Exacter Appoints Brad Johnson to Lead Electric Utility Growth Strategy
EXACTER®, Inc., a provider of predictive grid reliability and asset intelligence solutions, has appointed Brad Johnson as Industry Executive, Electric Utilities, as the company expands its work with electric utilities and other organizations responsible for mission-critical electrical infrastructure.
Johnson brings more than 15 years of experience across the electric utility and broader energy industries. Before joining Exacter, he served as Director, Electric Utilities at Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY), where he worked with utilities and other industry stakeholders on technology strategies designed to address some of the sector’s most pressing infrastructure challenges.
Throughout his career, Johnson has focused on helping electric utilities use emerging technologies and data-driven approaches to improve grid performance and address complex operational issues. His experience includes grid reliability and resilience, transmission and distribution modernization, digital twins, asset management, utility data, and the application of advanced technologies to critical infrastructure.
In his new role at Exacter, Johnson will build and lead a team responsible for strengthening the company’s relationships with electric utilities and expanding its technology and services into additional markets where electrical infrastructure reliability is essential. These markets include data centers, industrial facilities, and U.S. Department of Defense installations.
The team will work with customers to improve electrical reliability, strengthen infrastructure readiness, mitigate wildfire-related risks, and identify hidden or developing risks throughout transmission networks, distribution systems, substations, and other critical electrical assets.
Exacter President and CEO Geoffrey Bibo said Johnson joins the company at an important point for both the business and the electric utility industry. Utilities are facing rapidly changing requirements as electricity demand rises, particularly because of data centers, industrial electrification, and other large loads.
At the same time, utilities must continue managing aging infrastructure, extreme weather exposure, reliability requirements, wildfire risk, and the need to improve overall grid resilience. Similar concerns are emerging among industrial operators and military installations, where electrical infrastructure failures can disrupt critical operations.
Bibo said Johnson’s combination of industry experience, technology knowledge, customer relationships, and leadership capabilities will help Exacter expand its presence across these markets.
The broader electricity industry is entering a period of substantial infrastructure investment. Electricity demand is increasing in many markets as data centers, advanced manufacturing facilities, electrification initiatives, and other large loads place additional pressure on existing grid infrastructure.
Utilities must meet this growing demand while maintaining reliable service and managing infrastructure that, in many cases, has been operating for decades. Extreme weather events and wildfire threats are also increasing the importance of identifying equipment problems before they develop into failures.
Against this backdrop, predictive asset intelligence is becoming an increasingly important part of utility maintenance and reliability strategies. Rather than relying exclusively on traditional inspection methods that identify visible or already-developed equipment problems, utilities are looking for technologies capable of detecting early indicators of deterioration.
Exacter’s patented technology is designed to identify radio-frequency emissions associated with deteriorating electrical equipment. These emissions can provide indications of developing equipment conditions that may not yet be visible through conventional inspection techniques.
The company’s technology can be deployed across overhead transmission and distribution networks as well as substations. By identifying potential problems earlier, Exacter aims to provide utilities with actionable intelligence that can help them determine which assets require additional investigation, maintenance, or other corrective action.
This approach can support more targeted maintenance programs by helping utilities prioritize equipment according to potential risk rather than relying solely on scheduled inspections or reactive maintenance. Early identification can also help operators address developing conditions before they result in equipment failure, service interruptions, or more serious infrastructure problems.
The technology has particular relevance as utilities increasingly serve data centers and other facilities where power interruptions can carry significant financial and operational consequences. Maintaining reliable electrical infrastructure is becoming increasingly important as large electricity users depend on continuous power to operate increasingly sophisticated and energy-intensive facilities.
Wildfire mitigation is another area where predictive infrastructure intelligence can play a role. In regions exposed to wildfire risk, deteriorating electrical equipment can represent a potential source of ignition. Detecting equipment conditions before they become visible or generate a conventional heat signature can give utilities an additional source of information for identifying assets that may require further attention.
Exacter’s technology can also be integrated with existing aerial inspection activities. Its lightweight airborne sensors can be deployed alongside technologies such as LiDAR, infrared imaging, and videography during helicopter patrols. Combining multiple inspection technologies can provide utilities with a broader view of asset conditions while making use of established inspection programs.
Johnson said the electric utility industry is entering a particularly significant period as utilities and operators of critical infrastructure face the simultaneous challenges of increasing demand, reliability requirements, resilience, and safety.
He noted that Exacter’s technology can provide organizations with information about developing equipment problems before those issues progress into failures. Johnson said he is looking forward to building a team that can help customers turn this information into practical actions across their infrastructure portfolios.
Before joining Exacter, Johnson played a leadership role in electric utility initiatives at Bentley Systems. His responsibilities included industry strategy and engagement with utility customers, technology partners, government representatives, and policymakers.
His professional background also includes experience with the evolution of technology used in utility infrastructure management. He has worked with early applications of LiDAR for utility vegetation management as well as newer technologies involving digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and digital twins.
Johnson has also represented the electric utility industry at conferences, forums, and international events focused on grid modernization and the future of electrical infrastructure.
His appointment comes as utilities and critical infrastructure operators increasingly seek technologies that can help them move from reactive approaches toward more predictive asset management. With electricity demand continuing to grow and infrastructure reliability becoming increasingly important across the economy, identifying equipment risks before failures occur is becoming a strategic priority.
For Exacter, Johnson’s appointment is expected to support the company’s continued expansion within the electric utility sector while creating opportunities to apply its predictive asset intelligence capabilities across additional mission-critical markets. The company plans to use his industry expertise and leadership experience to strengthen customer relationships, expand its team, and help organizations improve the reliability and resilience of the electrical infrastructure on which essential services depend.
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