Grid Connections: Who’s going where in Australia’s energy transition

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Week beginning December 18

Queensland-based long-duration battery maker Redflow has announced the appointment of Michael Hipwood as chief financial officer, commencing mid-January 2024.

Week beginning December 11

California storage company Energy Vault says it has appointed Stephanie Unwin, the CEO of Australia’s Horizon Power,  to its board.

AEMO has appointed Nevenka Codevelle to the role executive general manager of its subsidiary AEMO Services. Her appointment follows Paul Verschuer’s decision to leave the company, after two years in that role.

EnergyCo chief executive Mike Young says he is stepping down from the role.

Darren Hoffman has been appointed Managing Director, AUS & NZ at Canadian Solar Inc.

Tilt Renewables has announced the appointment of Anthony Fowler as CEO. Fowler has spent the last 8 years as CEO of Lochard Energy.

Mark Paterson is principal of Energy Catalyst, a platform of world-leading thought and practice experts from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union on the energy transition.

Week beginning December 4

Former journalist Reece Whitby has been named the new energy minister in Western Australia, adding to his climate change and environment portfolios.

Distribution network company Jemena has appointed David Gillespie as the managing director of the group.

David has been acting in this role since September, and prior to that was Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Group for a number of years.

Anthony Lean has been appointed secretary of the new NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

Aula Energy has appointed Chris Buller as a project director for its Boulder Creek Wind Farm in Queensland.

Green aviation company AMSL Aero has appointed Max York as chief executive officer and managing director to lead the company in partnership with its co-founders Andrew Moore and Siobhan Lyndon.

Week beginning November 27

AGL CEO Damien Nicks has been appointed chair of the Australian Energy Council.

Eku Energy has appointed Thomas Best as chief project officer.

Solar Citizens has appointed Jane Garcia to the new role of communications director.

Week beginning November 20

North Harbour Clean Energy has appointed Grant King as chairman.

Week beginning November 13

David Griffin, the former CEO and co-founder of Sun Cable, has been appointed as the new CEO for solar innovator 5B.

​The Albanese government has appointed Suzanne Thompson to the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC), the statutory body responsible for ensuring the integrity of Australia’s carbon crediting scheme.

The appointment of Thompson, a traditional custodian of the Iningai lands, follows the recommendation of the Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units to include a full-time chair and First Nations member on the ERAC.

Week beginning November 5

Tim Washington is to step down as chair of the Electric Vehicle Council to concentrate on his role as heat of JET Charge.

Alba Ruiz Leon has started a new position as Chief Operating Officer at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV).

SunDrive has appointed Dr Maia Schweizer as Chief Commercial Officer. Schweizer is a former CEO of CleanCo and division head at Fortescue Future Industries.

Michael Davidson is changing roles from the head of the Operational Forecasting Team at the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to a new role as a Specialist Engineer in the AEMO Future Energy System team, focussing on the transition of the energy system.

Marek Kubik has resigned from his role as managing director of Fluence in western Europe to become head of battery storage for the Neom renewables project in Saudi Arabia.

Week beginning October 30

Clean energy and electrification financing outfit Brighte has appointed Gavin Dennis as chief financial officer (CFO). Dennis comes to Brighte from eBay Australia, where he was CFO for five years.

Western Power has appointed three new non-executive directors to its board, and reappointed Monish Paul for a further three year term. The new board members, appointed by the WA government, are Wayne Manners, Andrea Hall, and Rob Grant.

Roger Wilkins has taken up the role as the new clean energy policy director for Solar Citizens.

David Smales has been appointed as the new AusNet CEO, starting November 15, 2023. Current CEO Tony Narvaez had previously announced his intention to step down from the role to spend more time with his family.

Kieren Boesenberg has started a new position as Australia country manager at Luminous Energy.

Week beginning October 23

Mott Macdonald has announced the appointment of Dan Taylor as its new Offshore Wind Lead – Australia

Hydrostor says it has appointed Sara Taylor to direct its Government and Regulatory Affairs team in Australia.

Week beginning October 16

SwitchDin, an energy technology company, has appointed Mario Vecchio as its new Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Corio Generation has appointed Penny Pickett as its new Head of Australia. She will lead the development of Corio’s Great Eastern Offshore Wind project off the Gippsland Coast.

Ian Jones has been elected chair of Clean Energy Tasmania. Jones is president of Business Northwest and a director of the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Erwin Jackson is starting a new position as Managing Director, Policy at Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC).

Stephen Bygrave has become a Board Director at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Australia.

Chris Opperman has joined EnergyAustralia as Chief Financial Officer. He is a former CFO and currently interim head of Incitec Pivot Fertilisers.

Week beginning October 02

Nathan Steggel has announced he is leaving his role as chief development officer at Windlab.

Andrew Radford has started a new position as Solar Energy Consultant at RACV Solar

Daniel Newlan has jointed Squadron Energy as Executive General Manager, Public Affairs. He is a former head of policy advisor to former NSW National leader and deputy premier John Barilaro.

Richard Gledhill is starting a new position as Head of Engineering Australia at BayWa r.e. Australia & New Zealand!

Zen Energy has appointed Phillipa Chen as chief financial officer. Chen joins Zen from Macquarie Group where she was a director of Macquarie Asset Management.

Week beginning September 25

Kulja Coulston, formerly with ClimateWorks, will be working for the next year with the Australian Institute of Company Directors as their Senior Policy Adviser, Climate.

Alex Flores has started a new position as Senior Business Development Lead at NHOA Energy Australia.

Energy Queensland has announced the appointment of Peter Scott as its new permanent CEO.

Solar panel manufacturer REC Group has pomoted Gus Paviani from his current role as country manager for REC Australia and New Zealand to a new role as head of Asia Pacific and Japan.

Energy Consumers Australia has announced the appointment of a new CEO, Brendan French, to replace retiring CEO Lynne Gallagher. The ECA board says French will take up the role on September 27.

David Dumas has taken the role of Managing Director Australia for TotalEnergies, based in Australia.  It follows the full integration of Total Eren’s teams and business into the renewable energy division of TotalEnergies.

Chris Judd has started a new position as Executive General Manager , Energy Infrastructure at ATCO Australia.

Week beginning September 18

Vikki McLeod has joined Rewiring Australia as energy market reform adviser on ‘Electrify Everything’.

Peter Holt has joined Deloitte as partner in its Sydney Energy and Climate team.

Western Australia regional energy provider Horizon Power says its chief executive officer, Stephanie Unwin, will remain in the role for another five years, after the Horizon Power board extended her contract to 2028.

bp has announced the appointment of Kate Thomson as interim chief financial officer, following the appointment last week of Murray Auchincloss as bp’s interim chief executive officer.

Eliza Budd (formerly at Tilt Renewables) has recently joined the newly established Mint Renewables team as a Senior Environment and Development Planner.

Week beginning September 11

Steve Symons has been appointed acting CEO of Tilt Renewables, replacing Geoff Dutaillis.

Norwegian energy company Equinor has appointed Niny Borges as its country manager for Australia, following the establishment of an office in Sydney.

Week beginning September 04

Mitesh Patel has been appointed as the interim CEO and chief operating officer of SunCable International. Mark Branson will continue as chief development officer of SunCable Australia.

Eva Hanley has moved into the role of President Asia Pacific Region for Fortescue Energy, leading the business across Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

Dr Jill Cainey will be joining the team at Nexa Advisory as policy and research director.

The Albanese government has appointed Professor Karen Hussey as full-time chair of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (ERAC), the statutory body responsible for ensuring the integrity of Australia’s carbon crediting scheme.

Week beginning August 28

Sarah Sheppard has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Essential Services Commission. She has been acting CEO since June.

