Team

Ali Motamed

CEO and co-founder of Optimal Energy, Ali combines entrepreneurship, system automation, and innovation. With a PhD from EPFL, he developed smart energy solutions at Groupe E, led innovative projects, and connects technology, market needs, and operational execution.

Eric Joliat

Senior Project Director, Eric is a business economist with a technical background. He speaks as easily to decision-makers as to field teams. He has led multi-site companies in electrical installation and renewable energy, driving growth, performance and quality of execution. Direct style, demanding listener, concrete results.

Gabriel Jerez

Full stack cloud developer, Gabriel designs reliable, secure, and maintainable infrastructure. Specialized in AWS, GCP, Terraform, IaC, and CI/CD, he translates business needs into practical, automated, and easy-to-operate architectures, with a structured and communicative approach.

Pål Austnes

Trade specialist, Pål is a PhD researcher at EPFL’s Distributed Electrical Systems Laboratory, working on probabilistic forecasting and electricity markets. With five years of experience on European power markets, including balancing reserve research at SINTEF, he develops price forecasting models and bidding strategies for batteries.

Mokhtar Bozorg

Scientific advisor and consultant, Mokhtar is an associate professor in power systems and smart grids at HEIG-VD. With a PhD from EPFL, he works on optimization, data analytics, active distribution grids, and the integration of renewable energy and storage into power systems.

Julian Kozak

Data scientist and consultant, Julian brings expertise in Python, machine learning, and GenAI. Trained as an electrical engineer, he connects AI, technical systems, and smart energy, with experience in solution design, RAG, data analysis, and client support.

Sohail Malik

Fundraising lead and consultant, Sohail brings over 20 years of international experience with P&L responsibility. An entrepreneur and marketing specialist, he supports OPTIMAL on fundraising, market development, communication, partnerships, and commercial structuring.

Hans Köhli

Commercial advisor, Hans brings long-standing experience in management, team leadership, and business development. Former director of general electrical installations, he supports OPTIMAL on operational strategy, partnerships, client relationships, supplier management, and commercial activities.