24 Influential Leaders in Energy in Australia and NZ

Last updated: August 2026

Australia and New Zealand are rebuilding how they generate, move and sell energy at the same time, and a relatively small group of people carry direct responsibility for how that rebuild actually happens. This list brings together 24 of them: the chief executives of major retailers and generators, the heads of the market operator and the regulator, and the leaders of the transmission and distribution networks that connect it all.

As of August 2026, these are the people currently holding those roles, drawn from Australia's largest energy retailers and generators, its national market operator and regulator, and New Zealand's electricity generators and grid operators. Some run household-name retailers that most readers already recognise from their own power bill. Others lead organisations most people have never heard of, even though their decisions shape whether the lights stay on and what the transition to renewable energy actually costs households and businesses.

This is a practical directory for anyone who wants to understand who is currently accountable for energy decisions across both countries, presented in alphabetical order by surname for easy navigation rather than by seniority or company size. Journalists, policy staff, suppliers and job seekers use directories like this one to work out who actually holds a given brief before they pick up the phone or draft an email, saving time that would otherwise go into searching scattered company pages one at a time, or guessing at a title from an old media report that may no longer be accurate.

Why energy leadership matters in Australia and New Zealand

Energy leadership in Australia and New Zealand currently means running two jobs at once: keeping today's system reliable while building tomorrow's system beside it. Coal generators are closing on published retirement dates, new transmission lines are being built to connect renewable energy zones, and retailers are absorbing the cost and complexity of that shift into customer bills, all while continuing to serve millions of existing customers without interruption.

The people on this list sit at different points in that system. Retailers such as AGL Energy, Origin Energy and EnergyAustralia manage the customer relationship and the financial risk of buying and selling power in an increasingly volatile wholesale market. Network operators such as Transgrid, Powerlink Queensland, Vector and Transpower New Zealand build and maintain the physical infrastructure that new generation depends on before a single new wind or solar farm can actually deliver power to a home. The market operator, the regulator and agencies such as ARENA and EECA set the rules and fund the transition itself, shaping the environment every other organisation on this list has to operate inside.

Understanding who leads each part of that system matters because the decisions rarely stay contained to one organisation. A transmission delay affects a generator's timeline. A regulatory decision affects a retailer's pricing. Knowing who is accountable for which piece makes it considerably easier to follow the story accurately.

1. Damien Nicks

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, AGL Energy

Damien Nicks is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AGL Energy, one of Australia's largest energy retailers and generators. He moved into the top role in January 2023 after five years in senior finance positions at AGL, including a period as Chief Financial Officer. That finance background gives him a close view of the capital decisions behind AGL's shift away from coal generation, which fits naturally into any conversation about energy leadership across Australia and New Zealand.

His most useful credential is depth rather than novelty. AGL's own leadership page shows almost a decade inside the company before he became CEO, across finance roles that touch every part of the business. For a reader trying to understand large-scale energy transition, that internal continuity is a distinctive marker worth noting.

2. Frank Calabria

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Origin Energy

Frank Calabria has led Origin Energy as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer since October 2016, making him one of the longer-serving leaders on this list. Origin is one of Australia's largest integrated energy companies, spanning retail electricity and gas alongside investments in LNG and renewable generation, placing Calabria squarely inside this list's Australian energy scope.

In November 2025 he was appointed Chair of the Australian Energy Council, the retail sector's peak industry body, on top of his existing Origin responsibilities. That appointment gives him a formal voice in shaping retail energy policy discussions across the country, beyond his own company's results.

3. Mark Collette

Managing Director, EnergyAustralia

Mark Collette has been Managing Director of EnergyAustralia since July 2021, after joining the company in 2003. Few executives on this list have worked inside as many parts of the energy business as Collette has, having led EnergyAustralia's retail division as Chief Customer Officer and its generation and trading business before stepping into the top role.

That range matters for this list because EnergyAustralia's own profile of him highlights two decades spanning trading, generation, retail, policy, strategy and mergers and acquisitions. Few leaders in Australian energy retail can claim that same breadth of first-hand experience across the whole value chain.