Mint Renewables has announced that Cameron Frost has joined the company as its new head of finance, after leaving his role in global commercial at Fortescue Future Industries.

Fortescue Metals Group says it has expedited the appointment of Dino Otranto as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, to replace the outgoing Fiona Hick, who served just six months in the role. The early departure of Hick was described by FMG as “both friendly and mutual.”

Fortescue also announced the appointment of former CSIRO chief Dr Larry Marshall as a non-executive director of the board to “guide the company’s overall technology pathway, particularly in energy, metals, investments and strategy.”

Week beginning August 21

Jack “Longy” Long is starting a new position as Senior Technical Leader at Solargain PV.

Vast Solar has announced the appointment of Marshall D. (Mark) Smith as the solar thermal company’s new chief financial officer (CFO), effective September 18.

EnergyAustralia has announced the appointment of Renae Gasmier as its new head of customer assets.

Frank Tudor has announced he will step down as managing director of Jemena, due to family reasons. Jemena’s chief financial officer David Gillespie will step in as acting managing director from September 01, 2023.

Week beginning Aug 14

Tom Wilcox is leaving TansAlta to take up a position as project developer at Acen Australia.

Week beginning July 31

Luke Vaughan has been appointed Head of  Generation and Decarbonisation at Ampol Energy.

Lara Olsen has been appointed independent chair of Solar Victoria’s Industry and Consumer Reference Group (ICRG). She takes over from inaugural chair Ivor Frischknecht. Other new board members include Stephanie Tonkin, Simon Duncan, Anthony Kurta,  Darren Gladman, and Tettina Hogarth-Clarke.  

Fortescue Energy has appointed experienced finance executive Deborah Caudle as its new chief financial officer.

Genex Power has named Patrick McCarthy as the new Chief Financial Officer. He succeeds current CFO, Craig Francis, who will take the position of CEO from 1 September 2023.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been appointed president designate of the International Hydropower Association. He will take up the role from 31 October 2023.

Aquila Clean Energy says it has appointed Dennis Freedman as its new Managing Director, Head of Australia & New Zealand. Freedman was formally Head of Generation and Decarbonisation at Ampol Energy.

SMA Australia has appointed Tallaesen Fleming as as the new Vice President of Large Scale and Projects.

Steve Amor, formerly of ABB, has joined the Green Transport Team at EnergyAustralia. 

Grant Rollo has started a new position as Business Development Manager at Tigo Energy.

Week beginning July 24

Kyle Wilson has been appointed as a Technical Director – Energy & Asset Transition Project and Program Management at AECOM.

Lydia Gibson has been promoted to director at the European Climate Foundation.

Jack Fox has left his position in the forecasting department of AEMO to become director of energy transition company ETSI.

Week beginning July 17

Marianna O’Gorman has been appointed to the board of the federal government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Stephen McIntosh has been reappointed to the ARENA board for another term.

Thomas Briault has been appointed as Arup‘s new energy business leader for NSW and ACT. Briault most recently led Arup’s energy business in Southeast Asia.

Kathleen Ryan is starting a new role as client liaison at Catch Power.

Chris Judd – formerly EGM – Electricity Markets at Jemena and CEO at Senvion, has started a new role as EGM – Energy Infrastructure of ATCO Australia.

Week beginning July 10

Tina Lopatynskyi has joined RayGen as Production Engineer, and will overseeing and provide engineering control of production processes and equipment.

Philip Cohn has been promoted to the role of Managing Director, Head of Carbon Investments at Pollination.

OX2 Australia (formerly ESCO Pacific) has named Rachel Watson – former CEO of Pacific Hydro Australia and the former chair of the Clean Energy Council – as its new country manager.

Australian renewable energy veteran Lane Crockett has been appointed as executive general manager,  commercial, at the State Electricity Commission of Victoria.

Steve Wilson is starting a new position as Group Capability Leader, Power Generation at Aurecon.

Week beginning July 2

Joshua Birmingham is moving into a global role with SMA Solar Technology AG as Senior Vice President – Sales and Markets in the large scale segment team.

Killian Wentrup has started a new position as Head of Development at ACEN Australia. He was previously head of solar and storage at ACEN.

Greg Joiner, currently vice president of Shell Energy Australia will take up the role of Shell Energy Europe and Emerging Markets Power, replacing former head of renewables Thomas Brostrom, who is leaving the company.

Stephanie Bashir says she is starting a new position as Non Executive Board Member at Smart Energy Council!

Behrooz Bahrani has been promoted to the rank of associate Professor at Monash University.

Highly respected and widely admired energy consultant Hugh Saddler has died after a long illness, his family has announced.

Marco Quaranta has been appointed SEA Electric‘s new Sales Director for the Asia Pacific. He previously worked at Iveco.

Week beginning June 26

The Smart Energy Council has a new president, after former federal shadow environment minister Terri Butler was unanimously elected to the position, following the retirement of current President, Steve Blume.

Former Clean Energy Finance Corporation CEO, Oliver Yates, has been appointed as chair of GMR Energy, a big battery developer owned by Gaw Capital Partners.

Richard Wrightson has been appointed CEO of Delta Group, owner of the Vales Point power station in NSW, replacing Greg Everett.

Week beginning June 19

Steven Spencer has started a new role as director at the Australian Energy Regulator.

Pacific Energy has announced the appointment of Todd Perkins as the company’s new chief financial officer.

Tasmania government-owned utility Hydro Tasmania has announced the appointment of Richard Bolt as its new chair of the board.

Week beginning June 12

Jonathan Cole, the CEO of Corio Generation, has been named as the new chair of the Global Wind Energy Council, the organisation that represents the global wind energy industry.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has appointed Tilt Renewables executive general manager of operations Damien Sanford as the generator representative to the Reliability Panel from 1 June 2023.

Australian electrolyser manufacturing company Hysata has appointed former UK climate change minister Claire O’Neill to its global advisory council. Chaired by Australia’s former chief scientist Dr Alan Finkel, the council advises Hysata’s strategy for delivering its electrolyser globally.

Week beginning June 4

Carbon Market Institute (CMI) has appointed its first Indigenous board member, Clark Donovan – a proud Gumbaynggirr and Gunditjmara man, and associate director of Indigenous carbon at the Commonwealth Bank. Donovan fills a position made vacant by the departure of ANZ Bank’s Katherine Tapley in November.

Jim Soorley has stepped down from his role as chairman of CS Energy, four months before the end of his third term at the Queensland government-owned energy company.

Thomas Best is starting a new position as construction director at Eku Energy. Best most recently worked at Macquarie Group and before that as First Solar and FRV.

Week beginning May 29

Fortescue Metals Group has announced the appointment of Christine Morris as chief financial officer (CFO) of FMG. Christine will report to Fiona Hick, Fortescue Metals CEO.

Victoria’s Essential Services Commission has announced that John Hamill will leave his position as CEO on June 09. The commission has begun an executive search process a new CEO, with Sarah Sheppard stepping into to the role until a permanent replacement is found.

Andres Maasing has left his role as head of O&E and development at Cubico Sustainable Investments in Australia to take up a role of chief development officer at Enefit Green in Estonia.

Lee Mrnjavac has been appointed investment director at Octopus Investments Australia.

Week beginning May 22

Anna Hancock is leaving EnergyAustralia to join Pollination Group as an Executive Director.

Solar integrated glass company ClearVue Technologies has appointed Martin Deil as its new chief executive officer as it looks to expand its global footprint. Deil will start with the company from 1 June 2023 and be based in the US.

Snowy Hydro has announced that Snowy 2.0 project director Kieran Cusack had resigned to take up a role as chief executive officer of Queensland Hydro, following a 13-year career with Snowy Hydro. Dave Evans, the current engineering director of Snowy 2.0, will take over as project director.

