Pecan Street Inc. names new CEO

The board of directors of the Austin-based organization Pecan Street Inc. has announced that Suzanne Russo is the group’s new chief executive officer, replacing Brewster McCracken. McCracken resigned last week as he announced plans to launch an energy intelligence firm. Pecan Street, which was started in 2008, is a coalition of organizations focused on reimagining the role of electric utilities. The project was incorporated in 2009 and received more than $10 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to operate a real-world smart grid at the Mueller development. McCracken, a former City Council member, has been the organization’s CEO since 2009. Russo, the new CEO, has been chief of staff and chief operating officer of Pecan Street since she joined the organization in 2010. “We have a full suite of capabilities, from technology testing and verification to original research and technology development. I plan to fill out those categories and make sure that everyone who is wrestling with water, electricity or emission challenges understands how we can help them,” Russo said. Pecan Street’s initial research at Mueller initiated rooftop solar equipment on more than 200 homes there and sparked the highest concentration of electric vehicles in the country, the organization says. Pecan Street collects and measures electric use from more than 1,000 homes every minute. That information is used by 1,200 researchers at 400 universities around the world through Pecan Street’s data port.