4. Liz Westcott

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Woodside Energy

Liz Westcott became Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Woodside Energy on 18 March 2026, after serving as Acting CEO from December 2025. Woodside is one of Australia's largest oil and gas producers, and Westcott's appointment placed the country's energy sector under its first female CEO of a major oil and gas company.

She brings more than 30 years of global energy experience, including 25 years at ExxonMobil and a period as Chief Operating Officer at EnergyAustralia. At Woodside she previously led the Scarborough Energy Project and the Bass Strait operator transition, giving her direct delivery experience before taking the top job.

5. Kevin Gallagher

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Santos

Kevin Gallagher has been Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Santos since February 2016, leading one of Australia's largest independent oil and gas producers. His tenure spans a period of significant portfolio change for the company, with core operations now spanning Australia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.

His most notable recent achievement is bringing the Barossa LNG project in the Northern Territory into production, which Gallagher has described as proof of the company's project execution capability. With the Pikka oil project also nearing startup in 2026, that execution record is directly relevant to Australia's energy supply.

6. Daniel Westerman

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Australian Energy Market Operator

Daniel Westerman has been Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Australian Energy Market Operator since May 2021. AEMO runs the day-to-day operation of Australia's electricity and gas markets, giving Westerman one of the most consequential technical leadership roles in the country's energy system.

He previously held senior roles at National Grid in the United Kingdom, and AEMO's own profile notes he is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. That combination of international grid experience and engineering credibility is directly relevant to managing Australia's transition away from coal-fired generation.

7. Sean Mc Goldrick

Chief Executive, Powerlink Queensland

Sean Mc Goldrick commenced as Chief Executive of Powerlink Queensland on 29 June 2026, after leading TasNetworks in Tasmania. Powerlink operates Queensland's high-voltage electricity transmission network, a role that has grown more significant as the state connects new renewable energy zones to the grid.

Powerlink's own executive page records more than 35 years of global power systems experience, spanning research, construction, operation and regulation of large-scale power systems across Australia, Europe, North America and Africa. That breadth is a genuinely distinctive credential among transmission network leaders in this list.

8. Brett Redman

Chief Executive Officer, Transgrid

Brett Redman has been Chief Executive Officer of Transgrid since November 2021, leading the company responsible for New South Wales' electricity transmission network. His brief includes some of the largest transmission projects in Australian history, built to connect new renewable generation to the national grid.

Before Transgrid he spent almost 15 years at AGL Energy, including as CEO and Managing Director. He now chairs the Energy Networks Australia Policy and Strategy Committee, giving him a formal role shaping network policy discussions well beyond his own organisation's transmission projects.

9. Clare Savage

Chair, Australian Energy Regulator

Clare Savage is Chair of the Australian Energy Regulator, having been reappointed for a further three years after first being appointed in 2019. The AER sets and enforces the rules governing electricity and gas network businesses across most of Australia, making Savage's role central to how network costs reach consumer bills.

She is the first AER Chair to be reappointed to the role, following more than 21 years of leadership experience in the Australian energy industry. That reappointment reflects a level of institutional continuity that is genuinely unusual in Australian energy regulation.

10. Paul Simshauser

Chief Executive Officer, Iberdrola Australia

Paul Simshauser AM became Chief Executive Officer of Iberdrola Australia in early 2026, after five years as CEO of Powerlink Queensland and earlier roles including Director-General of the Queensland Department of Energy and Chief Economist at AGL Energy. Iberdrola Australia develops and operates renewable energy assets across the country.

He holds a concurrent appointment as Professor of Economics at Griffith University's Centre for Applied Energy Economics and Policy Research, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019 for his contribution to the energy industry. Few leaders on this list combine executive and academic energy expertise as directly.

11. Darren Miller

Chief Executive Officer, Australian Renewable Energy Agency

Darren Miller has been Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency since 2018, and was reappointed for a third three-year term commencing in August 2024. ARENA funds early-stage renewable energy projects across Australia, putting Miller at the centre of how new technologies reach commercial scale.

ARENA's own announcement credits him with conceiving the agency's ultra-low-cost solar program and launching the government's Hydrogen Headstart program, which now represents billions of dollars in committed funding. That combination of strategic design and delivery is a distinctive mark of his tenure.

