LineVision, the leader in advanced grid-enhancing transmission line solutions, today announced that Vishal Kapadia has been appointed Chief Executive Officer to unlock the company’s next phase of transformative growth. Co-founder and former CEO Hudson Gilmer will transition into the role of chairman of the Board.

Kapadia joins LineVision as a transformational leader with a strong track record of value creation at the intersection of energy, infrastructure, and technology. Most recently, he led energy strategy at Walmart, where he developed and implemented a sweeping new strategy to enhance energy security and affordability for Walmart and its communities while developing new energy products and services for retail customers. Under his leadership, Walmart Energy delivered hundreds of millions in annual cost savings and improved resilience through new onsite energy solutions, utility engagement and rate advocacy, and strategic investments to unlock over 2 gigawatts (GW) of new clean energy capacity. He also led the launch of a new nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging network, delivering a differentiated retail charging experience for EV drivers at Walmart locations across the U.S.

Prior to Walmart, Kapadia held executive leadership roles at Ørsted, serving as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Commercial Officer of the company's onshore renewables business, and previously led renewable energy investment activities for Morgan Stanley. Over the course of his career, Vishal has led the acquisition, financing, or development of over 15 GW of energy and mobility infrastructure assets and driven several transformational enterprise-level initiatives, including the successful exits of two private equity-backed companies.

LineVision’s digital transmission line monitoring and dynamic line rating solutions platform already supports some of the largest US utilities – including Dominion Energy, National Grid, Southern Company, and Exelon – giving operators real-time, situational insights which can enable up to 40 percent additional capacity on existing transmission lines, enhanced resilience through mitigation of wildfire and outage risk, and more efficient prioritization and deployment of capital resources.

“Meeting the energy demands of the AI-powered transformation of our economy requires a broad suite of technologies that can be deployed quickly while balancing affordability and reliability,” said Kapadia. “LineVision’s innovative digital platform is already playing an essential role in enabling that transformation, equipping our customers with real-time intelligence that unlocks grid capacity and enhances the safety and resilience of their networks. I’m honored to join LineVision at such a pivotal time and excited to work closely with all of our customers and partners to accelerate deployment of cost-effective solutions that help strengthen and transform the critical grid infrastructure that powers our businesses and communities.”  

Kapadia’s unique blend of strategic perspective, hands-on leadership, and cross-sector experience will be instrumental in unlocking LineVision’s ability to deploy solutions that help utilities and their customers tackle these unprecedented and pressing challenges.

“Vishal’s arrival marks an exciting new chapter for LineVision,” said Gilmer. “His leadership style, deep understanding of the energy landscape, and ability to translate vision into action make him the right person to guide LineVision through this next phase of growth. I look forward to continuing to support him and the company as board chair.”

“Hudson Gilmer has been a visionary leader for LineVision, co-founding the company and guiding its growth to the point today where it is the proven leader in grid-enhancing transmission line solutions.” said Francis O’Sullivan of S2G Investments, a LineVision board member and co-lead of the company’s most recent funding round. “As LineVision turns to its next phase of growth delivering critical solutions to heavily constrained power grids in the US and internationally, we are delighted and very fortunate to have an energy sector leader of Vishal’s caliber coming onboard. It is a testament to the ability of LineVision’s solutions to enable customers to cost-effectively realize the full potential of their grid infrastructure in a world where every additional MW of capacity matters,” added O’Sullivan.