About us / Board & Exec

Board & Executive Team

Strong Governance

Our experienced directors hail from diverse backgrounds and lead Vector on behalf of our shareholders and other stakeholders.

Jonathan Mason

MBA, MA, BA

INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CHAIR (APPOINTED 10 MAY 2013)

Jonathan Mason has extensive commercial experience. He has worked in financial management positions in the oil and gas, chemicals, forest products and dairy industries in New Zealand and the USA for International Paper, ExxonMobil Corporation, Carter Holt Harvey, Cabot Corporation and Fonterra. Jonathan also has experience as a non-executive director on boards in both New Zealand and the USA and his current directorships include Air New Zealand Limited, Westpac New Zealand Limited and Zespri Group Limited. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Management at the University of Auckland, focusing on finance.

Alastair Bell

BCom, CA, CMInstD, PMP, JP

Non-independent non-executive director (appointed on 23 September 2019)

Alastair Bell is a chartered accountant, chartered director and qualified member of the Project Management Institute. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the corporate, public and not-for profit sectors. Alastair balances his professional life between board roles and leading a consultancy specialising in business and infrastructure projects. He is an elected Trustee of Entrust, chairing the Entrust board’s Communications and Dividend Committee. Formerly, he was Deputy Chair of Foundation North and Chair of its Audit, Finance and Risk Committee. Alastair is also Chair of the Orakei Community Association and a trustee of the Motutapu Restoration Trust.

Tony Carter

BE (Hons), ME, MPhil

INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (appointed on 1 May 2019)

Tony Carter was Managing Director of Foodstuffs New Zealand Ltd for 10 years until he retired in 2010. Tony is currently Chair of Datacom Ltd, My Food Bag Group Ltd and TR Group Ltd, and a director of ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd*. He was previously Chair of Air New Zealand Ltd until 2019 and Chair of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited until August 2020. He was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2020. * Tony is retiring from the board of ANZ Bank New Zealand Limited in August.

Dame Paula Rebstock

BSc (Econ), Dip & MSc (Econ)

INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (appointed on 16 April 2019)

Dame Paula Rebstock is a leading Auckland-based economist and company director, who was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015. She is Chair of ACC*, NZ Healthcare Investments (Asia Pacific Healthcare Group)*, Kiwi Group Holdings, National Hauora Coalition, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Maia and the New Zealand Defence Force Board and a director of SeaLink Group. Dame Paula is the former Chair of the New Zealand Commerce Commission. *Dame Paula was appointed to the board of NZ Healthcare Investments in July 2021 and she retires from the board of ACC on 31 July 2021.

Bruce Turner

BE (Hons), ME, BCom

INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (appointed on 16 April 2019)

Bruce Turner is a highly experienced senior executive with deep experience across the dairy and energy sectors, both in New Zealand and internationally. Working in the energy industry for more than 30 years, Bruce was extensively involved in the development of the energy industries in New Zealand, Singapore and Europe as a member of the dispatch rules working group, the NZEM Rules Committee, the MARIA governance board and the development of industry common quality standards. He was a member of the Electricity Authority’s Security and Reliability Council and heavily involved in sector reforms. As well as the Vector board, Bruce’s governance experience includes joint venture boards for both Mercury and Fonterra. Bruce is an advisory board member at the University of Colorado’s JP Morgan Center for Commodities, and was a member of the AUT Business School Industry Advisory Board (retired by rotation).

Anne Urlwin

BCom, FCA, CFInstD, MAICD, ACIS, FNZIM

Independent non-executive director (appointed on 1 September 2021)

Anne is a professional director with experience in a diverse range of sectors including construction, health, infrastructure, telecommunications, renewable energy, regulation and financial services. Her current governance roles include directorships of Precinct Properties New Zealand, Summerset Group Holdings, Queenstown Airport Corporation and City Rail Link. Anne is a former director of Tilt Renewables, Chorus, and Meridian Energy, and a former Chair of national commercial construction group Naylor Love Enterprises and the New Zealand Blood Service. Anne is a Chartered Accountant with experience in senior finance management roles in addition to her governance roles.

Dr Paul Hutchison

MB, ChB, FRCOG, FACOG, Dip Com Health, Member of Institute of Directors

non-independent non-executive director (appointed on 8 December 2021)

Paul was elected to the AECT (now Entrust) in 2015. He is a clinician at East Tamaki Health Care, a former member of the New Zealand Medical Council as well as Director of a number of companies and a member of the Institute of Directors. Paul was the MP for Port Waikato, then Hunua from 1999 – 2014. He chaired the Health Select Committee from 2008-2014 and was awarded the NZ Medical Association’s award for outstanding contribution to health services in 2014. His other interests include science and innovation, sport, music and fishing and he enjoys spending time with his family.

Experienced Leadership
Vector’s management team are experts in their field, committed to delivering world-class infrastructure services, and attuned to the rapidly evolving demands of our customers.

