Ali has over 17 years of experience in the field of Smart Grids, DSO/ESO Whole System Operation, Data Exchange, Automation, Energy System Interoperability, Flexibility Market Establishment, DSO/ESO Operational System Architecture and alternative Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Grid Connection Solutions. He holds a PhD from Imperial College London in the field of Active Network Management System facilitating DER connections to the grid at all voltage levels. Ali has worked at National Grid ESO and UK Power Networks, holding Senior Engineering positions while keeping the lights on. Ali’s engineering career has spanned a wide breadth of Smart Grid and Market Design themes. He has got extensive experience in planning, design and operation of end-to-end control systems for transmission and distribution networks. He is the Global Digital Grid Director at EY supporting clients in North America and Europe in areas of Operational Technology (OT) Solution Design for scaled deployment of Flexibility Services and Demand Response.