The members of IPAG from 1 December 2021 are:

John Hancock (Chairperson)

Director, Signature Consulting

John Hancock

John Hancock

John Hancock was appointed as Chair of the Innovation and Participation Advisory Group in 2018, and was reappointed from 30 May 2020 for a term of three years.

John Hancock works as an independent consultant, drawing on his unusual combination of deep experience in both technology and energy market deregulation. John has worked in the utilities and related industries for nearly 3 decades, starting with the deregulation of the UK electricity and gas industries in the late 1980s followed by 15 years in the Asia-Pacific with Ernst & Young Consulting, Capgemini and latterly Hewlett Packard as Asia Pacific Director for the Utilities Industry. John regularly chairs industry seminars and conferences, presents as a sector expert around the world, has authored many whitepapers on utility industry trends and leading practice as well as publishing a popular weekly blog/podcast on strategic themes in the sector since 2009. 

Glenn Coates

General Manager Asset Management and Planning, Aurora Energy


Glenn Coates

Glenn Coates has been in the electricity sector for 28 years including various roles with Orion the electricity distribution network owner in Christchurch and 2 years with Transpower system operations. Glenn is an electrician by trade and a University of Canterbury qualified electrical engineer. Glenn has a wide range of distribution network experience including customer facing roles, research and development, planning, network performance/resilience and demand side management. Later in his career he developed a strong interest in the commercial and economic aspects of the power system. He has contributed to numerous industry working groups and is currently involved in the Electricity Networks Association Smart Technology Working Group. Recent work at Orion included research into emerging technologies and the associated new business models that may evolve. Glenn recently joined Aurora Energy where he will lead asset management and planning towards finding the right balance between managing short term traditional network asset performance and network preparedness for medium term changes in customer expectations. 

Margaret Cooney

Octopus Energy Group, Chief Customer Officer


Margaret Cooney

Margaret Cooney

Margaret is currently working for Octopus Energy Group as Chief Customer Officer and has previously led electricity retailer Powershop. She has worked across a range of functions including operations, commercial, strategy, restructuring and capital raising in the energy and technology sectors. She holds an LLB and BCom (Economics).

 

Allan Miller

Director, Allan Miller Consulting

Allan Miller

Allan Miller

Allan Miller is a consulting engineer, providing independent expert advice in the electricity and technology industries, and a director of Network Tasman. His experience includes leadership and technical roles in the electricity and international high-tech industry. He was director of the Electric Power Engineering Centre (EPECentre), University of Canterbury, from 2011 to 2017, where he established and led the GREEN Grid research programme. Prior to that Allan was a product manager, followed by Managing Director, of Allied Telesis Labs Ltd, a product development centre for the Japanese computer networking company Allied Telesis. He has worked as a hardware and software engineer, as an analyst for Transpower during the establishment of the wholesale electricity market, and Western Power in Perth, Western Australia, where he led a demand response programme. He holds a Ph.D. and B.E. Hons in electrical and electronic engineering.

 

Terry Paddy

Managing Director, Cortexo

Terry Paddy

Terry Paddy

Terry is the Managing Director of Cortexo, a software development company that provides a grid edge ‘Internet of Energy Things’ software platform. Terry has been involved with innovation and disruption for the last 15 years and has been the President of the NZ Software Association as well as the Chair of the Canterbury Software Cluster. Prior to his move to software, Terry spent 20 years in the aviation sector, both military and commercial, giving him a strong grounding in leadership, training and assessment.

Victoria Parker

Pricing Manager, Transpower New Zealand

Victoria Parker

Vicoria Parker

Victoria recently joined Transpower as Pricing Manager for the grid owner. Prior to joining Transpower, she worked in the UK as Head of Regulation for Bulb, a start-up technology company providing 100% renewable energy in the UK, Spain, France and Texas. Victoria has also worked in gas and electricity distribution, representing network companies on UK innovation projects and charging working groups. Before working in the UK, Victoria worked for Genesis Energy and has a background in public policy.

Buddhika Rajapakse

Manager – Energy Futures, Mercury NZ

Buddhika Rajapakse

Buddhika Rajapakse

Buddhika has over fifteen years’ experience in delivering strategic and commercial solutions in the IT, water, electricity and aviation sectors. He is currently Manager – Energy Futures at electricity generator and retailer Mercury. He is responsible for developing strategies, thought leadership, new business opportunities and partnerships for Mercury's new energy ventures portfolio encompassing e-mobility, alternative energy carriers, battery storage and distributed energy resources, among others. He has a deep technical, regulatory and analytical appreciation for the New Zealand electricity market from nearly ten years in roles covering high voltage transmission and trading analytics.

Buddhika is also a contributor to Mercury’s external engagement on regulatory policy spanning wholesale electricity market design, transmission pricing, grid investment, the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme and new technologies.

Tim Rudkin

Chief Executive, Saveawatt

Tim Rudkin

Tim Rudkin

Tim Rudkin is the CEO of Save A Watt Holdings Ltd and is responsible for the creation and implementation of Saveawatt’s digital platform development including the intelligent personal assistant power switching service and New Zealand’s first consumer lead residential electricity bulk-buying platform. Tim has a background in international finance and has been a director and investor in New Zealand based export businesses.

Andy Sibley

Chief Executive Officer, Simply Energy

Andy Sibley

Andy Sibley

Andy wears many hats as Chief Executive Officer at Simply. As well as leading, growing, guiding, and mentoring a diverse and talented bunch of people, he constantly thinks about the future in creative and imaginative ways. 

With a real passion for improving the world we live in, Andy’s the driving force behind shaping Simply to support our customers transition to a low-carbon future. When he’s not leading the team, and creating a supportive culture, he’s out and about talking with customers, looking for new partners to team up with and providing direction and vision on future technologies.

Andy came to Simply when it joined forces with Contact in 2020. During his ten years at Contact, his focus on people before process delivered significant business improvements and shifts in culture within the teams he led as Engineering Manager, General Manager Business Improvement and Support and more recently General Manager Innovations and Ventures.

Corrie Stobie

Product Delivery Manager, intelliHUB NZ/Metrix Ltd


Corrie Stobie

Corrie has over 20 years’ experience in the NZ electricity industry within varied roles. Due to her invaluable first-hand insight of several industry participants businesses and their interactions with consumers, Corrie has a strong understanding of the complexities of the industry and the need to balance this with the consumer experience, product innovation and emerging technology. Corrie is highly experienced in the process of integrating transformation from innovation, new technologies and regulatory changes back into businesses, whilst managing the impacts and the delivery to customers.

Neil Williams

General Manager Commercial – OnGas and Metering

Over the last three decades Neil has had a range of executive roles in the energy sector, and experience covering activities including the development of the NZEM, trading and risk management, generation development, independent retailing, market regulation and currently OnGas LPG/Vector Metering.  Neil has also been involved in international generation and market development in Asia, USA, Chile and Germany. 

Scott Willis

Director, Climate Navigator


Scott Willis

Scott is a Director at Climate Navigator, a purpose-driven social enterprise and consultancy working with organisations across the public and private sectors. His work in the community sector over the last 12 years has involved creating energy literacy, energy efficiency and enabling innovation in community energy. He has a special interest in the democratization of our electricity sector and distributed energy. Scott is Chairperson of the Energy Committee at Business South and is a regular contributor to the Otago Daily Times on sustainability, climate adaptation and energy issues.