# Chris Black

> Chris Black is the CEO of GridX, Inc., an enterprise energy technology platform serving major US utilities. With nearly 30 years in technology and operations, he has been a central figure in the clean energy software sector - as CTO/COO at Tendril, he orchestrated the acquisitions that formed Uplight (now valued at $1.5B+), then invested via Huck Capital before taking the helm at GridX in April 2022 during its $40M Series C round. Under his leadership, GridX calculates 49 million bills daily, serves 40 million meters under contract, and models 1,000+ tariffs for utilities including PG&E, Southern California Edison, and ComEd.

- **Role:** CEO at GridX, Inc.
- **Organizations:** GridX, Inc., Huck Capital, Tendril, Uplight
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS in Computer Science (minor in Mathematics; coursework in Graphic Design), University of Arkansas
- **Known for:** Led CTO/COO role at Tendril during acquisition spree that created Uplight - now a $1.5B+ enterprise, Appointed CEO of GridX during its $40M Series C funding round in April 2022, GridX serves 40 million meters under contract across North America under his leadership

## Career timeline

- **Pre-2019** — CTO and COO at Tendril, a home energy management technology company; led acquisitions of FirstFuel, EEme, and EnergySavvy
- **2019** — Orchestrated the merger of Tendril and Simple Energy to form Uplight, which became the leading clean energy customer platform for utilities (now valued at $1.5B+)
- **2019-2022** — Principal Partner at Huck Capital, an investment firm focused on sustainable, tech-enabled energy providers
- **2022-04** — Appointed CEO of GridX, Inc. in conjunction with the company's $40M Series C funding round led by Energy Impact Partners
- **2023** — Led GridX to strong organizational alignment; company's 'With Great Power' podcast reached #1 in Energy, Sustainability, and Climate Change on Goodpods
- **2024** — Expanded GridX leadership team with three senior energy industry veterans; continued scaling to 40M meters under contract and 49M daily bill calculations

## Achievements

- Led CTO/COO role at Tendril during acquisition spree that created Uplight - now a $1.5B+ enterprise
- Appointed CEO of GridX during its $40M Series C funding round in April 2022
- GridX serves 40 million meters under contract across North America under his leadership
- GridX calculates 49 million bills daily and models 1,000+ utility tariffs
- GridX's 'With Great Power' podcast reached #1 in Energy, Sustainability, and Climate Change on Goodpods
- Secured major utility customers including PG&E, Southern California Edison, PSEG Long Island, Consumers Energy, ComEd, PECO, and BGE
- Nearly 30 years of technology and operational expertise spanning clean energy software

## Latest updates

- **2024-08** — GridX announced three new senior hires: Michael Wimert (VP Strategic Accounts), Dave Siravo (VP Sales US South), Michael Pirro (Sr. Director Rate Design)
- **2024-01** — Chris Black published outlook identifying 'Complexity' as the defining challenge for utilities in 2024, citing rapid electrification and prosumer models as key drivers
- **2023-05** — GridX and Sense announced partnership to integrate smart meter data with dynamic pricing, enabling device-level energy cost visibility for consumers
- **2023-01** — GridX's 'With Great Power' podcast reached #1 rankings in Energy, Sustainability, and Climate Change categories on Goodpods

## Links

- Website: https://gridx.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisblackco/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/gridxinc

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/chris-black
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-27