Raiford Smith and his team lead Entergy’s pursuit of new, enabling technologies such as Distributed Energy Resources, big data analytics, and the development of customer-facing products and services. Mr. Smith is based out of Entergy’s offices in The Woodlands, Texas. Entergy is an integrated energy company that owns and operates approximately 30GW of electric generating capacity and delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Mr. Smith has 26 years of experience in the energy industry, including various roles in legal, planning and analytics, smart grid, customer management, demand-side management, pricing and rates, product development, wholesale deal structuring, mergers and acquisitions, and technology.
A native of Savannah, Georgia, Smith earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from the University of Georgia, a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia, and a Juris Doctor from the Charlotte School of Law.
Mr. Smith is a licensed attorney and member of the North Carolina Bar Association; holds several patents on grid optimization and electric grid technologies; has published several papers on the future of the smart grid, energy efficiency, asset optimization, and price forecasting; has earned his Six Sigma Green Belt certification; and is a member of advisory boards for SAS, Tendril, Intel, and NEST Labs.