John Harris of Landis+Gyr announced as new President of ESMIG

General Assembly of smart metering association elects long-standing industry expert and Head of Regulatory and Governmental Affairs for Landis+Gyr

Zug, Switzerland / Lisbon, Portugal, June 21, 2018 – The association of European Smart Energy Solutions providers, ESMIG, has announced John Harris, Vice President and Head of Regulatory and Governmental Affairs for Landis+Gyr, as its new President with immediate effect. Mr Harris has been active in the association from its founding ten years ago. He first led the working group on Regulation and Policy and in 2015, he also started serving as the Vice President of ESMIG. The energy industry veteran accepted the opportunity to become President of ESMIG during the latest Annual Strategic General Assembly in Lisbon on June 21. The event also marked the occasion of the group’s 10^th Anniversary.

John Harris takes over from Maher Chebbo, Chief Business Innovation Officer for Digital Energy at General Electric. “I am delighted and honored to take on ESMIG’s presidency – and want to thank Maher Chebbo for his tireless devotion to this important role in ESMIG over the last four years,” Mr Harris commented following the election.  “In the past ten years, this association has become more than just a voice of the metering industry in Europe. As we experience disruptive changes throughout the energy industry, ESMIG is continuously working on shaping the framework of the energy transformation by representing its members’ interests and making positive contributions to policy and technical debates.”

​A graduate in International Economics and European Studies from Johns Hopkins University, Mr Harris looks back on a career of more than 20 years in the energy industry. Before joining Landis+Gyr as Vice President and Head of Regulatory and Governmental Affairs in 2008, he worked in E.ON’s EU Representative Office in Brussels, and in the Energy Policy Dept. of E.ON Energie in Munich, Germany. Since June 2016, he has been chairman of Swissmem’s (Swiss machine, electronic and metal industries) committee for environmental and energy policy.

Originally founded as the European Smart Metering Industry Group, ESMIG has become the most important representation of providers of smart energy solutions. On June 4, the association celebrated the 10^th Anniversary of its founding with a conference in Brussels entitled “Europe’s energy market transformation and the impact of smart and disruptive digital technologies”. The group is currently preparing the ground for its vision of the future energy system in Europe and strives for an active role in this transition.