Five positions on the CEC Board are available and will be voted on at the Annual General Meeting on Thursday 28 November. All of the nominees for the CEC Board have extensive experience in the renewable energy industry and executive leadership positions. Read on to find out more about this year's nominees.
All current members of the Clean Energy Council are eligible to vote in the Board election. Visit the members' area of the CEC website for voting details and more information about the 2019 AGM.
Darryl Flukes
Chairman, ESCO Pacific
20 years' experience across the energy supply chain with a strong focus on renewable energy and wholesale markets.
Executive roles at Southern Hydro and as Chief Executive of lnfratil Energy Australia (Lumo Energy).
Currently Chair of solar developer ESCO Pacific. Previous board experience with Perth Energy, Meridian Energy Australia (Powershop), Energy Retailers Association of Australia and Australian Financial Markets Association.
Darryl has been a strong advocate for renewable energy since his time at Southern Hydro, and has continued this advocacy as an active Board member of the CEC for the past two years and a member of the Finance & Risk Committee.
Elizabeth Molyneux
General Manager, Energy Market Regulation, AGL
Liz has 20 years in the energy sector, managing retail, wholesale, network, pricing and non-pricing consumer protection regulation, wholesale risk management experience and major project acquisition and integration. This has included AGL’s experience in large-scale renewable and distributed energy investments and customers markets product and service offerings.
In addition to energy experience, Liz has obtained a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics and Physics), Graduate Diplomas in Applied Economics (Econometrics) and Finance and Investments and has completed the company directors course through the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Liz is well placed to inform the Board on a wide range of topics including competition and efficiency, customer experience/insights, pricing, marketing and billing matters.
Jack Hooper
CEO, GEM Energy
Jack Hooper is the founder and CEO of GEM Energy, a national installer with offices in Brisbane and Darwin.
Jack started GEM Energy in Emerald, Queensland in 2013 as a one-man operation. Today, GEM employs 60 staff with revenues of $40 million per annum.
Under Jack’s leadership, GEM Energy has expanded in the residential sector and grown in skill and capacity to regularly undertake installations of over 1.5 MW.
GEM Energy were one of the first CEC Approved Solar Retailers and has been recognised with three CEC Solar Design and Installation Awards.
Recognised by peers and government ministers, he asks now to serve our industry.
Jamie McDyre
General Manager, Flow Power
Jamie McDyre joined Flow Power in 2019 as General Manager. He has more than 17 years’ experience executive level in multinational engineering companies such as Siemens and Westinghouse. Jamie has led growing business units across Asia Pacific and has been involved in some of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects. Jamie holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and MBA. He was previously on the Australian Rail Manufacturing Association board.
Jamie brings a combination of technical knowledge, strategic thinking and leadership to the evolving energy sector. His background is already translating into action with Molycop, City of Sydney and City of Newcastle joining the corporate PPA market.
Karen Gould
Investment Director, Palisade
Karen is an Investment Director with Palisade, where she is responsible for renewable energy asset acquisition, development and management.
She has extensive governance experience and is a non-executive director on nine boards, including the Ross River Solar Farm and the Granville Harbour Wind Farm.
Prior to joining Palisade, Karen was a Senior Vice President with Macquarie Bank, where she focused on principal investments in renewable energy projects.
Prior to this, Karen was a renewables and climate change lawyer with Baker & McKenzie, a senior policymaker and UN climate change negotiator with the Australian Government, and an engineer with CH2M Hill.
Katherine McConnell
CEO and Founder, Brighte
Katherine McConnell is the CEO and Founder of Brighte, a leading provider of energy finance. In just three years, Brighte has approved over $340 million for 40,000+ Australians.
Before Brighte, Katherine worked in investment banking and financial services for 20 years, including 14 years at Macquarie Bank as founding member of its Energy Leasing business.
Katherine also worked as an Economist in the Department of Finance and as a Policy Analyst in Federal Treasury.
