications at Programma Electric AB, also in Stockholm, and remained with the company following its acquisition by GE Energy Services in 2001.

In 2005, Dr. Werelius co-founded Pax Diagnostics in Stockholm. The company was acquired in 2008 by Megger Sweden AB, located in Danderyd, where he currently serves as a Senior Application Specialist in transformer testing.

He has authored numerous papers and articles, mainly on FDS/DFR measurement techniques and their applications. Dr. Werelius is also an active member of Cigré, contributing to various working groups and task forces.

Tony McGrail is Doble Engineering Company’s Solutions Director for Asset Management & Monitoring Technology, providing condition, criticality and risk analysis for utility companies.

Previously Tony has spent over 10 years with National Grid in the UK and the US; he has been both a substation equipment specialist and subsequently substation Asset Manager, identifying risks and opportunities for investment in an aged infrastructure.

Tony is a Fellow of the IET, a member of the IEEE, CIGRE, ASTM, ISO and the IAM, and a contributor to SFRA, Condition Monitoring and Asset Management standards. His initial degree was in Physics, supplemented by an MS and a PhD in EE followed by an MBA.

Senja Leivo is the Senior Industry Expert at Vaisala in Finland, specializing in the condition monitoring of power transformers. With 25 years of international industry experience, she plays a crucial role in integrating customer feedback into the company’s research and product development. Notably, she has been a key contributor to the development of Vaisala’s multi-gas DGA monitor and moisture sensors.

Senja is an experienced speaker at industry conferences and has authored numerous publications. Actively engaged in various international research collaborations, she is a member of CIGRE working groups, IEC maintenance teams, and other initiatives focused on transformer condition assessment. She is the Convenor of CIGRE joint working group on “Online moisture monitoring of transformers for ageing assessment” and Finnish representative in CIGRE Study Committee D1.

With a Master of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering, she possesses a solid academic background complementing her extensive practical experience.

James Reid holds a MSc Reliability Engineering & Safety Management from Heriot Watt University and a BEng Chemical Engineering from University of Edinburgh. He has been a chartered Chemical Engineer with the IChemE since 2002 and is also a member of ASTM. Based in the UK, James leads the technical applications team providing global support for all the ester-based products manufactured by global specialty materials company M&I Materials, including the MIDEL range of dielectric liquids. Prior to joining the technical team at M&I Materials in 2019, James has over two decades experience in technical and operational management roles with major UK utility, leading international chemical, and specialist oil companies.

Jean SANCHEZ is senior transformer engineer at EDF, French main generation utility, mostly on investigations, tests and its associated diagnosis, Factory Acceptance Tests, HV bushings, fleet assessments. He’s involved in IEC and CIGRE working groups. He completed a PhD degree on power transformers fault diagnosis in 2011 with a French power transformer reparation factory, TSV.

Ufuk Kivrak has BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering. He has more than 25 years of industrial experience in transformers and power grid industries. He has worked for ABB in several management positions in Turkey, Thailand and Switzerland. He has led Supply Chain Management organization of ABB Transformer business globally from 2003 to 2015, which included explosive growth of transformer market from 2003 to 2008, which was followed by a market collapse in 2009 and onwards. In 2015, he has joined Alstom Grid as VP-Strategic Sourcing and continued as Head of Strategic Sourcing in GE Grid Solutions after Alstom was acquired by GE. Currently he is Managing Director of SCM Consulting GmbH.

Armando Pastore received his mechanical engineering master’s degree from University of Naples Federico II. After the graduation he had different experiences in automotive and railway sectors. He joined the power grid business sector in 2012 working as R&D mechanical engineer and product industrialization with special focus on transformer and wall bushings for HVDC application. Since 2015 he has been working at GE Grid Solution covering different roles as engineering manufacturing, production, technical and product manager. In 2022 he has been appointed chair for Italy SC 36A – Insulated bushings.

Riccardo Actis was born in 1969 He holds a degree in mechanical engineering, obtained from Polytechnic University of Turin in 1995. Today he is the Global Operation Manager of the On-Site Service Department at Sea Marconi, with more than 25 years of experience in organization and follow-up of on-site work activities, in Italy, France, Spain, and other countries (KSA, Argentina, Uruguay, Japan). Riccardo has a deep knowledge of condition-based maintenance, as well as treatment and decontamination techniques of insulating liquids.