Darren Docking has been appointed as general manager strategy and growth for Ventia‘s energy networks and renewables (Aust & NZ).

Week beginning May 14

The founding CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council, Rob Murray-Leach is retiring from his current role as head of market transformation and will leave the EEC at the end of August, 2023.

Andrew Barson has been appointed as CEO of Wirsol Energy.

Collgar Renewables has appointed Sylvia Wiggins to its Board of Directors.

Toby Patterson is joining BEA Renewables as Head of Development. He is currently development m at Iberdrola Australia.

Week beginning May 08

Aristides Nikolopoulos is starting a new position as head of engineering at EVSE Australia.

Sylvia Wiggins has joined the board of rapid-deploy solar outfit 5B as its new non-executive director and chair. 5B says Wiggins brings over 30 years’ experience in finance, risk management and strategy across a range of sectors, including leadership roles at Infigen and Alinta.

Australia’s national science agency CSIRO has appointed Dr Dietmar Tourbier as its new director of energy, following a competitive international recruitment search. Dr Tourbier worked at GE for more than 20 years and more recently served as director of the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute (ASTRI).

Genex Power has announced the appointment of Craig Francis as the company’s new chief executive officer (CEO), effective from 1 September 2023. Francis, currently Genex’s chief financial officer (CFO), succeeds James Harding who will retire as CEO on 31 August 2023.

Genex has commenced the search for a replacement CFO and an announcement regarding this appointment is expected to be made in the coming months.

Danushka Sooriyadasa has started a new position as principal engineer at the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

Macquarie Capital, the corporate advisory, capital markets and principal investing arm of Macquarie Group, has named John Pickhaver head of Infrastructure and Energy Capital (IEC) for the Americas. Pickhaver was most recently co-head of Macquarie Capital in Australia and New Zealand.

Week beginning May 01

Western Australia energy minister Bill Johnston has announced new appointments to the board of state-owned utility, Synergy, including new chair Michelle Shepherd. Shepherd delivered the Independent Review into Western Power over the 2021 Christmas outages and was previously commissioner of the Australian Energy Market Commission.

Other changes include the appoinment of current Synergy board member Yasmin Broughton as deputy chair and the appointment of Denise McComish as a non-executive director.

Energy Consumers Australia is on the hunt for a new CEO, with Lynne Gallagher vacating the position on June 02 to start a new role on the board of the Australian Energy Regulator. Jacqueline Crawshaw will serve as interim CEO for the ECA until a permanent replacement for Gallagher is found.

Credit Suisse head of energy and transition Kris Liddell has left the global investment bank to join Andrew Forrest’s Tattarang family investment vehicle. In his role at Credit Suisse, Liddell advised Spanish group Iberdrola in its bid for CWP Renewables, which was ultimately beaten out by a $4 billion bid from Tattarang’s Squadron Energy.

Andy McCarthy has announced he is stepping down as CEO and managing director of RACV Solar, effective May 5. RACV Solar chief operating officer Bill Bloodworth will step into the role of acting CEO.

Mark Leslie is starting a new position as co-head of Asia at battery storage developer Eku Energy. He is a former head of Macquarie’s energy technology business in the Asia Pacific and of Fluence in the Asia Pacific.

Christian Peake has started with Mint Renewables as Head of Technical Services, after 23 years with DNV.

Smart building materials company ClearVue Technologies has appointed Gerd Hoenicke and Charles (Chuck) Mowrey as Non-Executive Directors.

Week beginning April 24

The Climate Council has appointed Carol Schwartz as its new chair.

Woodside has appointed Liz Westcott to lead the company’s operations in Australia.

Week beginning April 17

SEA Electric has announced the appointment of Daniel Scarpino de Castro to the position of president, Asia Pacific Region.

Week beginning April 03

AEMO says its chair Drew Clarke will retire and stand down from the company’s board in November 2023.

AECOM has appointed Mark Lampard as the company’s grid modernisation leader for Australia and New Zealand, based in Melbourne.

Week Beginning March 27

Cecile Wake has been announced as the new chair of Shell Australia, effective May 22. Wake takes up the role from Tony Nunan, who is moving to the newly created role of chief of staff and corporate relations, reporting to Shell CEO and based in London.

Jack Brown has taken up a new role as acting director of energy strategy at the Victorian government’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

Bruce Thompson has stepped down as CEO of GreenSync, following the company’s successful transition to its new owners CrescoNet.

EnergyAustralia has appointed Sanket Wankhede as virtual power plant solutions leader at the gen-tailer.

Thomas Behrendt has taken up a new position as head of project origination at Squadron Energy the newly merged entity combining CWP Renewables and Squadron.

Week beginning March 20

Rupert Posner is moving on from his role at Climateworks Centre after three years at the organisation. Posner says he will “share details shortly” on his next role.

Experienced senior public servant and former UK climate negotiator Dr Jon Gorvett has been appointed to the role of chief executive of South Australia EPA by the Malinauskas government.

Australian EV charging network Chargefox has a new head of marketing, with Rob Asselman starting in the position this week.

SunDrive has appointed Rosie Oldfield as its new government relations and corporate affairs manager.

Joshua Tichborne has taken up a new position at solar innovator 5B, as a solutions engineer specialist.

Week beginning March 13

Maxeon Solar Technologies has announced that Matt Dawson will be joining the company on March 20, as chief technology officer (CTO) – responsible for the research and development function globally.

Energy Networks Australia has announced the appointment of Dominique van den Berg as the new ENA chief executive officer.

Akaysha Energy has appointed Tim Hoban as development manager focused on BESS developments across the NEM, Kelly Seo as Legal Manager, Dion Thomas as heading of IT activities, Tom Acfield as document controller in the projects team, Prabha Subramanian as Project Manager, Hannah Iwanov as Head of People, Duwayno Robertson as Technical Development Manager, Rika Kawanami as director of development in the Tokyo office and Peter Rakovic as Project Manager for Special Projects in Taiwan.

Equinor has appointed Benjamin White as director of business development and stakeholder relations in Australia. White was previously at Marinus Link.

James Meharg has been appointed chief financial officer at Jet Charge. He was previously at AC3.

The Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) has appointed Lisa Caripis as manager of Investor Practice Program.

Maaike Gobel has started a new position as head of Asia Pacific at Open Solar.

Renate Egan has been appointed as co-chair of the Australia-India Solar Taskforce, alongside eminent Indian scientist, Anil Kottantharayil. The taskforce will advise on how to accelerate solar PV deployment and enhance supply chains across the two nations.

Richard Day has take up the new role of director of industry development in the Office of Hydrogen Power South Australia, led by Sam Crafter.

Week beginning March 06

Energy technology company SwitchDin has appointed two new technology leaders: Tim Schier as the new chief technology officer (CTO) and Sebastian Welsh as chief information security officer (CISO).

The Clean Energy Council has announced Neoen Australia‘s head of state in Victoria, Alicia Webb, as the successful recipient of the 2023 AICD Scholarship. The Scholarship awards a place in the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Foundations of Directorship course and mentorship with CEC board member Jenny Paradiso.

Week beginning February 27

Electrolyser manufacturer Hysata has announced Dean Dalla Valle as its inaugural chair.

Week beginning February 20

NSW treasurer and energy minister Matt Kean has announced the appointment of Judith Slatyer as chair of the Net Zero Emissions and Clean Economy Board, filling the vacancy created by Dr Kerry Schott AO. John Lydon was also announced as a new board member.

Andrew Bills is leaving his position as CEO of CS Energy to become the new CEO of SA Power Networks. He will replace Rob Stobbe, who will retire after 13 year.