Katherine is a recognised leader in the Australian start-up community, winning multiple awards, including Fintech Leader of the Year and was featured in the 2019 Deloitte Fast 50 winner’s circle.
Lachlan Creswell
Executive Director, Macquarie Capital
Lachlan is an Executive Director at Macquarie Capital and is responsible for leading Macquarie Capital’s renewable energy team in Australia. Lachlan has worked with Macquarie for 18 years, including previous postings in New York, Mexico City and London.
Lachlan has worked extensively in development, acquisition and financing of renewable energy projects over the last 12 years, and led the development and financing of more than 700 MW of renewable generation in Australia during 2018. Lachlan is passionate about actively participating in the renewable energy transition in Australia.
Lachlan holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and a Bachelor of Laws from UNSW.
Maria Cahir
Senior Manager Sales & Business Development, Tesla
Maria has over a decade of experience in the Australian renewable energy industry, in the origination and development of pioneering large-scale solar and energy storage projects.
Maria leads Tesla’s energy storage Sales and Business Development activities across Asia Pacific and brings a wealth of experience managing various government and industry stakeholders.
Throughout her career, Maria has proven to be a passionate advocate for accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
Maria is currently a Director of the CEC and prior to Tesla, held senior utility-scale business development roles at both BP Solar and Trina Solar.
Matthew Rebbeck
CEO, RES Australia Pty Ltd
Matt has worked in renewable energy for over 20 years both internationally and locally. He has led the growth of the Australian business including the delivery of over 650 MW of wind and solar projects and a 500 MW operations portfolio.
The global RES Group is the world's largest independent renewable energy company with a 16 GW portfolio and expertise to develop, engineer, construct, finance and operate wind, solar, energy storage and transmission projects.
On the CEC board since 2017, Matt has a BSc in Mathematics from Bath University and an MSc in Renewable Energy Systems Technology from Loughborough University.
Neil Gibbs
Founder & Principal, Marchment Hill Consulting
Chair of the Clean Energy Council’s Distributed Energy Leadership Forum (DELF).
He was until recently the Founding Chairman of GreenSync.
Neil has been a company director for over 20 years, and has chaired significant private businesses. He has deep governance, corporate and strategy experience.
Following an extensive career in global energy markets, Neil now actively supports the decarbonisation of the electricity system, specialising in the evolution of technology, business models, regulations and markets at the 'grid edge' – harnessing the value of innovation and customer engagement to deliver secure, reliable, affordable and low-emissions energy services.
Rachel Watson
CEO, Pacific Hydro Pty Ltd
Rachel Watson is the CEO at Pacific Hydro Australia, one of Australia’s leading renewable energy companies. Rachel is the Chair of the CEC and has served on the Board since November 2014.
Rachel joined Pacific Hydro in 2006 as a Corporate Lawyer, and also held roles as Executive Manager Finance and Legal, and General Manager Australia.
Rachel has extensive experience in transactions surrounding the development and operation of energy projects. Before joining Pacific Hydro, Rachel worked for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan negotiating power system supply contracts.
Rachel is a Graduate of the AICD and has an MBA.
Renate Egan
Co-founder, Director, Solar Analytics
An experienced board member (GAICD), Renate's 25-year career in the renewable energy industry includes board and executive management roles.
With broad experience in Australia, Germany and China, in private companies, NFPs, national and international agencies, Renate has led mergers, acquisitions, wind-ups and capital raisings.
Richard Martin
Managing Director, AEES Group Pty Ltd
Richard is a senior executive with extensive corporate and international trade experience in Australia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.
Since 2014, his leadership in the energy industry has been aimed at 'generating change' through deploying renewable energy technologies to commercial businesses. The company’s projects include behind-the-meter solutions of up to 4 MW of PV with large-scale energy storage deploying solutions for demand response, microgrids and related energy efficiency solutions for commercial and industrial electricity users.
Richard is also a graduate of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training with Al Gore in Florida, USA.