12. Dominique van den Berg

Chief Executive Officer, Energy Networks Australia

Dominique van den Berg became Chief Executive Officer of Energy Networks Australia in 2024, leading the peak body representing the country's electricity and gas network businesses. In that role she represents network operators in policy discussions that directly shape how transmission and distribution investment is regulated.

Her career spans more than 20 years internationally, including leading BG Group's operations across South and East Asia, a role on Shell's energy transition team, and strategy and sustainability work at AGL Energy in Australia. That international perspective is a distinctive addition to Australia's network policy conversation.

13. Dennis Barnes

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Snowy Hydro

Dennis Barnes was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Snowy Hydro in February 2023. Snowy Hydro operates the Snowy Scheme, one of Australia's largest renewable energy and pumped hydro storage assets, alongside the Red Energy and Lumo Energy retail brands.

He brings over three decades of energy sector experience with a focus on renewables and retail, having most recently led ASX and NZX-listed Contact Energy in New Zealand before returning to lead Snowy Hydro. That cross-Tasman experience is directly relevant to readers following energy leadership in both countries.

14. Adam Watson

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, APA Group

Adam Watson was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of APA Group in December 2022, after joining the company as Chief Financial Officer in November 2020. APA operates gas pipeline infrastructure and an expanding portfolio of energy generation assets across Australia.

In 2026 commentary he argued that domestic gas remains essential to firming renewable generation and powering local manufacturing, while APA refocuses its portfolio around its core pipeline and generation footprint. That combination of pipeline and generation strategy sits at the centre of Australia's firming debate.

15. Jeff Dimery

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Alinta Energy

Jeff Dimery is Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Alinta Energy, a role he has held for 15 years across three separate changes of company ownership. Alinta is one of Australia's largest energy retailers, with generation and retail operations spanning several states.

His tenure's most distinctive feature is its continuity through ownership change, most recently Sembcorp Industries' 2026 acquisition of the company, after which Alinta's existing management team, led by Dimery, remained in place. That level of continuity is unusual in a sector with frequent ownership turnover.

16. Rob Wheals

Chief Executive Officer, Squadron Energy

Rob Wheals has been Chief Executive Officer of Squadron Energy since March 2024, leading one of Australia's largest renewable energy developers. Before that he spent 14 years as CEO and Managing Director of APA Group, giving him direct experience on both the pipeline and renewable generation sides of the energy transition.

Under his leadership Squadron Energy has set a public ambition to deliver 14 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030. That combination of a long infrastructure track record and a large stated renewable build target makes his current mandate genuinely distinctive.

17. Mike Fuge

Chief Executive Officer, Contact Energy

Mike Fuge is Chief Executive of Contact Energy, one of New Zealand's largest electricity generators and retailers, with a generation portfolio spanning geothermal, hydro and thermal assets. His leadership places him at the centre of how New Zealand balances renewable growth with year-round supply reliability.

Under his leadership Contact Energy switched on its first grid-scale battery in 2026 and completed the NZD 2.3 billion acquisition of Manawa Energy, a deal recognised with the Infinz M&A Transaction of the Year award. Both moves are directly relevant to New Zealand's near-term energy security.

18. Malcolm Johns

Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Energy

Malcolm Johns has been Chief Executive Officer of Genesis Energy since March 2023, after leading Christchurch Airport. Genesis is one of New Zealand's major electricity generators and retailers, with a generation portfolio spanning thermal, hydro, wind and solar assets across the country.

In 2026 he said the New Zealand Government's capital injection into Genesis would speed up investment in renewable generation, directly connecting government policy to the company's build-out plans. That link between public investment and generation capacity is a live and useful thread for readers following the sector.

19. Mike Roan

Chief Executive Officer, Meridian Energy

Mike Roan became Chief Executive Officer of Meridian Energy at the end of June 2025, succeeding Neal Barclay. Meridian is New Zealand's largest electricity generator, operating an entirely renewable portfolio of hydro and wind assets, which places Roan in charge of the country's biggest renewable generation fleet.

He joined Meridian's finance team in 2006 and rose to Chief Financial Officer before the board promoted him into the chief executive role. Almost two decades of institutional knowledge of the same company's renewable generation portfolio is a distinctive foundation for leading it.

