Officers

Gordon van Welie

Gordon van Welie is president and CEO of ISO New England Inc. Since joining the ISO in 2000, van Welie has been actively involved in establishing and growing advanced wholesale electricity markets and power system operations, and developing a robust system planning process for the regional grid. These efforts have been widely recognized as supporting and enabling the reliable clean energy transition in New England already underway. With renewable energy poised to become the main source of electricity generation in the region over the next two decades, van Welie is leading several strategic initiatives aimed at maintaining system reliability and market competitiveness throughout this shift in fuels and technologies. Before joining ISO New England, van Welie was the vice president and general manager of the Power System Control business for Siemens, which supplies energy and distribution management systems to electric utilities. Earlier in his career, van Welie worked in various transmission and distribution control system engineering roles with the South African utility, Eskom. He is a member of ISO New England’s Board of Directors as well as a number of industry groups, including the Executive Committee of the US National Committee of CIGRE, the Member Representatives Committee of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the ISO/RTO Council, and the IEEE Power & Energy Society. In 2017, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and currently serves on the National Academies’ Board on Energy and Environmental Systems. He is the recipient of the 2024 Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG) Excellence Award, the 2023 Attwood Associates Award for ongoing contributions to CIGRE and its US National Committee, the 2017 Utility Variable-Generation Integration (UVIG) Achievement Award, and the 2016 IEEE Power & Energy Society Leadership in Power Award.

Vamsi Chadalavada

Dr. Vamsi Chadalavada, executive vice president and chief operating officer, is responsible for power system and market operations, markets development, system planning, information and cybersecurity services, and program management. He previously served as the company’s senior vice president for market and system solutions. Before joining ISO New England in 2004, Chadalavada held a number of positions at Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution LLC, most recently vice president and general manager of Energy Management and Information Systems (EMIS). In that position, he held the profit and loss responsibility for the division and was responsible for sales and marketing, product development, project delivery, and support services for EMIS in North America and select regions in Europe, Asia, and South America. He has a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from Iowa State University.

Peter T. Brandien

As vice president of system operation and market administration, Peter T. Brandien is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the New England bulk power system and ensuring the fair administration of the region's wholesale electricity markets. This includes the Day-Ahead Energy, Real-Time Energy, Reserve, and Regulation markets, the Financial Transmission Rights and Forward Reserve Market auctions, transmission and generation outage coordination, system restoration, operator training, NERC/Northeast Power Coordinating Council compliance, and development of operating procedures. Additional responsibilities include the registration, auditing, and verification of performance for demand and generating resources. Prior to joining ISO New England, Brandien was an employee of Northeast Utilities for 17 years, where he held various management positions in transmission engineering, operations, and planning. Prior to that, he served in the US Navy Submarine Force, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.

Kathleen deCastro

Kathleen deCastro, vice president of human resources and chief people diversity officer, is responsible for ISO New England’s human resource and diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. This includes overseeing programs and processes to attract, develop, and retain talent through competitive compensation and benefits programs, as well as ongoing education and professional development opportunities. She and her team provide consulting to the ISO’s business leaders on organizational design, lead company efforts on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and manage the company’s talent succession program. Prior to joining the ISO, deCastro served as vice president of human resources for the small commercial business segment at The Travelers Companies, Inc. in Hartford, Connecticut. Prior to that, she served in top human resources roles with JCJ Architecture, The Hanover Insurance Group, Sun Life Financial, and The Hartford, where she spent almost two decades in numerous human resources roles. She began her career in Cigna’s Human Resources Rotational Program after receiving her Master of Arts degree in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of New Haven.

Anne C. George

As vice president, chief external affairs and communications officer, Anne C. George directs ISO New England’s outreach to public officials, stakeholders, and the media. In this role, George is responsible for developing and executing the company’s communications strategy and leading state and federal policy activity. Before joining the ISO in 2008, she served five years as a commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control. During this time, George was active in national and regional bodies, serving as chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Committee on Electricity and as president of the New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners. Prior to her role at the Connecticut DPUC, George served as the governor’s special counsel on energy and chief legal counsel.

Maria Gulluni

As vice president, corporate counsel, and corporate secretary, Maria Gulluni is the principal legal advisor for ISO New England and is responsible for the company’s work with FERC and the ISO’s Board of Directors. She joined the ISO in 2000 as senior counsel and was subsequently promoted to assistant general counsel, then deputy general counsel. Gulluni began her legal career as an associate in the corporate department at Shipman & Goodwin in Hartford, Connecticut, where she focused on mergers, acquisitions, and corporate transactions. She is a member of the board of directors of the YMCA of Greater Springfield.

Robert C. Ludlow

Robert C. Ludlow is vice president and chief financial and compliance officer. He serves on the company’s Audit and Finance Committee as well as the Budget and Finance Committee of the New England Power Pool. Ludlow, a certified public accountant, has four decades  of experience in the energy and accounting fields. He came to ISO New England at its inception in 1997. Prior to that, he worked in various public accounting and private company accounting roles, mostly in the metropolitan New York area.

Al McBride

As vice president of System Planning, Al McBride oversees ISO New England’s regional and interregional planning processes, including development of the biennial Regional System Plan, analysis of new transmission and generation projects for New England, implementation of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission‑approved generator interconnection process, the execution of regional economic planning studies requested by stakeholders, and other initiatives. McBride has three decades of experience in power transmission system analysis and transmission services. He came to the ISO in 2006, and has held several roles, most recently serving as executive director of Transmission Services. McBride holds a master’s degree in electric power engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a Master of Business Administration from Purdue University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from University College Dublin. Prior to joining the ISO, McBride worked in roles involving transmission analysis, development, and interconnection at Dynegy Inc., Calpine Corporation, and Power Technologies International (now a division of Siemens Industries).

Rudolf “Rudy” Pawul

As vice president of information and cybersecurity services, Rudolf “Rudy” Pawul is responsible for ISO New England’s information technology (IT) functions. Pawul came to the ISO in 1999 as a system administrator, joining the company at the same time the region’s first wholesale power markets were launched. In his tenure, he has held a variety of roles of increasing scope and responsibility, including manager of system support and IT director for infrastructure and enterprise support. Most recently, as IT director of development of power system support, he was in charge of the 24/7 energy management and markets systems for New England.

Matthew White

Matthew White is the ISO’s chief economist and vice president of market development and settlements. His responsibilities include management and oversight of the design, development, performance, and settlement of the ISO’s multibillion-dollar suite of competitive electricity markets. Prior to joining the ISO in 2010, White held faculty appointments at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, where he received numerous teaching awards for his insights on how markets work. His public service includes senior economist appointments at the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the US Federal Trade Commission, and as a Technology Advisory Committee member to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. White received his PhD in economics and Master of Arts degree in statistics from the University of California, Berkeley.