TEAM Q&A: Susan Reale –  Sales Director

Please join me in welcoming our newest Virtual Peaker team member, Susan Reale!

What did you do before joining Virtual Peaker?

I joined Virtual Peaker from Gartner, where I was a client director for the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company. Before that, I managed client relationships with state and local governments at Thomson Reuters in Louisville for about 16 years.

I have a law degree from the University of Kentucky’s J. David Rosenberg College of Law, and after graduation, practiced commercial litigation at a large firm in Nashville. My analytical legal training, combined with my natural curiosity, helps shape how I view challenges and then figure out the right solution.

What’s your role at Virtual Peaker?

As the sales director, it’s my job to connect utilities and energy companies with Virtual Peaker’s suite of products and services. I’ve always been inquisitive, and I’m a really good listener.  I’m fortunate that Virtual Peaker provides best-in-class residential electric demand SaaS, which means I’m more of a coach and mentor working with our clients to highlight how they can get the most out of our software. Given my experience navigating complex organizations large and small, I understand how people buy things. I love to help them get to the finish line!

What else can you share?

I grew up in Louisville and attended Davidson College, where I spent my junior year abroad studying at Universität Würzburg, in Bavaria. Ever since then, I have absolutely loved international travel, including an extensive backpacking trip through southeast Asia and a stint teaching English in Japan. I’ve stayed in close touch with my German host parents, Dierk and Inge, and our two daughters think of them as their “bonus” set of international grandparents. The last time I was in Germany, Dierk and I were able to raise a glass to toast our decades of friendship and family.

My husband Todd and our two daughters love to stay active. I’ve helped coach the girls’ field hockey teams, and Todd and I enjoy canoeing—or just about any outdoor activity—together. Running is one of my passions, and I’ve completed the Kentucky Derby Festival’s half-marathon five times as well as the Triple Crown of Running series of 5K,10K, and 10-mile events.

About The Author

Bill is a serial entrepreneur with a PhD from UC Berkeley in Controls and Artificial Intelligence and 10 years of experience with high performance residential energy management and connected appliances. He was previously at GE as an Advanced Systems Engineer in the Connected Home Software Group, but left that role in May 2014 to pursue entrepreneurship full time.

Bill grew up in Louisville and returned with his family in 2010 after a long stint in the San Francisco Bay Area. He loves Louisville and is working to make it a better and more attractive city for high tech startups.

More About Bill