2021 General Meeting Recap

The annual WPC General Meeting was held on November 17.

Below is a recording of the event. Thank you to all who attended!

AGENDA

WPC Business Meeting

6:00 p.m. (Eastern USA)

  • Meeting Opening (Chairman, Tom Bigley)
  • Minutes of Previous Meeting and Business Arising
  • Chair’s Report: Tom Bigley
  • Financial Report: Shayne La Combre

Member Focus: Rwanda Plumbers Organization (RPO)

Update from Jean Claude Twagirimana — President, RPO — on 2021 project collaboration with IWSH Foundation.

Panel Discussion: Hydrogen – Our Future

6:30 p.m. (Eastern USA)

Moderator:
Paul Bonsak, IAPMO R&T Oceana

Panelists:
David Norman, Chief Executive Officer at Future Fuels CRC, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Alexander Ziehe, Director of Business Development Asia Pacific / Head of Sales Oceania at Viessmann

Alexander Ziehe will give a presentation on why hydrogen will play a key role in decarbonized and sustainable heating, and how Viessmann is utilizing hydrogen and will roll out its 100% hydrogen portfolio.

Mary Usovicz, UMass Lowell, USA

Mary Usovicz will be providing an overview of the recent released white paper from Umass Lowell and AIM Foundation on the future of green hydrogen in the Commonwealth of MA.  She will discuss the policy recommendations and findings of the study.  In particular, she will discuss the usage of green hydrogen for long duration storage, generation, and thermal applications.

Close of WPC General Meeting

8:00 p.m. (Eastern USA)

PRESENTERS

David Norman

David Norman is the Chief Executive Officer of the Future Fuels Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). David is responsible for implementing the vision and mission of Future Fuels CRC and managing its operations. David was the Chief Executive Officer of the Energy Pipelines CRC and was responsible for leading the successful bid to create Future Fuels CRC.

David has over 20 years of experience with Royal Dutch Shell in an array of commercial, managerial and technical roles, both in Australia and globally. His most recent role was General Manager of LNG for Transport developing a visionary new fuel for the trucking, marine and mining industries using locally sourced natural gas as a substitute for existing diesel fuel. Prior to this he was deeply involved in scenarios and options for the future of energy as Head of Strategy and Business Development for Shell Downstream Australia. David’s early roles included Plant Manager of a major oil refinery, Inspection Integrity Engineer and Turnaround Change Manager.

David graduated in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Melbourne and has completed a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Deakin University. He is a member of Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Energy.

Mary Usovicz

Mary has a proven track record of implementing change, engaging stakeholders and creating effective coalitions. She has over 30 years in the industry navigating complex policy issues. Currently, Mary is the Director of Business Development for Umass Lowell E2I institution as President and Founder of MU Connections. Mary was former Senior VP of Business Development for TRC. Prior to TRC, she was VP of Marketing and External Affairs at Repsol Energy and as Community Relations Manager at Tennessee Gas Pipeline and the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority. Mary has worked with federal agencies, state legislatures, local governments, utilities, universities, and private companies on issues ranging from natural gas to hydropower to clean energy. At Repsol, Mary secured the permits and approvals for the construction of 10BCF of LNG at the Saint John, New Brunswick LNG Facility. She developed a strategic campaign to secure MA RFP for 83D Long Term out of Market Power Purchase Agreement for NECEC. She serves on the Boards of the New England Women in Energy and Environment (NEWIEE) and co-chairs the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee as well as the Northeast Commerce and Energy (NECA) as Executive Board member overseeing marketing and former board member of New England Council. Mary has an MBA from Suffolk University and a B.A. from American University. She is married to former Mayor of Salem, Stan Usovicz and has two children Stash and Motoria.

Alexander Ziehe

Alexander Ziehe is the Director of Business Development Asia Pacific / Head of Sales Oceania at Viessmann. He has been with Viessmann for nearly four years.

Alexander is Dutch and speaks five languages,  which are Chinese, English, Finnish, French and of course Dutch. He holds a Master of Economics and History Degree from the University of Gottingen, Germany, he also holds a Degree in the Chinese Language and a Bachelor Degree in Economics and Social History.

His interest include Business Development for China and other Asian markets, enthusiasm for the Belt&Road initiative, digitalization and global strategies