James Allston, the co-founder of energy software start-up Orkestra, has taken a role to work in partnership with Chris Cooper as co-CEO of the company.

Week beginning February 13

EnergyAustralia says its chief financial officer Alastair McKeown has decided to leave the company to take up a new role as chief financial officer at private equity-owned Intellihub.

Malin Olsson Volder has joined EV charging software company Everty as Senior Business Development and Partnership Manager.

Hugh Cantwell has joined DP Energy Australia as Head of Projects. He was previously Operations Manager, Commercial Energy Services at Origin Energy.

Australia EV charging network Chargefox has announced the appointment of John Sullivan to the role of chief executive officer. Sullivan was most recently chief technology officer at Brighte.

Greg Wilkinson has started as head of development at RES Australia. He was previously head of finance.

Week beginning Feb 6

Saul Griffith’s Rewiring Australia has announced the appointment of Dan Cass as the organisation’s first executive director. Cass comes to Rewiring Australia from policy thinktank The Australia Institute.

Australian and New Zealand smart metering provider and energy data specialist Intellihub has announced the appointment of Alastair McKeown as its chief financial officer. McKeown comes to Intellihub after six years as CFO at EnergyAustralia.

GridBeyond has named Mark Lee as the company’s new market strategy and regulatory manager to support
company’s growth in the Australian energy market.

The Australian Conservation Foundation has named Liana Downey as the new president and chair of its Board.

Katherine Lake has left her role as a senior corporate lawyer at EnergyAustralia to take up a position as special counsel, climate change and energy law, at Hive Legal.

Stride Renewables managing director Amy Kean has started a new position as advisory board member at the NSW Decarbonisation Hub.

Kim van Hattum – whose work history inlcudes stints in development and construction at Pacific Hydro and Fortescue Future Industries – has joined Mint Renewables as head of development.

Jonathan Myrtle is starting a new position as Head of Market Modelling at Hydro Tasmania.

Week beginning January 30

E-mobility tech company SEA Electric has appointed Justin Gil Palmer to the position of president – North America.

Engie Australia and New Zealand has a new CEO, with Rik De Buyserie taking on the role in 2023. De Buyserie – formerly the CEO and country manager in Peru – takes over from Andrew Hyland, who had a short stint in the role after the departure last year of Augustin Honorat.

PwC has added ex-RBC banker David Fair to its energy transition team, to advise clients on M&A and project finance.

Spark Renewables has appointed Charbel Antoun as the head of grid connections.

Sherrin Yeo has joined Mint Renewables as head of engineering.

1komma5° has named Jonathan Fisk and Pete Thorne as the newest members of the group in Australia, following the company’s acquisition of solar installer and microinverter specialist Solaray.

Hamish Beck has been appointed to the board of Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority, for a term of five years beginning February 06, 2023.

Week beginning January 23, 2023

AEMC appoints Keith Robertson to the Reliability Panel. Robertson is head of wholesale market risk at generator Origin Energy, and is appointed to the panel as the “customers'” representative.

Week beginning January 16, 2023

Marc England has started as CEO of Ausgrid. England is a former head of Genesis Energy and former lead of AGL’s disbanded New Energy division.

AGL Energy has named Damien Nicks as CEO and Gary Brown as CFO. Both have been serving in those roles on an interim basis.

Bluestar Energy Capital has appointed Steve Jackson as Managing Director of its Australian renewable development platform. Jackson will be based in Sydney and formerly worked at First Solar and FRV in Australia.

The Australian government has appointed Dennis Barnes as CEO of Snowy Hydro.

Daniel Bleakley has started as lead reporter for the EV-focused The Driven, a sister site to RenewEconomy.

Week beginning January 09, 2023

AEMO has appointed Christine Williams and Kathryn Presser as independent directors. Williams is a lawyer – most recently with Macquarie Group – while Presser was CFO at oil and gas company Beach Energy

French energy giant EDF has set up an Australian office in Melbourne, headed up by James Katsikas, who has been appointed as country head for the company. See story…

Australian electric vehicle conversion start-up, Roev, has appointed Jamie Lugg as head of automotive.

Countrywide Hydrogen has announced the appointment of former Tasmania premier Peter Gutwein to the company’s board and Owen Hobbs to the role of general manager of hydrogen developments.

Fortescue Metals Group is looking for a new chief financial officer, with the resignation of current CFO, Ian Wells, at the end of the month.

Mint Renewables has appointed Cara Layton as head of planning, environment and stakeholder relations, Matt Glass as senior project manager and James Tume as project developer – to build the company’s pipeline of renewable energy and storage projects.

Michael Wilson has been appointed to the BNRG Leeson team as head of Energy Markets, to support the growth of its solar farm and battery business in Australia.

Week beginning December 19

Anthea Harris has been appointed chief executive of the Australian Energy Regulator. Harris is currently CEO of the Energy Security Board (ESB), and was previously Deputy Secretary of the Energy Group within the Victorian DELP, and has also served as CEO of the Climate Change Authority and held senior roles within the Commonwealth Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

APA Group has appointed interim boss Adam Watson as CEO.

Week beginning December 12

Week beginning December 05

Solar yield optimisation company Nextracker has moved Peter Wheale into a new role as general manager.

The Smart Energy Council has named Terri Butler, the former federal member for Griffith and shadow environment minister as the newest member of its board. Butler fills a casual vacancy created by the resignation of long-time SEC director, Geoff Bragg.

Week beginning November 29

Australian non-flow zinc-bromide battery outfit Gelion has appointed former Ecoult CEO John Wood as its new CEO.

Australian hydrogen electrolyser company Hysata has appointed Daniel Tas Sandermann as head of Europe, starting in March 2023, and Michael Hipwood as chief financial officer (CFO). Dr Scott Abrahamson has been appointed head of engineering.

Former actress Rebecca Gilling has been named CEO of environmental education foundation Planet Ark. Gilling takes over from Paul Klymenko, who will continue supporting the team as a strategic advisor.

Week beginning November 22

John Thwaites has been appointed Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Group on the Circular Economy by environment minister Tanya Plibersek.

Felicity Gooding has been appointed Acting CFO of Fortescue Future Industries, replacing Guy Debelle who is stepping down to focus on his health. Debelle will become a director of FFI.

The Climate Change Authority has started second round of recruitment for policy advisors, analysts, project managers and communicators “ready for the challenge of decarbonising Australia.”

Week beginning November 08

Ex-Snowy Hydro CEO Paul Broad has taken up a new role as a special advisor to the NSW Perrottet government’s energy department.

Richard Petterson has been appointed the new chief executive officer of Australia’s only solar panel maker, Tindo Solar. He comes to the Adelaide-based company with a background in the utility sector.

Week beginning October 31

TasNetworks has appointed Adam Foster as head of stakeholder engagement, starting December 05.

Australian electrolyser company Hysata says it has appointed former chief scientist Dr Alan Finkel as chair of the company’s new Global Advisory Council.

Week beginning October 23

Mark Bumpstead will take on a new role as Non-Executive Chairman, Quanta Services Australia Group (QSA). Rick Boreham will replace Mark as President – QSA, and Dave Evans will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer – QSA reporting to Rick Boreham.

Meanwhile, Wallie Van Hoving will take over as President of Consolidated Power Projects (CPP), reporting to Dave Evans. Steve Ford will take on the role of Chief Operating Officer – CPP reporting to Wallie Van Hoving

Energy technology company SwitchDin says Darren Gladman has been appointed to newly created role of Head of Policy and Regulatory affairs. Gladman is the former Director of Distributed Energy at the Clean Energy Council (CEC).

Paul Curnow has retired as partner of legal firm Ashurst to join battery storage developer Akaysha Energy as Director of Strategy and General Counsel.

