Lodestone Energy is proudly 100% New Zealand owned and operated.
The company has an expert team with a long history in the electricity market, including developing generation projects in New Zealand, Canada, the United States and Australia, as well as managing integrated generation, transmission, distribution and retail operations.
Lodestone Energy is also supported by firms providing expert advice in consenting, planning, legal, farming, property and electrical expertise.
Gary Holden
Chief Executive Officer
Gary is a thoroughly experienced energy sector executive, holding roles across New Zealand and Canada for more than three decades. He is formally trained in mechanical engineering and economics, and has extensive energy experience spanning mass market retail, generation, renewable energy and infrastructure.
Gary’s most recent role prior to Lodestone was CEO of the Pulse Energy Alliance LP, a privately held energy retailing company operating throughout New Zealand. Pulse sells retail electricity, gas, broadband and petrol to small commercial and residential customers throughout NZ.
At a governance level in New Zealand, Gary is a former Board Member of the Wellington Power Company, Capital Power and Lower Hutt Energy Company, Energy Direct. He was also the founding chair of the Taranaki Combined Cycle Power Company.
Chris Jewell
Chief Financial Officer
Chris has had a long and distinguished career in energy and is considered one of the prime movers in the New Zealand electricity market. He brings significant senior leadership experience in the energy sector across markets, infrastructure investment and asset operations.
Chris sat on the Electricity Authority governance board and has previously worked in the telecommunications and infrastructure sectors in the United Kingdom.
Chris comes to Lodestone Energy from Genesis Energy as Chief Financial Officer and was at Mercury prior to that. He is currently Co-Chair of Low Carbon Aotearoa – a 2050 Energy Strategy.
Tony Nagel
General Counsel
Tony has vast experience in the electricity industry and has worked closely with company boards for more than 20 years. Prior to joining Lodestone, Tony spent 16 years at listed electricity company Mercury and its predecessor Mighty River Power.
From 2014 to 2021 Tony was a member of Mercury’s executive team as GM Corporate Affairs, with responsibilities including government relations, external communications, legal and company secretarial.
Tony was also integrally involved in that company’s IPO in 2013, and in 2016 he led the company’s rebranding from Mighty River Power and Mercury Energy to one overarching brand, Mercury.
Daniel Cunningham
General Manager, Development
Daniel is a dedicated energy sector professional with broad experience across retail and generation segments of deregulated electricity markets. Most recently, Daniel was Business Development Manager for Greengate Power, one of Canada’s leading independent wind, solar and battery storage developers.
At Greengate, Daniel was responsible for managing the commercial execution of the development portfolio from idea through to financial close. During his time at Greengate, Daniel was instrumental in financing Canada’s largest solar farm at ~750 MW, on a merchant basis with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
He has come to Lodestone with a strong background in utility-scale renewable development. As General Manager, Development, Daniel is leading the prospecting, acquisition, and commercialisation of Lodestone’s energy portfolio of renewable and energy storage projects across New Zealand.
Jake Ighile
General Manager, Construction
Jake is an experienced project professional with a history of delivering flagship upstream, downstream and midstream projects. Jake spent the last two years leading the EPC contracting team seconded from Shell to Silicon Ranch (formerly the Shell US Solar platform).
Before leading the EPC contracting team, Jake spent eight years as part of the Shell Major Projects delivery team working on Deepwater, Midstream and Chemicals projects across the United States and Brazil.
He also served in the United States Marine Corps for eight years in various leadership positions.
Peter Apperly
General Manager, Engineering
Peter’s successful career in the energy sector spans more than twenty years. Peter has worked in senior management, commercial and technical roles for some of Aotearoa’s leading renewable energy companies. In addition to this Peter has worked in both small and large engineering consultancies.
Prior to Lodestone Energy, Peter led a team of engineers to develop a portfolio of solar farms in New Zealand and internationally.
Peter also provided project guidance and led a team of experts to support a large portfolio of wind farm and hydro development projects in Aotearoa, Antarctica and Australia.
He has also provided strategic consulting on emerging technologies, asset management advisory to electricity distribution businesses (EDBs), and due diligence of potential business and asset acquisitions.
Jack Matthews
Chair
Jack is a seasoned director with many years of participating and leading company boards. He has been a leader in Australia and New Zealand business for more than 30 years.
Jack is currently a Director at Chorus New Zealand Limited, Plexure and the New Zealand Golf Network Ltd.
Jack’s previous board roles include Chair of Mediaworks NZ, Director of Network for Learning, Director of Crown Fibre Holdings, Director of APN Outdoor and Director of Trilogy Natural Products.
As a Chief Executive, Jack led Fairfax Digital then Fairfax Metro Media in Australia and Jupiter TV in Japan. Jack was the key person in the early days of New Zealand cable television at Saturn Communications in 1995.
Susan Paterson
Director
Susan has a long history in the electricity market. She began with the Wholesale Electricity Market Development Group (WEMDG) in the mid-1990s, followed by more than eight years as a member of the Board of Transpower and, most recently, as a director of the Electricity Authority’s Board since its inception in 2010.
Susan has had a direct interest in environmental matters for decades. She was a Board member of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) from 1996-2000 and Chaired the NZ Eco-Labelling Trust for many years.
Susan has been a professional director since 1996 including listed, SOE, NFP and private companies. She is currently a Director of the Reserve Bank, Chair of NZ Steel and Tube, Chair of Theta Systems, Director of Arvida Ltd, Director of Les Mills and Director of EROAD.
Guy Haddleton
Director
Guy is co-founder, former Chief Executive and Chairman of Adaytum and co-founder and Chief Executive 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 board member.
Sam Morgan
Director
Sam started his career at Deloitte Consulting. In 1999, Sam founded Trade Me, which was sold to Fairfax Media Australia in 2006. Sam was an early investor in Xero and on the board for 10 years. Sam was a director of Vend for 6 years through to its sale in 2021.
Sam has been a director of several NZX and ASX listed companies including Fairfax Media, Xero and Trade Me.
Sam is an active investor and the principal of Jasmine Social Investments. He lives in Nelson.
Joanna Perry
Director
Joanna is Chair of the Financial Reporting Standards Board and Oyster Property Group, and is currently Director of Helius Therapeutics, Nyriad, and Partners Life. She has held Director roles with Sport New Zealand, Kiwi Property, Trade Me, and Genesis.
She has a long-standing career as a chartered accountant and leads audit and risk committees in many director roles.