Kenneth Wacks, Ph.D.
www.kenwacks.com
Home & Building Systems
Utility Customer Services
Digital Entertainment Networks
Dr. Wacks has been a pioneer in establishing the home systems industry and a management advisor to 150 clients worldwide. His business spans home and building systems, utility customer services, and digital entertainment networks (including HDTV and IPTV).
Corporate managers depend on Dr. Wacks to identify business opportunities in emerging markets with clear and practical advice relevant for product development and market positioning. Dr. Wacks serves companies of all sizes from startups to the Fortune 500. His worldview, insights, and expertise are valued by executives for enabling competent decisions on complex technology issues. Clients seek his help to locate strategic business partners, financing, and new customers. He also provides due-diligence for investors and expert witness services for litigants.
He was appointed by the United States Department of Energy to the 13-member GridWise Architecture Council to develop smart grid strategies for reliable and efficient distribution of electricity. For electric and gas utilities, he has designed and demonstrated new customer services by linking utility communications with home automation to deliver demand response and value-added services.
The Consumer Electronics Association chose Dr. Wacks to chair the international committee (ISO/IEC) establishing world standards for home and building automation. In addition, he has written American National Standards in home automation. He contributed to the development of standards for networking home appliances under the auspices of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM).
Dr. Wacks is a frequent speaker and panel session organizer at industry conferences. He has written and delivered more than 200 papers and presentations, and has been granted patents in home systems.
Dr. Wacks chairs the Editorial Advisory Board of the CABA magazine iHomes & Buildings (available at www.caba.org) and is a featured contributor under the byline “Ken Wacks’ Perspectives.” He was honored with the inaugural CABA Volunteer of the Year Award. Dr. Wacks authored the book Home Automation and Utility Customer Services, distributed by Aspen Publishers. As an entrepreneur at a venture-backed startup, he developed UNIX workstations for the semiconductor industry. Dr. Wacks received his Ph.D. from MIT as a Hertz Fellow and studied at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