20. Stewart Hamilton

Chief Executive Officer, Mercury NZ

Stewart Hamilton has been Chief Executive Officer of Mercury NZ since September 2024, succeeding Vince Hawksworth. Mercury generates and retails electricity across New Zealand, with a generation portfolio built substantially around geothermal and hydro assets that supply homes and businesses throughout the country.

He moved into the top role directly from an executive general manager position inside Mercury, giving the company continuity through its leadership transition rather than bringing in an outside appointment. That internal succession is a distinctive marker of how Mercury approaches leadership change.

21. James Kilty

Chief Executive Officer, Transpower New Zealand

James Kilty is the current Chief Executive of Transpower New Zealand, the state-owned operator of the country's national electricity grid, following Alison Andrew's departure from the role in mid 2024. Transpower's transmission network underpins every generator and retailer operating in New Zealand.

He leads the organisation at a time when New Zealand's transmission network is being expanded to connect new renewable generation to the grid, work that directly determines how quickly new wind, solar and geothermal capacity can actually reach customers across the country.

22. Chris Blenkiron

Group Chief Executive Officer, Vector

Chris Blenkiron was appointed Vector's Group Chief Executive, with the appointment announced in September 2025. Vector is New Zealand's largest electricity distributor, serving the Auckland region and investing heavily in smart grid technology to manage rising electricity demand.

Under his leadership Vector continues to describe its mandate as transforming the energy future of Aotearoa through innovative infrastructure and smart technology. That focus on network-level innovation, rather than generation or retail, gives Blenkiron a genuinely different vantage point on the energy system from most others on this list.

23. Marcos Pelenur

Chief Executive, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority

Marcos Pelenur has been Chief Executive of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority since September 2023. EECA is the New Zealand Government agency responsible for improving energy efficiency and accelerating the country's shift toward low-emissions energy use across households and industry.

Under his leadership EECA's mandate includes running New Zealand's public electric vehicle charging network rollout and the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry fund. That focus on the demand side of the energy system, rather than generation or supply, makes his role a useful counterpoint to the other leaders on this list.

24. Jason Boyes

Chief Executive Officer, Infratil

Jason Boyes is Chief Executive Officer of Infratil, the NZX and ASX listed infrastructure investor whose portfolio spans renewable energy generation and data centre assets across Australia and New Zealand. That dual focus places him at the intersection of two of the region's fastest-growing infrastructure demands.

Infratil's FY26 results, reported under his leadership, showed a 13.9 per cent total shareholder return, with renewable energy and data centre assets central to that performance. As electricity demand from data centres grows, his cross-border investment view is an increasingly relevant one for this list's readers.

What these leaders show us about energy leadership in Australia and New Zealand

A few patterns are visible across these 24 profiles, without needing to compare or single out any individual leader. The first is how much leadership turnover the sector has seen recently. Several of these appointments, including at Meridian Energy, Mercury NZ, Transpower New Zealand, Woodside Energy, Powerlink Queensland and Vector, happened within the past two years. Energy leadership across both countries is currently in a period of genuine generational change, with long-serving executives handing over to a newer cohort at very similar times.

The second pattern is how often people move between organisations that would once have seemed unrelated. Executives with backgrounds at Contact Energy, AGL, ExxonMobil and Shell now lead organisations as different as Snowy Hydro, Transgrid, Woodside Energy and Energy Networks Australia. Experience gained in one part of the energy system, whether that is retail, generation, transmission or trading, is increasingly treated as directly relevant to very different parts of it, rather than staying confined to a single specialism.

The third is the sheer range of organisation types required to keep the system working. This list includes listed retailers, a government-owned hydro scheme, a renewable energy developer, an infrastructure investor, an independent market operator, an economic regulator and a national energy efficiency agency. No single organisation type carries the whole transition on its own. It genuinely takes all of them working toward the same broad direction, even when their individual incentives do not always point the same way.

How to use this list

Use this list as a starting point for identifying who is accountable for a specific part of the Australian and New Zealand energy system, rather than treating it as a comprehensive map of the entire sector. If a story or project touches transmission, the network operators here are a sensible first stop. If it touches retail pricing or customer impact, start with the retailer chief executives listed above instead.