Week beginning October 17

Australia’s only solar panel manufacturer, Tindo Solar, has announced a change at the top, with CEO of five years, Shayne Jaenisch, stepping down from the role at the end of the year. A new CEO has not yet been named.

Sarah Zeljko has been appointed as the new chair of Energy Queensland, which provides network services to all of Queensland, and retail services to regional Queensland. Zeljko most recently served as a director of Powerlink, and has previously held roles as company secretary for G8 Education, the Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal (WICET), and Cement Australia.

Week beginning October 10

A joint Venture between Energy Estate, BlueFloat Energy and Elemental Group has announced the appointment of Nathan Turner as New Zealand country manager, to lead the planning and development of up to 5GW of offshore wind energy projects in Aotearoa.

Former chief minister of the Northern Territory, Michael Gunner, has been appointed by Fortescue Future Industries to head up its Northern Australia arm. See more here.

Week beginning October 03

Sun Cable, the company behind what will be the world’s biggest solar and battery storage project, has named tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes as its new chair.

Two new commissioners have been appointed to the Australian Energy Market Commission: Economist and seasoned energy market advisor Sally McMahon; and economist and former Clean Energy Finance Corporation consultant Tim Jordan.

Tim has more than 15 years’ experience across corporate strategy, clean energy investment and public policy. He has worked in consulting, at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, at Deutsche Bank, and in the Australian Government.

Tim has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland. He also has an MPhil from University College London, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar, and a Master of Economics from the University of Sydney.
Read more.

Distributed energy resources management specialist GridBeyond has announced the appointment of Ed Ahmed as new regional director to support the company’s expansion in the Australian energy market.

The federal Labor government has announced the appointment of Tony Concannon to the board of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, to replace outgoing board member Leeanne Bond. Nicola Wakefield Evans, Samantha Tough and Andrea Slattery were all three also reappointed to the CEFC board on Wednesday.

Week beginning September 26

Tasmania government-owned electricity retailer Aurora Energy has announced the appointment of Nigel Clark as the utility’s new CEO, starting October. Clark takes the reins from outgoing CEO Rebecca Kardos.

Week beginning September 19

Chargefox CEO and co-founder Marty Andrews will step down from his position as CEO at the end of February 2023, Australian Motoring Services has announced. A replacement in the role has not yet been announced.

AGL Energy has announced the appointment of Patricia McKenzie as the new chair, to replace outgoing chair Peter Botten. Renewable energy industry veteran Miles George has been appointed to the board of the utility, as an independent non-executive director.

Week beginning September 12

Eva Hanly has been named as the new chair of WindLab, after being appointed to the role by the board. Hanly is CEO of Squadron Energy, which is the majority owner of Windlab alongside Federal Asset Management.

Pacific Hydro has appointed David Huang as a project developer, renewable energy.

Federal Labor has announced the appointment of three new members of the Climate Change Authority: Dr Virginia Marshall, Professor Lesley Hughes, and Sam Mostyn AO. Read more here.

Week beginning September 5

Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy has named the former head of the Australian Energy Market Operator Audrey Zibelman as a new member of its advisory board.

Professor David Karoly has become a councillor with the Climate Council. He was previously leader of the Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub in the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program, based in CSIRO, from 2018 to June 2021.

Lawrence Wallis has joined Spark Renewables as senior development officer. He previously worked at EMM Consulting.

Week beginning August 29

Lisa Zembrodt has been appointed principal and senior director, sustainability business across the Pacific zone for Schneider Electric, to head a major expansion of services assisting business decarbonisation goals.

Squadron Energy has appointed Mike Duffy as head of stakeholder engagement. Duffy is a former head of media at AGL and advisor to the NSW premier.

Week beginning August 22

Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council has appointed Sarah Moran as its new head of engagement.

Sun Cable has named Tim Anderson as president director of its Indonesian operations as the business enters its next growth phase.

Deakin University has appointed Peter Hansford to the role of director of Deakin Energy Networks at the University.

APA Group CEO and managing director Rob Wheals is stepping down at the end of September 2022. Adam Watson, APA’s chief financial officer, will serve as acting CEO while the Board undertakes a full search process for a new CEO.

Week beginning August 15

Katerina Kimmorley has been appointed as head of commercial and investments at Boundless, a new non-profit focused on ensuring Australia is on track to becoming a renewable energy superpower by 2030.

Week beginning August 08

Marcelle Gannon has moved from Global-Roam to become market operations manager at Atmos Renewables.

April Jewell (Lead Analyst) and Bradley Woods (Strategy Principal) will join EnergyAustralia’s Sustainability and Climate Change function. This is headed by Anna Hancock who is also a Board member on the Carbon Market Institute.

Week beginning August 01

EnergyAustralia has appointed Katherine Lake as the gen-tailer’s new policy lead on climate change and renewable energy.

WA state-owned utility Western Power has a new CEO, with the appointment of Sam Barbaro to the role, effective immediately.

Western Australia energy minister Bill Johnston has announced the appointment of Denise Goldsworthy as chair of the board of state-owned utility Western Power, replacing retiring chair Colin Beckett.

Week beginning July 25

Electric vehicle charging infrastructure outfit Tritium has appointed Rob Topol, former Intel executive, as its chief financial officer.

Justine Jarvinen, who is chair of Wattwatchers and a director of Climate-KIC Australia, has taken up a new position as Adjunct Professor at the University of New South Wales.

Ben Oquist is stepping down as executive director of The Australia Institute to take up an opportunity in the private sector. He will be replaced by chief economist Richard Denniss who will begin his second term as executive director.

RenewEconomy journalist Michael Mazengarb has joined Pollination as an associate.

Week beginning July 18

Green Gravity has appointed David Boshoff to the role of program director. Boshoff brings 22 years of mining experience including senior roles with Anglo American, BHP and Bravus Mining

Week beginning July 11

Global commercial eMobility outfit SEA Electric has signed EV industry leader Bill Williams to the position of vice president of sales.

Tasmanian government owned utility Hydro Tasmania has locked in Ian Brooksbank as the company’s new permanent CEO. Brooksbank had served as the acting CEO since September last year.

Week beginning July 4

Queensland government-owned generator and renewables developer CleanCo has named Tom Metcalfe as its new CEO, starting Monday July 11.

Jonathon Upson has been hired as head of policy and regulatory affairs at Tilt Renewables.

Week beginning June 27

Christopher Martell has taken up the role of managing director of GSES after Geoff Stapleton – a founding member of the company – stepped down from the position. Martell was previously director of operations and engineering at GSES.

ElectraNet has appointed Simon Emms as its new CEO, effective July 1. He is the former head of network services, Interim CEO Rainer Korte will return to his role as head of asset management.

Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy has appointed Eva Hanly as CEO. Hanly was formerly head of Strategy, Innovation and Technology at Transgrid.

Week beginning June 20

The Albanese government has appointed David Fredericks as secretary of the newly created Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

Norway-based solar panel manufacturer REC Group has appointed Gus Paviani as the company’s new country manager for Australia and New Zealand. Paviani will lead the REC ANZ sales team and work to expand the customer base.

Australian-based specialist offshore wind developer Direct Infrastructure has appointed Peter J. Coleman as independent non-executive chair and Guy Outen as independent non-executive director.

NSW distribution network company Endeavour Energy has appointed Zecar founder Danny Thai as EV Innovation Manager.

Week beginning June 13

BMS Group has promoted Ben Humphries to head of power and energy – Australia, and Serai Kabu to client manager – energy and construction. Both were a part of the founding team of the BMS Renewable Energy practice.

