About Us
A Boutique Market Intelligence Firm
Northeast Group is a boutique market intelligence firm focused on the global smart infrastructure sector. We provide subscription research and data services covering the growth of digital infrastructure in the municipal and utility sectors. Our breadth and depth of research and datasets on smart cities and smart utility infrastructure have been built bottom-up from our proprietary models and years of primary research. We also offer custom research services, tailored to our clients’ needs. Founded in 2010 and based in Washington, DC, we have accumulated more than a decade of expertise on smart infrastructure.
Our Team
Ben Gardner is President of Northeast Group and an expert on the global smart infrastructure market. Ben has more than 15 years of experience in both smart utility infrastructure and smart cities work. He oversees the firm’s research and data subscription offerings as well as its custom research services.
Prior to founding Northeast Group in 2010, Ben spent over five years as a management consultant at PA Consulting Group in Washington, DC and also worked for DiamondCluster (now Oliver Wyman) in its Barcelona, Spain office. He has also been a frequent contributor to The Economist Group. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Chris Testa is Vice President of Research at Northeast Group and manages each of the firm’s research and data offerings. Chris has more than ten years’ experience in smart infrastructure and is a recognized expert on the sector, frequently presenting at smart infrastructure conferences such as Climate Week in New York, Street Lighting & Smart Controls in Sydney, the Latin America Smart Grid Forum in São Paulo, and Enlit Asia in Bangkok, among others.
Chris has also worked on the ground on smart cities and smart grid projects in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Panama, among other countries. He holds an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Steve Chakerian is Director of Utility Research at Northeast Group, with a focus on smart utility infrastructure, communications technology, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. He regularly contributes to a variety of industry publications and remains current on the latest industry trends through an expansive global network of utility and smart city contacts.
Prior to Northeast Group, he managed research and event programs at the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School in New York. He holds an undergraduate degree from Tulane University and a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Advisory Board
Basil Allison is an advisor to Northeast Group and was previously the Chief Engineer at Pepco Holdings (PHI), an Exelon company. He has more than 40 years of engineering experience in the electric utility sector. Before retiring from PHI, Basil was responsible for the utility’s overall technical strategy, including the rollout of smart grid infrastructure. This included smart grid initiatives such as distribution automation (DA), demand response (DR) programs, electric vehicle (EV) strategy, distributed energy resources (DER), and a number of software and analytics projects. Basil is a graduate of The George Washington University, a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia and a life senior member of IEEE.
James Gale is an advisor of Northeast Group. A lawyer licensed in Colorado, Illinois, New York, and the District of Columbia, Jim applies his legal background in advising the firm on overall strategic direction. Jim, a corporate lawyer and litigator in Colorado, was a partner of Kirkland & Ellis in New York. Jim holds an undergraduate degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, a law degree from the University of Michigan, and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins (SAIS).
Jeremy Brown is a co-founder of Northeast Group. While he has stepped back from day-to-day operations, he still helps advise the firm on strategic matters. Prior to co-founding the firm, Jeremy worked as a field analyst for the NATO International Security Assistance Force in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. Prior to his time in Afghanistan, Jeremy was a contract analyst on the Afghanistan Policy desk in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Jeremy holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins (SAIS) where he concentrated in Political Economy.
