AUSTIN, TX (TIP) : Indian American Sivasankaran “Soma” Somasundaram, president and chief executive officer of ChampionX, is one of the three winners of the 2024 GRIT Lifetime Achievement Awards given by ALLY Energy, leveraging AI to power the energy workforce of the future.
These awards recognize people who have made significant and sustained contributions to the energy industry through leadership, scholarship, administration, or mentoring, according to a media release. “They represent the most influential minds in energy, sustainability, and climate.”
The other two winners are Vicki Hollub, president and chief executive officer of Occidental and Jan E. Odegard, consultant and former executive director of Ion, the hub of Houston’s innovation ecosystem.
“This year’s winners are those who have spent many years transforming the energy and climate sectors in big companies and building ecosystems to address the energy transition,” says Katie Mehnert, founder and CEO of ALLY Energy. “We were overwhelmed with submissions. The committee of judges had its work cut out!”
The Lifetime Achievement Award winners, Mehnert said, “have worked steadily to move us forward in the marathon to reaching net zero. They have also shown crucial leadership in helping organizations tap into the most important resource of all: the minds and skills of people. There’s nothing more powerful in energy than human capital.”
The awards will be presented at the GRIT awards ceremony on Oct 30 at the House of Blues in Houston. Somasundaram’s career in the energy sector spans over two decades. He currently serves as president and CEO of ChampionX Corp, where he spearheads initiatives that foster innovation and sustainability within the energy field.
Prior to his current role, Somasundaram served in multiple leadership roles including as president and CEO of Dover Energy, where he oversaw the development of engineered products and solutions for the global energy market. His contributions to the energy industry have been recognized by the Energy Workforce and Technology Council who named him the 2022 recipient of its DEI Champion Award for his commitment and advocacy for diversity, equity and inclusion in the energy services and technology industry.
In 2023, he was named as a member of the National Petroleum Council, a federally chartered advisory committee whose members are selected and appointed by the US Secretary of Energy.
Somasundaram holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Anna University in Chennai, India.