There’s some job shifting going on at the Australian Energy Market Operator, with existing AEMO employees Tim Abernethy (previously in gas transmission) and Jay Stein (previously a senior data scientist) both moving into new roles as Principal Analysts at the market operator.

Compressed air energy storage developer Hydrostor has appointed Martin Becker as vice president, origination and development (Australia).

Week beginning June 6

AGL Energy has named Jo Egan – the gen-tailer’s current general manager of product and portfolio – as its new chief customer officer, effective 25 June 2022. Egan replaces Christine Corbett in the role, after Corbett announced she would depart AGL following the company’s decision to withdraw the Demerger Proposal last week.

Aurecon has appointed Nicolas Renon as its new managing principal, advisory – Southeast Asia and managing director, Energy – Asia.

Australia’s biggest and most advanced offshore wind farm, the 2.2GW Star of the South project being developed off the Gippsland coast of Victoria, has announced the appointment of Charles Rattray as its new chief executive officer, starting in August 2022.

Mark Legge has been appointed Australia head of US solar racking and mounting firm GameChange Solar, based in Newcastle. Legge is a former PV sales manager at Risen Energy, and before that at Jinko Solar.

Week beginning May 30

Engie has appointed Andrew Hyland as Chief Executive Officer of its Australia & New Zealand operations. He takes over from Augustin Honorat who will be returning to ENGIE in Paris after almost four years in Australia.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has appointed Amandine Denis-Ryan as the organisation’s new chief executive officer for its Australia/South Asia office, replacing outgoing research director Tim Buckley.

The failed demerger of AGL Energy will result in a significant clearing out of the energy giant’s senior management. AGL CEO Graeme Hunt and board chair Peter Botten are both set to leave the company once replacements are found. Non-Executive Director Jacqueline Hey will also leave the AGL’s board with immediate effect, and Diane Smith-Gander will follow in August.

Week beginning May 23

Energy Vault appoints Lucas Sadler as Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Asia & Pacific. Sadler previously served as Vice President of Sales, Australia and New Zealand, at Fluence Energy Inc. 

Engie Australia & New Zealand has appointed Carlos Trench as head of Hydrogen Projects, underlining the group’s commitment to establishing an industry-leading green hydrogen offering in Australia.

International renewable energy consultancy Galetech Group has set up an Australian branch in WA which will be headed up by Dermot Costello. Costello has held recent roles as general manager of renewables at GenusPlus Group and as the WA advisor to the Clean Energy Council.

Tony Chappel is leaving his role as executive general manager at the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to take up a new position as CEO of the New South Wales Environmental Protection Authority.

Week beginning May 16

Andrew Forrest has reappointed himself as executive chair of Fortescue Group, and named former head of GE Europe Mark Hutchinson as CEO of Fortescue Future Industries, and former AGL Energy boss Andrew Vesey as head of energy transition projects at FFI.

Christopher Gwynne has started a new position as Project Director, Borumba Pumped Hydro Project at Powerlink.

Nigel Baker has appointed CEO of Atmos Renewables, the renewable energy platform owned by Igneo Infrastructure Partners. Baker is a former head of Generation and Trading at Tilt Renewables.

Western Australia government-owned electricity generator and electricity and gas retailer, Synergy, has appointed David Fyfe as its new chief executive officer, effective immediately.

Week beginning May 9

Shell Energy Australia has appointed Steve Nichols to the role of chief information officer.

Epuron co-founders Martin Poole and Andrew Durran will serve on an advisory panel to Ark Energy for at least six months following the purchase of the company they founded in 2003.

Tim Eden has started a new role as space manager at Polestar Australia.

Mark Twiddell, head of the Tesla Energy team in Australia and the Asia Pacific, is leaving the company this week and will be succeeded by head of engineering and deployment activities Josef Tadich.

Week beginning May 2

NovaSource Power Services, one of the world’s largest Solar PV operations and maintenance providers, has tapped Australian renewables executive Daman Cole to lead the company’s entry into the Australian market.

Spark Renewables has announced the appointment of two senior development managers: Daniel Leahy, formerly head of wind development at RES, and Julian Kasby from Epuron.

Rob Grant, the former director energy at Fortescue Future Industries, has begun work as head of investments at Pollination.

Daniel Walsh has been appointed Technical Director, Renewables, at GHD.

Week beginning April 18

Mirjam Tome has been appointed project development director at wpd offshore Australia.

Offshore wind developer Oceanex Energy has announced the appointment of Emily Scivetti as chief operating officer.

Overwatch Energy has announced the appointment of Ellise Janetzki, who has joined the company after seven years at the Australian Energy Market Operator leading the day-to-day forecasts within the Operational Forecasting team.

Seb Henbest has stepped down as Chief Economist at BloombergNEF after 14 years and is taking up a new position as Group Head of Climate Transition at HSBC.

Week beginning April 11

Decarbonisation specialist Malcolm Rushin has been appointed to the newly created position of Future Energy Leader – Australia at global professional services firm, GHD.

GCube Insurance, a leading underwriter for renewable energy projects, has opened a new office in Australia at Tokio Marine’s Sydney office, headed up by William Hiller.

The Australian Energy Market Operator‘s Luke Robinson has started a new position at AEMO as (acting) Group Manager Modelling & Engineering.

Week beginning April 04

Shane Quinnell has left his role as head of commercial growth at Australian solar innovator 5B and taken up the position of development manager at Lightsource BP.

Emma Fagan, head of policy and regulatory affairs at Tesla in Australia, has been appointed to the board of the Clean Energy Council.

Volkswagen Australia managing director Paul Sansom has been elected to the board of the Electric Vehicle Council, promising to campaign for a nationally mandated CO2 target and EV charging capability in new residential and commercial buildings.

Week beginning March 28

Joanne Gray is leaving her position as managing editor of the Australian Financial Review to take on a role as executive director of climate change investment and advisory firm Pollination.

Week beginning March 14

Distinguished American engineer Professor Iqbal Husain will collaborate with renewable energy experts at Western Australia’s Curtin University to develop a model for electric vehicle charging stations, with a particular focus on the resources sector.

Energy research outfit Endgame Economics has announced the appointment of Maddie Clancy as an energy market analyst.

Week beginning March 7

Fortescue Future Industries as pulled off a major coup, announcing the appointment of RBA deputy governor Guy Debelle as its new Chief Financial Officer. Debelle, who has been strongly outspoken about the economic risks posted by climate change, will leave the RBA in March, to take up the new role in June.

Week beginning February 28

The Energy Security Board has appointed Anthea Harris as its new Chief Executive Officer. Harris currently serves as a deputy secretary with the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning. Harris has previously served as the CEO of the Climate Change Authority.

Macquarie’s Green Investment Group has appointed Jonathan Cole, who was head of offshore wind at Iberdrola, as the CEO of its new offshore wind spin-off company Corio Generation. Corio chairman will be GIG offshore wind specialist Samuel Leupold.

Origin Energy says Dr Nora Scheinkestel will join its board as an independent non-executive director, effective March 04, 2022. Scheinkestel is a director of Telstra Corporation Limited, Brambles Limited and Westpac Banking Corporation.

Week beginning February 21

Danish wind giant Vestas has appointed Danny Nielsen as the new head of Australia and New Zealand. Nielsen is a veteran to Australia’s wind industry and of Vestas, having established the ANZ business decades ago.

Former Tilt Renewables CEO Deion Campbell has been appointed as an operating partner at Australasian infrastructure investor Morrison & Co, to step up its investment in renewable energy around the world.

WA Energy Minister Bill Johnston has appointed Sally McMahon as the independent Chair of the Market Advisory Committee, Gas Advisory Board and Pilbara Advisory Committee.

Schneider Electric has appointed Olivier Blum as the new Executive Vice-President of its Energy Management Business, effective from April 1, 2022. 

