Our People

Motivated to provide clean energy for New Zealand

A shared belief in the benefits of Lodestone Energy delivering renewable power

Lodestone is 98% New Zealand owned and operated, backed by some of Aotearoa’s most prominent investors. Our Board are exceptionally experienced business executives who bring a wealth of knowledge to our brand. 

Lodestone’s team are electricity market experts who have developed renewable energy projects in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States.

Our kaupapa is to be dedicated partners and collaborators with community and stakeholder groups to deliver solar projects that both power the way Kiwis live and empower the regions we operate in.

And above all, we’re united in a shared passion for renewable energy and a clean, beautiful New Zealand.

Our Board

Jack Matthews

Chair

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Jack is a seasoned company director with more the three decades leading businesses in New Zealand and Australia, primarily in media and telecommunications. He is currently a director at Chorus and was previously chair of Mediaworks NZ, as well as a director at Plexure, Network for Learning, Crown Fibre Holdings, APN Outdoor, and Trilogy Natural Products.

Gary Holden

Managing Director

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Gary is highly experienced when it comes to the energy sector. He’s the driving force behind Lodestone’s vision to bring solar to the mainstream energy market. He’s worked for more than three decades across Aotearoa and Canada’s energy industries in infrastructure, generation, retail, and distribution.

Prior to Lodestone, Gary was the CEO of Pulse Energy, a nationwide energy retailer. He was previously chief executive of the Wellington Power Company, Enmax, and TransAlta New Zealand, where he developed the Taranaki Combined Cycle and Otahuhu power plants.

Guy Haddleton

Director

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Guy is co-founder, former CEO and chairman of Adaytum, and co-founder and CEO of Anaplan. He led Adaytum to a $160 million acquisition and Anaplan to a $3 billion IPO listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Guy is also a lead investor and director for medicinal cannabis company, Helius Therapeutics, and technology start-up Nyriad, as well as an early Xero investor and former board member.

Joanna Perry

Director

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Joanna chairs Lodestone’s Audit and Risk Committee. Her other current directorships include Oyster Property Group (chair) and Helius Therapeutics. Previous directorships include Genesis Energy, Partners Life, Trade Me, Kiwi Property and Sport New Zealand. Joanna has had a long standing career as a chartered accountant including as a partner at KPMG, in various roles at the International Financial Reporting Foundation and as a member of the Securities Commission.

Sam Morgan

Director

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Sam is well-known as the founder of Trade Me, which he launched in 1999 and sold to Fairfax Media Australia in 2006. He was an early Xero investor and was a board member for a decade as well as a director of Vend for 6 years until its sale in 2021.

Susan Paterson

Director

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Susan has a longstanding energy sector career. Prior to joining Lodestone, she was a director for the Electricity Authority since its inception in 2010 and is currently chair of Steel and Tube and E-Road as well as a director of the Reserve Bank, Les Mills and Arvida. She was previously a member of the Wholesale Electricity Market Development Group in the mid-90s. Susan is also a previous board member of Transpower, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and chair of the NZ Eco-Labelling Trust.

Will Thomson

Director

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Will is Director of Principal Investments at investment firm Jarden. He is experienced in direct private capital investments and partnering with global investors and has a longstanding career in the private equity sector. He was previously a non-executive director for Australia’s largest private rail freight business, Pacific National.

Our Team

Gary Holden

Managing Director

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Gary is highly experienced when it comes to the energy sector. He’s the driving force behind Lodestone’s vision to bring solar to the mainstream energy market. He’s worked for more than three decades across Aotearoa and Canada’s energy industries in infrastructure, generation, retail, and distribution.

Prior to Lodestone, Gary was the CEO of Pulse Energy, a nationwide energy retailer. He was previously chief executive of the Wellington Power Company, Enmax, and TransAlta New Zealand, where he developed the Taranaki Combined Cycle and Otahuhu power plants.

Chris Jewell

Chief Financial Officer

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Chris is a key player in Aotearoa’s energy industry. With experience at both Genesis Energy and Mercury, he brings a unique leadership perspective and in-depth, tangible knowledge across energy sector markets, infrastructure investment, and asset operations. Chris is also currently co-chair of Low Carbon Aotearoa – a 2050 Energy Strategy.

Richard Pearce

Chief Operating Officer

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Richard has an extensive background in delivering impact across a range of functional areas, including engineering, asset management, and construction leadership, through to strategic planning and corporate affairs. Having worked for the likes of Genesis Energy, Northpower and Vector, he has a deep understanding of the energy and electricity sectors, and a passion for building strategic relationships and driving success.

Daniel Cunningham

General Manager, Development

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Hailing from Canada, Daniel’s background is with that country’s leading independent wind, solar, and battery storage provider, Greengate Power. There he led commercial development and financing of a 750MW solar farm, Canada’s largest. Now based in Aotearoa, Daniel brings his broad experience in prospecting, acquisition, and commercialisation to Lodestone’s executive team.

Sarah McHardy

General Manager, Customer

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Sarah brings both the functional breadth and industry knowledge to be the Customer champion at Lodestone. Her drive for customer centricity has been gained over her more than 20 years in the energy industry. During her time at Genesis and Vector Metering she developed core strengths in business development, relationship management, marketing and commercial strategy.

Peter Apperley

General Manager, Engineering

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Peter’s previous experience developing a portfolio of renewable projects including solar in Aotearoa and the Pacific makes him a great addition to Lodestone’s team. He has worked in senior management as well as technical development and engineering. Peter has vast knowledge of the energy sector and has provided strategic consulting on emerging technologies and asset management to New Zealand electricity distribution businesses (EDBs).

Viv Palmer

General Manager, Human Resources

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Viv has an extensive background in leading and supporting businesses with their people development and strategies. Her experience gained through senior leadership roles within Fletcher Construction, and establishing and running an HR consulting business makes Viv a vital part of the Lodestone team. People are the key to success and Viv enjoys working alongside the leadership team to develop and build great teams and an exceptional workplace that people want to join.

Brendan McNamara

General Manager Legal

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Brendan is a seasoned legal professional with broad expertise gained during his time in private practice and as an in-house advisor in the NZ energy sector. His strategic approach ensures that legal frameworks are integrated with Lodestone’s commercial objectives, fostering business growth while adeptly managing risks. Having joined Lodestone in 2022, Brendan became a part of the Executive Team as the GM Legal in April 2024, where his insights contribute to guiding the company’s direction.

Investing in the future

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