Simon Mackenzie

Grad DipBS (Dist), DipFin, NZCE

GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Simon Mackenzie is passionate about the power of technology to transform the energy industry and consumers’ lives. As Group Chief Executive, he has expanded and driven Vector’s portfolio of businesses to embrace innovative technologies and strategies to deliver efficient, sustainable energy solutions to consumers. Simon was appointed Vector’s Group Chief Executive in 2008. His tertiary qualifications include engineering, finance and business studies, and the Advanced Management Programme at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Jason Hollingworth

MCom (Hons), FCA, CMInstD

Chief Financial Officer

Jason Hollingworth joined Vector as Chief Financial Officer in May 2019. He has over 30 years’ experience in a range of senior corporate finance roles including being CFO of public listed pay television company Sky TV, CFO of telecommunications company TelstraClear, Investment Manager for the diversified investment company Ngai Tahu Holdings, Executive Director at Asian private power development company AsiaPower and a director of corporate advisory firm Southpac Corporation. Jason has a Master of Commerce degree, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants ANZ and a member of the Institute of Directors.

Mark Toner

LLB (Hons), BCom

Chief Public Policy and Regulatory Officer

With over 20 years’ experience across a range of sectors including energy, telecommunications, aviation and technology, Mark Toner has consistently navigated market, regulatory and policy changes across industries in disruption. Responsible for leading the Group’s regulatory, public policy, decarbonisation and data insights functions, he combines strong stakeholder engagement and reputation management expertise with his commercial and legal background to drive Vector’s vision of creating a new energy future. Mark is a past recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Business Scholarship and in 2018 completed an Advanced Management Programme at MIT in Boston.

Brenda Talacek

LLB, MComLaw (Hons)

Chief Operating Officer, Metering and OnGas

Brenda Talacek is Vector’s Chief Operating Officer, Metering and OnGas, responsible for leading Vector Metering in New Zealand and Australia and OnGas (LPG and Natural Gas). Prior to joining Vector, Brenda held commercial and legal leadership positions at Genesis Energy, and was Senior Associate at New Zealand law firm Kensington Swan. Before joining the Group’s executive team, Brenda led Vector’s Gas Trading business and has held senior positions in our Electricity Networks division. Her leadership and commercial focus have helped to deliver strong growth, an excellent record in safety and customer satisfaction.

Sarah Williams

BA, Cert. Journalism

People and Communications Officer

Sarah leads Vector Group’s people, marketing and communications business units. Along with her teams, she is responsible for planning and delivering strategies across these three disciplines. She is a seasoned executive with 30 years’ experience in communication-related roles at an executive and board level, with broad experience in both corporate and agency environments. Sarah joined Vector from Porter Novelli, a public relations and marketing agency where she held the position of Managing Director. Her experience ranges from crisis management, stakeholder engagement, reputation management, to consumer PR, internal communications, brand management, digital and social. In 2019, Sarah was inducted into the College of Fellows of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand in recognition of her significant contribution to the industry and high levels of competence.

John Rodger

LLB, BA

Chief Legal and Assurance Officer and Company Secretary

John Rodger is Vector’s Chief Legal and Assurance Officer and Company Secretary, responsible for legal, corporate governance, business performance, internal audit, risk, compliance, privacy and government relations and health and safety. He brings a deep experience managing business performance and resilience in the context of fast-moving and rapidly changing environments. John has significant legal and commercial expertise gained from working across a range of sectors including energy, telecommunications and financial services. John joined Vector in 2006 from O2 in the UK and has held legal roles in major corporates and in professional services firms in London, the Cayman Islands and New Zealand.

Peter Ryan

chief operating officer electricity, gas and fibre

Peter Ryan is responsible for the strategic operations of the electricity, gas and fibre network businesses. He has 20 years’ international experience within the telecommunications industry, leading engineering, field and operational teams in the deployment, operations, and maintenance of mobile and fixed networks. Most recently, Peter was the Chief Network Engineering Officer – Network & Service Operations at NBNCo Australia, where he oversaw the highly successful implementation of the broadband network. He brings a wealth of experience in operations management, performance transformation as well as a proven ability working across technical, operational, and commercial strategy to optimise business objectives.

Shailesh Manga

BTech, Optoelectronics (Hons)

Chief Digital Officer

Shailesh Manga leads Vector’s digital team and is responsible for managing the company’s digital and IT functions. He is charged with harnessing the performance of both existing and emerging disruptive digital technologies to ensure Vector is able to provide reliable, relevant and innovative services, and compete in the modern customer driven energy marketplace. His experience is unique and vast, having worked both locally and globally in the fields of physics, telecommunications, user experience and innovation. In his last role, Shailesh worked with some of the world’s best known brands including Google, Microsoft, Samsung and LG, helping them deliver innovative experiences. Shailesh has been an owner/founder in a User Experience consulting business as well as a SaaS Product company (Optimal Workshop) that employs more than 60 people in Wellington and services around half of the Fortune 500 companies. He remains a Board member for Optimal Workshop and also publicly listed company Geo.