Week beginning February 14

Merryn York will step down as a Commissioner of the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC), and is headed to The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to take up a role as Executive General Manager, System Design.

Citizens Own Renewable Energy Network Australia (CORENA) has appointed Sarah McCabe as head of operations to connect community groups to interest-free loans for projects to reduce carbon emissions.

The Clean Energy Investor Group has announced the appointment, last week, of Daniel Zelcer, in the position of senior policy advisor, where he will provide support to CEIG’s grid access reform project. Robynne Berg has also joined the CEIG team as partnerships manager.

Week beginning February 07

HelpPay has named former Red Energy executive Rowan Wilde as its first chief customer officer to spearhead user experience and marketing strategy following a successful $2.4 million capital raise. HelpPay is a new social fintech that takes the stigma out of asking for help on your energy bills.

Former secretary of the federal department of climate change and energy efficiency, Blair Comley, will lead the newly created Net Zero Centre at consultancy EY. Comley will be aided by EY Oceania’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Mathew Nelson, former IGCC CEO Emma Herd and economist Dr Steve Hatfield-Dodds. The Net Zero Centre will offer advice to companies on a transition to zero net emissions.

Australian company Wave Swell Energy has appointed Paul Geason as its new chief executive officer, effective from Monday, 7 February 2022.

Renewables developer RES has appointed Grant Harris as the company’s new director of construction and asset management for Asia Pacific.

Week beginning January 31

Tim Buckley is leaving his role as CEO of the Australia team at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) to pursue independent research projects in the energy finance sector. IEEFA has appointed Robin Cowdery as transitional CEO, with the search for a permanent regional CEO to be announced shortly.

Leading hydrogen expert Professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou has joined the University of Sydney‘s School of Chemistry. Professor Aguey-Zinsou previously held research positions at the University of New South Wales and led work on the development of the Lavo hydrogen energy storage system .

Emergent Group has appointed Dr Glenn Platt as executive director of strategy and innovation. Emergent said Platt’s role would include identifying how the company’s engineering and science expertise coudl help solve the biggest challenges of Australia’s new energy industries.

Former Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne, Arron Wood, has been appointed as the director of external affairs at the Clean Energy Council.

Australian lithium battery tech outfit Energy Renaissance has appointed Dr Howard Lovatt as its chief technology officer. Lovatt joins Energy Renaissance after three decades of working at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, where he conducted research in solar car racing, hybrid cars, electric vehicles and battery materials.

Kristian Handberg has joined Jet Charge as head of future business. Handberg has previously been electric vehicle lead for AGL and briefly head of electric mobility at Viva Energy.

Ampol’s pivot into electricity retailing will be led by James Myatt, a co-founder of Mojo Power back in 2012 and a former chair of the Australian Energy Retailers Association. You can read more about the Ampol Energy newly appointed executive team members here.

Former Australian Renewable Energy Agency chair Martijn Wilder has been appointed to chair an Interim Targets Independent Expert Panel established by the Victorian Labor government to advise on recommended targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions between 2031 and 2035. The panel includes Tennant Reed, the head of climate, energy and environment policy at the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) and Emma Herd, an EY Oceania, climate change and sustainability partner.

Ex-AGL Energy executive Elisabeth Brinton is quitting her role as head of renewables and energy solutions at Shell to pursue a new opportunity at an unnamed company. Shell said that following Brinton’s departure Thomas Brostrøm will be appointed head of renewable generation and Steve Hill head of energy marketing.

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) has announced the appointment of Stan Knez as the company’s chief technology officer.

Week beginning January 24

Kate Ryan is leaving her role as Coordinator of Energy in Western Australia to take on a new “leadership” role with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

Mark Hibbert has joined grid technology company eleXsys Energy as the company’s new Global Director Consulting. Hibbert’s previous roles includes senior positions at consultancy Aurecon and Queensland distribution company Energex.

Week beginning January 17

The Australian Energy Regulator has appointed Joe Adamo as general manager of strategic communications and engagement. Adamo, who revealed the new role on LinkedIn, leaves a position at NAB, but has strong experience in the energy sector, including executive roles at AEMO and SP AusNet.

Australia based global e-Mobility technology company SEA Electric has appointed Phillip Tighe to the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective immediately. Tighe’s experience includes a 35 year career with the Ford Motor Company.

Week beginning January 10, 2022

Domenic Capomolla took up the role as the new chief executive officer at Pacific Hydro in late December, replacing outgoing CEO Rachel Watson. Capomolla comes to PacHydro from his role as CEO of Tango Energy for the last four years.

Western Australia’s largest energy retailer and generator, Synergy, has appointed David Fyfe to serve as acting CEO of the government-owned company – starting February 10 – while the board seeks a permanent replacement for outgoing CEO, Jason Waters. 

Week beginning December 20

Hydro Tasmania announces the appointment of Lisa Chiba as the new managing director of its mainland energy retail business, Momentum Energy.

Week beginning December 13

Former chair of the Energy Security Board, Kerry Schott, will head up the New South Wales government’s Net Zero Emissions and Clean Economy Board, replacing former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in the role.

Australia’s Smart Energy Council has announced the appointment of Greenbank chief executive Ria O’Hehir to its nine-member board.

Week beginning December 6

Eytan Lenko steps down as director of Beyond Zero Emissions. Lenko is being replaced in the role by former Australian Prudential Regulation Authority executive board member Geoff Summerhayes.

AEMO appoints Gordon Dunsford as EGM Digital.

8 Star Energy, the licensed partner to Energizer and Eveready, has appointed Vincenzo Marciano as group chief technology officer (CTO).

Week beginning November 30

Energy Networks Australia has appointed Jemena managing director Frank Tudor as its new chair, replacing outgoing chair Ben Wilson, the former CEO of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG).

Essential Energy CEO John Cleland will replace Wilson as ENA deputy chair, with three new directors also appointed to the board: TasNetworks CEO Dr Seán Mc Goldrick, Power and Water Corporation CEO Djuna Pollard and new AGIG CEO Craig de Laine.

James McGill – ex-AGL Energy’s now defunct New Energy division and most recently from Genesis Energy in NZ – has been appointed to head up a new renewables focused unit at Origin Energy, dubbed Origin Zero. Read more here.

Week beginning November 22

Alison Crook, the founding chair of Byron Bay based Enova Community Energy, is stepping down and will be succeeded by board member John Taberner.

EnovaAlex Wonhas the head of system design at AEMO is leaving and will be replaced on an interim basis by the head of forecasting Nicola Falcon. 

Brett Hausler, a 22-year veteran of AEMO, and company secretary, is leaving the organisation.

Week beginning November 08

Rachel Watson has announced that after over 15 years at Pacific Hydro, the last 3½ years as CEO, she has decided to ” move on”.

Alex Wonhas starts a new position as EGM System Design at the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

Tom Parkinson is leaving the Clean Energy Council, where he was senior policy advisor and WA regional manager to take up a new position with Fortescue Future Industries.

Week beginning November 01

Former AGL boss Brett Redman has been named new CEO of transmission company Transgrid, replacing Paul Italiano.

Australian Energy Market Commission chair, Anna Collyer, on Monday took up the role as chair for the Energy Security Board (ESB), charged with delivering the post-2025 energy market reforms to create a power system fit for the future.

The new three-member ESB board includes the heads of the other two energy market bodies – Australian Energy Market Operator CEO and managing director, Daniel Westerman, and Australian Energy Regulator chair, Clare Savage. Collyer replaces outgoing chair Kerry Schott, who completed her term on 31 October alongside deputy David Swift.

