# Ralph Alexander

> Ralph C. Alexander is an energy executive and investor who led businesses at BP, worked at Riverstone and served as CEO and then chairman of Talen Energy. He co-founded GridFree AI, whose current leadership page lists him as CEO, and serves on the boards of NET Power, SHINE Technologies and, since October 2026, Standard Lithium. His education combines nuclear engineering at Polytechnic University with management science at Stanford.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at GridFree AI
- **Organizations:** GridFree AI, Standard Lithium, NET Power, SHINE Technologies, Talen Energy (former), Riverstone Holdings (former), BP (former), Polytechnic University / NYU
- **Education:** M.S., Nuclear Engineering, Polytechnic University (now NYU Tandon School of Engineering), M.S., Management Science, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Led BP’s gas, power, renewables and solar business and served on its group executive committee., Led Talen following its December 2016 take-private., Co-founded GridFree AI with Patrick Yantz.

## Career timeline

- **2001-2004** — CEO of BP’s Gas, Power and Renewables and Solar segment and group executive committee member.
- **2004-2006** — Led Innovene; current biographies use 2004-2006, while NYU’s older biography ends the tenure in December 2005.
- **2007-2016** — Partner and managing director at Riverstone Holdings.
- **2012** — As Polytechnic board chair, joined NYU leaders in announcing further steps toward engineering-school integration.
- **2015** — Joined Talen’s board in June.
- **2016** — Appointed Talen president and CEO on December 6 following Riverstone’s acquisition.
- **2020** — Talen announced plans to eliminate coal use at wholly owned facilities.
- **2021** — Talen announced Hernandez as CEO and Alexander as executive chairman on November 3.
- **2023** — Talen chairmanship ended in April; NET Power director since June.
- **2025** — GridFree AI launched publicly in June, co-founded with Patrick Yantz.
- **2026** — Appointed independent director of Standard Lithium on October 13.

## Achievements

- Led BP’s gas, power, renewables and solar business and served on its group executive committee.
- Led Talen following its December 2016 take-private.
- Co-founded GridFree AI with Patrick Yantz.
- Chaired Polytechnic’s board during its integration with NYU.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Standard Lithium appointed him an independent director on October 13.
- **2026-10** — GridFree AI’s leadership page, checked October 23, lists him as CEO; Standard Lithium’s October 13 release describes him as co-founder and executive chairman.
- **2025-06** — GridFree AI launched publicly with $5 million in initial funding.

## Links

- Website: https://www.gridfree.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralph-alexander-b30217327

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ralph-alexander
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23