Olea Edge Analytics, an intelligent edge computing platform for the water utility industry, today announced the addition of Ben Wilson as Chief Operating Officer. Wilson, the former Chief Technology Officer – Energy at Google, will build out Olea Edge Analytics’ growing technology team and guide the technical development of new products.
Wilson brings 30 years of experience working with the world’s top technology companies. He began his career working on the space station and space shuttle programs at IBM and later served as Chief Information Officer of Siemens Energy and CTO at GE Oil & Gas and P2 Energy Solutions. He joined Google in 2017, heading up Google – Energy’s technical efforts to bring cloud services to the energy sector and use big data to help clients become more efficient.
“The demand for innovation and smart water capabilities is growing as cities face limitations on their budget, workforce and operations,” said Dave Mackie, Olea Edge Analytics’ founder and CEO. “Having Ben join Olea at this point in our growth is ideal. We’ve proven that our solution can have an immediate and long-lasting impact, and Ben’s combination of technical and strategic expertise was a perfect fit for us.”
Earlier this year, Olea Edge Analytics announced an expanded $3.9 million partnership with the City of Atlanta – Department of Watershed Management that is expected to recover millions of dollars in revenue for the utility by monitoring high-value water meters. The company’s success in Atlanta is attracting other cities interested in additional revenue, better asset management and operational efficiency.
“Olea is one of the very few start-ups I’ve seen that when a customer uses the product they make more money. This is impressive AI technology for an industry that hasn’t seen a lot of innovation,” Wilson said. “I’m looking forward to hiring the best software engineering team around and energizing the company for its next level of growth.”
Olea Edge Analytics recently expanded beyond sensors that continually manage meters to provide a Smart Water Management Platform, a single dashboard that gives cities and utilities complete visibility of all their managed assets.