The federal government has reappointed Andrew Dyer for a further four year term as the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, to continue in his role managing community concerns about the design, planning, construction and operations of new large scale renewable energy and transmission projects.

CleanCo says Darryl Rowell – currently CFO at Powerlink – will be interim CEO from the middle of November, replacing Maia Schweizer who was poached earlier this month by Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries.

Week beginning October 25

The CEO of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, Chris Wade has unexpectedly resigned, a day before the agency was scheduled to appear before senate estimates. The reasons for the resignation are as yet unknown. The NAIF’s Chief Investment Officer, Amanda Copping, will serve as the acting CEO in the meantime.

The renewable, future-focused arm of Fortescue Metals – Fortescue Future Industries – has appointed energy industry expert Paul Browning as president and chief executive officer of FFI North America, starting January 01, 2022. Browning comes to the job from his previous role as president and CEO of Mitsubishi Power Americas.

Matt Armitage has wound up seven-plus years at the Australian Energy Market Operator to start a new role at EY as a director in the Power & Utilities team.

Week beginning October 18

Engineers Australia announced that the CEO of the professional body, Dr Bronwyn Evans AM, will retire in April 2022. During her tenure, Evans oversaw the inaugural Climate Smart Engineering conference, headlined by former US Vice President Al Gore

Week beginning October 11

AEMO says its head of WA operations for the past six years, Cameron Parrotte, has announced his decision to leave AEMO. Parrotte will leave AEMO early in the new year.

Week beginning October 04

David Swift has been appointed chair of the Essential Services Commission of South Australia. The former deputy chair of the Energy Security Board replaces Brett Rowse and acting chair Lynne Williams.

Sun Cable has appointed Kiran Raj as chief financial officer, to lead the company’s finance division and, in particular, the funding required by October 2023 to develop Sun Cable’s Australia-Asia PowerLink. Prior to joining Sun Cable, Raj was venture partner and head of Southeast Asia for Cordiant Capital, a global infrastructure fund with circa $US3 billion assets under management.

Former team Leader of market insights at the Australian Energy Market Operator, Jonathan Myrtle has taken up a new role at Hydro Tasmania as manager of their market modelling and insights team.

Week beginning September 27

Julien Turecek, former head of Yallourn at EnergyAustralia and Executive Director of Corporate Carbon, has been appointed to the board of community-based retailer Enova Energy.

EV fast charger manufacturers Tritium says it has appointed Edward T. Hightower, managing director of Motoring Ventures, and a former chief engineer at General Motors, to its board.

Week beginning September 20

RedEarth Energy Storage has announced the appointment of Peter Hasko as the company’s new Chief Operating Officer, to lead the Australian battery manufacturer’s commercial operations nationwide.

RedEarth co-founder and CEO, Charles Walker said Hasko was an experienced executive, professional investor, board director and long term investor in RedEarth: “He has on-the-ground experience of growing businesses such as RedEarth from the ground up, to billion-dollar organisations.”

Australia’s first offshore wind project, the Star of the South has announced the resignation of its CEO Casper Frost Thorhauge, effective “around the end of the year.” Frost Thorhauge remain with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and lead a new project in the northern hemisphere. Star of the South said on Wednesday that it was embarking on an extensive global and Australian search for a new CEO “to lead Australia’s most exciting energy project.”

Week beginning September 13

International engineering and advisory company Aurecon has announced its managing director of energy, resources and water, Paul Gleeson, will also take on the newly created role of group director, sustainability, to  support the company’s climate change strategy and manage Aurecon’s corporate sustainability transparency.

Kristian Handberg, former Electric Vehicle lead at AGL Energy, has been hired as head of future mobility at Viva Energy.

AGL Energy’s recent executive shake-up has delivered a win for Sydney-based solar start-up, 5B, with Simeon Baker-Finch moving on from the gen-tailer’s Future Business team to become chief technology officer at the Malcolm Turnbull-backed PV innovator.

5B’s previous CTO, Dr Rhett Evans, who had filled the role for the past 18 months, takes up a new role at the company as Head of Performance & Reliability, to focus on optimising the performance and reliability of the Maverick solutions through its creation and operating lifecycle.

Week beginning September 6

Week beginning August 30

Solar tracking company Ideematec has appointed Linda Koschier to lead the establishment of its Australian subsidiary.

Former Queensland energy minister Dr Anthony Lynham has been appointed a director and chair of the Gladstone Port Corporation (GPC).

AGL Energy announces string of changes ahead of demerger, including departure of head of future business and technology, John Chambers, head of corporate affairs Liz McNamara and head of strategy and corporate development Joao Segorbe.

Week beginning August 23

Richard Gross is to step down as CEO of Ausgrid at the end of September.

The Electric Vehicle Council has appointed Ross De Rango as head of energy and infrastructure, who will start in the position in September.

New Zealand gen-tailer Meridian Energy says the CEO of the company’s Australian arm and of Powershop Australia, Jason Stein, has “signalled his intention to step away from the role” in December 2021. A replacement has not yet been named.

Craig Francis, formerly head of commercial finance, has been appointed CFO of Genex Power. He replaces Ben Guo, who becomes a non executive director.

Week beginning August 16

Advocacy group Energy Consumers Australia says Brian Spak has been appointed director, energy system transition. Spark most recently leader, grid renewable integration at CSIRO. 

Infinite Blue Energy has appointed former Woodside CEO Peter Coleman as chairman of its board.

Ratch-Australia has appointed Polagorn Kheosiplard is its new CEO.

Week beginning August 9

John Martin has been appointed as the new CEO of wind energy development company Windlab. Martin replaces Roger Price who stepped down from the role in July.

Liam Thomas will take over from John Martin as New Energy Solar‘s new CEO starting in October. Thomas currently serves as New Energy Solar’s chief investment officer and previously held positions with Origin Energy, Aurizon, and Orica.

AGL Energy has made a number of senior appointments in anticipation of the company’s demerger. AGL’s current COO, Markus Brokhof, will shift into the same role with Accel Energy. While AGL’s CFO, Damien Nicks will step into that same role for AGL Australia.

Graeme Hunt, AGL’s current CEO will serve as CEO of Accel Energy and AGL’s current chief customer officer, Christine Corbett, will take on the role of CEO of the rebranded AGL Australia, following the split.

Week beginning August 2

MPower appoints Amy Kean as a non-executive director. Kean is the former NSW Renewable Energy Advocate and co-owns and operates renewable energy advisory firm Stride Renewables.

Deion Campbell steps down as CEO of Tilt Renewables following completion of takeover of Australian assets by PowAR. Geoff Dutaillis will be CEO of the combined group.

Julian Turacek left EnergyAustralia, where he was head of Yallourn, to join Corporate Carbon as executive director.

Mark Shilliday, former connections manager at the Australian Energy Market Operator, joins Esco Pacific in newly created role of head of strategic projects.

Greg Elkins leave post as assistant connections manager at the Australian Energy Market Operator.

Amy Childs, head of Momentum Energy, the mainland energy retailer owned by Hydro Tasmania, has resigned. Naomi Morton, Momentum’s head of sales and marketing, will lead the business while a permanent replacement is sought.

Week beginning July 26:

Louis Chiam is appointed a partner in legal firm Allens‘ Projects and Development practice in Melbourne. Chiam joins from KWM.

Paul Italiano steps down as chief executive office of transmission company Transgrid, effective in September. Brian Salter is interim CEO. See: Paul Italiano steps down as head of transmission group Transgrid

Elyse Wise joins Neoen as project manager, Elyse previously worked as a project manager with Vestas, and before that at First Solar.

Llewellyn Owens left his job as CTO of Providence Asset Group and LAVO.

If you have any further news tips, please send to editor @ reneweconomy.com.au