Team Q&A: Ed Blayney – Project Manager

Whether it’s in service to his country or the environment, Ed Blayney has long served his community. As our new Project Manager, Ed works with development and client success to ensure that our utility and device partners’ needs are met, all part of our culture of finding technological solutions to protect the environment. Please join me in welcoming Ed to the Virtual Peaker team!

How did your previous life prepare you for Virtual Peaker?

I started my professional life as an Infantry Officer in the 101st Airborne and found a calling working for the greater good, which led me to local government service as an Innovation Project Manager and Civic Technology Manager, and now Virtual Peaker.

I thrive in situations where failure is both likely and also unacceptable. Throughout my career, I’ve worked on high-velocity projects including running a combat outpost in Afghanistan and leading the set up of a  mass vaccination site that served over 60,000 people. These experiences have taught me how to organize teams & systems, set clear priorities, and communicate effectively in high-pressure situations. I lean on my learnings from those experiences to help keep Virtual Peaker’s technical teams moving in the right direction.

Tell us about your role at Virtual Peaker.

I am a project manager on the product team and work closely with engineering and client success to make sure we are delivering results for our customers and partners. Specifically, I run product operations and manage device partner integrations and key projects as needed. Simply put, I organize projects, processes, and people to get stuff done.

How do you personally engage in sustainability efforts?

People who know me more than a little probably have heard me promote electric lawnmowers. It’s a way better end-user experience and a lot cleaner than using a gas-powered lawnmower. I started hyping them because I hated the maintenance required to keep a machine running that was spewing fumes into my face for an hour a week. I was doing maintenance to do maintenance and polluting the environment at the same time, which seemed like a waste all around. Electric lawn mowers made it easier and healthier to keep my partner, an avowed lawn fan, happy.

What can you tell us about yourself?

I’ve spent my entire career working for the greater good and am proud to continue that journey with Virtual Peaker. In my free time, I like to mix it up, whether roughhousing with my kids or playing basketball and lacrosse with other middle-aged men. I also love to predict the future and have recently started a Sci-Fi book club with a friend (Louisville area people are welcome to join!). And, if you catch me at a show it’s probably Sturgill Simpson or Tyler Childers, but I am also actively watching for Beyonce and Kendrick shows within a half day’s drive.

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