Anna Carolina Tortora is the oldest of three very different sisters, whose culture and personality are the result of their mixed ancestry (Italian father and Colombian mother), as well as of a very unusual upbringing: the tightly knit family moved often, and throughout the years they managed to live in 5 countries (Libya, Colombia, Italy, Canada, the United States), spread over 4 continents. Carolina today lives in London and is engaged to Luca, an Italian entrepreneur.
Carolina was addicted to problem solving all her life: she was the typical child who disassembled everything she could get her hands on in order to figure it out. Her curiosity and drive pushed her all the way to MIT to study Aerospace Engineering.
Throughout the years however she became increasingly worried by the environmental issues faced by our generation – she therefore decided to contribute her skills and enthusiasm towards helping smooth out the challenges that arise as we try to shift from yesterday’s polluting world to tomorrow’s cleaner renewables powered one.  Her curiosity for everything new, combined with her environmental concerns led her to choose her current career path, as an innovator in the energy field.
Her current role is that of Head of Innovation Strategy at National Grid Corporation (the United Kingdom’s Electricity and Gas transmission system operator). Her mission is to foster the modernization of the UK electricity system by leveraging on new methods of control as well as new grid technologies and services.
Prior to this, Carolina held the equivalent position in Rome at the Italian TSO, Terna Spa, where, amongst other projects, she successfully managed the deployment of the largest high voltage connected Storage plants (batteries) in Europe, a project that earned her company and Carolina worldwide recognition. Riding on this success Carolina has termed herself a battery-ninja and is today one the most popular and quoted speakers on the subject of batteries and storage systems combined with renewables in Europe.