Marie Hayden
SVP of Business Development
Marie has more than 30 years operational and executive experience in the electricity industry in Europe, USA, and Australia. She held multiple leadership roles with EirGrid, the transmission system operator in Ireland, before joining the US based start-up company Smart Wires. At Smart Wires she led Business Development activities in Europe and Australia, working with pioneering utilities to adopt Smart Wires modular power flow control technology. Reverting to her engineering roots in 2021, Marie assumed the role of Chief Engineer at Smart Wires HQ in Raleigh, North Carolina. In this role she oversaw new product development, sustaining engineering, and power system analytics. After leaving Smart Wires in 2022, in early 2023 Marie set up her own company, Grid Enhancing Technologies and joined the MetOx team in March of that year.
Marie says that electricity networks are in her DNA. Her father led rural electrification programs in Ireland in the 50’s and 60’s and went on to create the highly successful consultancy company ESB International. Marie believes strongly that all people must have access to affordable and sustainable electricity and wants to make sure that the best available technologies are used on grids globally to achieve that aim.
Marie holds a Bachelor of Engineering and a Master of Engineering Management, both from University College Dublin. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers of Ireland and is presently undertaking the Chartered Directorship program with the Institute of Directors.