For job seekers and suppliers, following these organisations' own news and leadership pages is more useful in practice than following any single individual, since the broader leadership team beneath each chief executive is usually where day-to-day engagement actually happens once an initial contact is made. For readers who want to go deeper on a specific slice of the sector, the related reading links below cover electricity, renewable energy and the resources and energy workforce in considerably more detail than this general directory can.

None of this replaces direct research before a specific decision, whether that is a job application, a media enquiry or a commercial proposal that depends on accurate current information. Treat this list as an accurate current starting point, then verify the detail that matters most for your own purpose directly with the organisation involved before you act on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who currently leads Australia's largest energy retailers?

As of August 2026, Damien Nicks leads AGL Energy, Frank Calabria leads Origin Energy and Mark Collette leads EnergyAustralia. All three are the current Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer of their respective companies, based on each company's own leadership pages, and each has held the role for at least several years.

Who runs New Zealand's main electricity generators?

New Zealand's major generator-retailers are currently led by Mike Fuge at Contact Energy, Malcolm Johns at Genesis Energy, Mike Roan at Meridian Energy and Stewart Hamilton at Mercury NZ. Several of these leaders were appointed within the past two years, following a genuine wave of leadership change across the sector.

Who is responsible for keeping Australia's electricity grid running?

The Australian Energy Market Operator, led by Daniel Westerman, is responsible for operating the national electricity and gas markets day to day. Transmission companies such as Transgrid and Powerlink Queensland build and maintain the physical network that Daniel's organisation relies on to keep the system secure and reliable.

Is this list ordered by seniority or organisation size?

No. The people are presented in alphabetical order by surname purely for easy navigation. It is a directory of current leaders across the sector, not a comparison of seniority, company size or public profile, and no ordering in this article should be read as a form of comparison.

Does this list cover every energy organisation in Australia and New Zealand?

No. It covers 24 leaders across major retailers, generators, transmission and distribution networks, the market operator, the regulator and key industry agencies. Many smaller and specialist energy organisations across both countries fall outside the scope of this particular directory, which focuses on the largest and most consequential organisations.

How often does energy sector leadership change in Australia and New Zealand?

Frequently. Several leaders on this list, including at Meridian Energy, Mercury NZ, Transpower New Zealand, Vector, Woodside Energy and Powerlink Queensland, took up their current roles within the past two years, reflecting an unusually active period of leadership change across the whole sector.

Conclusion

Energy leadership across Australia and New Zealand is currently spread across retailers, generators, network operators, a market operator, a regulator and several dedicated agencies, each with a genuinely different job to do inside the same broader system. The 24 people on this list currently hold that responsibility, from long-serving chief executives with a decade or more in the role to leaders who stepped into their positions within the past year.

Reading their roles together is more useful than reading any single profile in isolation, because it shows how many different levers actually have to move together for the energy transition to work as intended. A network delay, a regulatory decision and a retailer's pricing strategy are rarely separate stories once you look closely enough at how they connect.

If you are trying to understand who is accountable for a specific decision in Australian or New Zealand energy, start with the organisation closest to that decision, then use this list to confirm who currently leads it. Treat it as a working directory rather than a finished answer, and check each organisation's own leadership page before you rely on any detail for something that genuinely matters.

Related Reading

For a wider view of energy leadership across the region, see 50 Essential Thought Leaders in Energy and Utilities in ANZ, 40 Essential Thought Leaders in Electricity in ANZ, 35 Influential HR Leaders Shaping Resources and Energy Across ANZ, and 50 Influential Leaders in Auckland New Zealand.

If you lead a team inside any part of this energy system and want outside help building the kind of leadership clarity these organisations need through a genuinely difficult transition, that is exactly the work I do. I run keynotes, workshops and facilitated leadership sessions with leaders who need to make hard trade-offs visible and turn them into decisions their teams can actually act on.

If a facilitated session on leadership clarity, healthy conflict or ownership would help your team right now, get in touch at jonno@consultclarity.org.

About the Author

Jonno White is a Brisbane-based leadership consultant, keynote speaker and Certified Working Genius Facilitator, and the author of Step Up or Step Out. He works with schools, corporates and nonprofits around the world. To enquire about a keynote, workshop or facilitated leadership session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.