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Expect the Unexpected: 2020’s Lessons in Innovation and Continuity

November 02, 2020

2020 has been a year like no other. As challenging as it has been at times, it has also given all of us across the industry the opportunity to rise to the occasion and continue to deliver the critical electricity, gas and water services that our customers rely on, day in and day out—safely, reliably and efficiently.

To gauge how our customers were adapting to the pandemic and resulting hardships, Itron surveyed this year’s Itron Utility Week Advisory Board to learn more about what lessons they’ve learned as they adapt to COVID-19 and how that learning can be applied to future resiliency and adaptability in the face of uncertain, challenging times.

Through this survey, we discovered a few keys themes, including:
  • Utilities across North America reacted swiftly. Contingency plans, new procedures and polices to ensure the safety of employees and the communities were enacted or created quickly.
  • Community service and compassion took—and continues to take—center stage. Our customers are always a huge player in their communities, and the pandemic only accentuated this fact.
  • Communication is absolutely critical. Leadership teams needed to discuss and enact business continuity/crisis plans quickly; workforces that suddenly found themselves remote and working from home needed to remain engaged and in sync; and more.
  • Looking forward, leadership teams are determining how to leverage lessons learned from this new working model.

We are pleased to share the complete findings of our survey in a couple of ways:
  • First is a downloadable eBook, available here. This document summarizes how innovation helped to evolve pandemic responses for the utilities represented, and how the pandemic accelerated or paused certain initiatives.
  • The second is through a podcast featuring our Advisory Board chair Joe Thomas of Duke Energy and myself. This podcast is available as on-demand content for attendees of our first-ever virtual Itron Utility Week.

To all of our customers, partners and prospects committed to ensuring essential energy and water service – thank you. We will continue to navigate this unprecedented time together. Stay well and stay safe.

By Mark de Vere White

Senior Vice President of Customer and Market Experience

With nearly 30 years of experience, Mark de Vere White has dedicated his career to working with utility and Fortune 1000 customers to deliver value, success and profitable growth. He has deep experience in sales, product marketing, go-to-market strategy and profitable general management of ongoing business operations. As Itron’s senior vice president of Customer and Market Experience (CME), Mark is responsible for leading Itron’s sales, marketing, channel management, business development, customer support and customer success activities across the full company portfolio. Previously, Mark was president of Itron’s Electricity business line where he and his team grew revenues from $600 million to over $1 billion a year and EBITDA performance from break even to 12.5% in just over three years. Prior to joining Itron, Mark oversaw consulting, support, hosting and account management at Silicon Energy. Before Silicon Energy, Mark was one of the first employees at market-leading CRM software provider Kana, where he held executive positions overseeing account management, consulting and support teams. Mark started his career in marketing, consulting and direct marketing in New York City. Mark received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating Summa Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa.

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