Head of the Laboratory for Physical and Chemical Testing since 2016. Main areas of expertise are related to testing of insulating and construction materials with condition assessment, e.g., dissolved gas analysis for transformer condition assessment, insulating oil monitoring, specific requirements and compatibility testing of insulating materials, recommendations for materials and equipment handling, investigations of faults and post-mortem analyses.

Vojko Mrdic has been working as applications engineer in transformer testing group at DV Power, a well-known manufacturer of test and measurement equipment for electric power industry. His responsibilities include development of new methods for transformer testing, providing technical support to DV Power customers, as well as performing on-site field testing. Before joining DV Power 13 years ago, he had been working at the large apparatus manufacturer Energoinvest RAOP for 1 year as a junior engineer in circuit breakers and instrument transformers development department. Vojko has a BSc diploma degree in electrical engineering from the University of East Sarajevo.

Roberto Fernández is an experienced Electrical Engineer who has spent most of his career on the transformer design field and R&D activities focused on the magneto-electric and thermal design for a wide range of transformer applications. He is member of the IEC, CIGRE and several national and international working groups. He is currently the Application Technical Leader at Cargill Bioindustrial.

Field Service engineer since 1976 working for Merlin-Gerin on GIS Switchgear, Schneider Electric Equipment, JST Tranformateurs , following in SIEMENS as African Aera sales Manager and JST Maintenance as business development

Dr. Sameera completed his Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Honors) and Master of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. After graduating, he worked as a High Voltage Laboratory Instructor at the University of Peradeniya and as a Research Assistant in the Condition Monitoring Team at the Engineering Design Centre. He then pursued his PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia. Following that, he joined the same university as a postdoctoral research fellow, where he investigated the use of drone footage and Machine Learning technologies for detecting overhead conductor defects. After completing his fellowship, he became a consultant at EA Technology, one of the world’s leading asset management consultancy service providers. Currently, he works as an asset strategy engineer at Energy Queensland, the largest distribution network service provider in Australia.

Fabrizio Ferrari was born in Pavia (Italy) in 1968. He is a Senior Advisor for CESI/KEMA, for some major Utilities (e.g. EGP, A2A, ENGIE) and for transformer manufacturers (e.g. TAMINI Trasformatori). He has long time experience in small, medium and large power transformers and the main HV, MV and LV components.

Previous experience as Quality and Environmental Management Systems Responsible in Italian leader transformer manufacturer Groups. Member of IEC/CEI TC 10, TC 14, TC 36 and TC 68, member of CENELEC TC 14, member of CIGRE A.2 and T&D Europe. Chairman of «Transformers Group» in ANIE Energia (Italian Federation associated to Confindustria).

Vander Tumiatti is the founder and owner of SEA MARCONI GROUP (since 1968 – www.seamarconi.com), Torino, Italy, an international company that is involved in research, technologies, products, and services for energy and environment. He has developed BAT and BEP Sustainable Solutions for Life Cycle Management (LCM) of insulating liquids and transformers focalized on inventory, control, diagnosis, decontamination, depolarization (DBDS, TCS, and polar compounds) and dehalogenation / detoxification (PCBs/POPs). He holds more than 40 international patents and is the author of many international technical and scientific publications. He has been the Assistant Secretary of IEC TC10 from  2000 to 2024. He is also a member of several international groups, with major participation in technical normative activities (CEN, IEC, CIGRE, IEEE). In 2009 June, he received – «1906 Award», the IEC’s award for “the precious contribution to the understanding of the potentially corrosive behaviour of mineral insulating oil used in power transformers and for his discoveries, recognized worldwide, in the development of diagnostic chemical analyses”. He also received the «Alessandro Volta» award as expert since 1978 in the standardization activities. He was the coordinator of European and national research projects in the field of circular and granular bioeconomy (BIOENPRO®). He also inventor of My Transfo Meeting since 2002 (www.mytransfo.com)