Rima Kasia Oueid is a Senior Commercialization Executive at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions, where she leads market development activities and commercialization of emerging DOE technologies with a focus on quantum technologies, transportation, grid modernization, and space-based applications. She builds public private partnerships, identifies use cases, and develops innovative business models to accelerate market adoption and bankability of quantum computing, quantum communications/security, quantum sensing, space manufacturing, space infrastructure, resource exploration in space and earth, artificial intelligence, microgrids, and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies. Rima is the architect and lead of the DOE Quantum in Space Collaboration with DOD, NASA, and industry partners as well as the V2X Partnership with major OEMs, utilities, and bidirectional charging companies. She is also a DOE representative on the board of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QEDC), serves as the chair of QEDCs Use Case Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on Quantum Sensing, and a member of the Quantum Computing and Quantum Networking/Communications TACs. In addition, Rima is the DOE commercialization lead on multiple cross agency efforts including the Low Earth Orbit Science and Technology (LST) Interagency Working Group focused on deploying quantum technologies to enable a viable space economy for the revitalization of earth.
Rima previously served in the Office of Policy and the Hurricane Sandy Task Force where she helped facilitate $15 billion in energy related infrastructure deployment initiatives including a report to the President with recommendations for energy resilience. For example, Rima helped develop innovative infrastructure projects such as the NJ TransitGrid, a 100+ MW, $600 million advanced microgrid for NJ Transit and Amtrak, and NJ Energy Resilience Bank, a $210 million fund targeting investments in distributed energy and microgrids. While with the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office, Rima led the development of a new $600 million energy finance portfolio for states which included helping establish the CT Green Bank among others. Rima also assisted the U.S. Department of Defense on a 3GW power purchase agreement initiative that included the Navy, Army, and Air Force.
Prior to the U.S. Department of Energy, Rima spent a decade working in finance, real estate, and management consulting. Rima began her career at Accenture helping Fortune 500 companies integrate emerging technologies and redesign their business models. Subsequent to Accenture, Rima spent six years in real estate, venture capital, and private equity investing. Rima has experience evaluating investments in residential and commercial real estate, solar, biofuels, solid state light manufacturing, and water purification industries. Rima earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with concentrations in Finance, Strategy, and Entrepreneurship and selected as a Kauffman Fellow in 2007 and 2009. Rima also holds a Bachelors of Science from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana. Rima lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two children.