Five positions on the CEC Board are available and will be voted on at the Annual General Meeting on Thursday 25 November 2021. 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 2021 AGM.
Stephanie Bashir
Principal, Nexa Advisory
It is an honour to be nominating for the CEC Board. I am a board-level executive with 20 years’ experience in the energy sector. I have been a long-time advocate for clean energy and a transition to an equitable net-zero society.
A natural connector of people and ideas, I bring an extensive network of influencers and leaders across various sectors.
If elected, I will use my experience in governance, financial planning and risk management, combined with my contemporary thought leadership to further the role of the CEC in a whole-of-economy transition towards a net-zero future where clean energy is foundational.
Craig Bearsley
Director - Energy, Australia and New Zealand, AECOM
Though his diverse experience Craig brings a balanced appreciation of the challenges facing our industry as Australia transitions to a clean energy future. Craig leads AECOM’s energy business and has 20 years’ experience working with our industry’s diverse stakeholders including investors, developers, OEMs, contractors and regulators in the planning, development, delivery and operation of renewable energy infrastructure, including solar, wind, hydropower and energy storage.
As a Fellow of Engineers Australia and member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Craig is committed to continued professional development including building on the skills needed to effectively contribute as a CEC board member.
Peter Cowling
Country Head, Vestas Australia and New Zealand
With over 20 years’ experience and responsibility for over 5 GW of renewables projects, Peter brings a wealth of industry experience as well as past experience on the board of the CEC.
Peter has been a key supporter of the Connections Reform Initiative and is keen to ensure a strong collaborative relationship with our industry’s connections stakeholders. Grid connection clarity and new grid rollout will remain the biggest challenges to our transition to renewables and are a key focus for Peter.
Peter is the Country Head of Vestas Australia and New Zealand, a lawyer by training and a graduate of the AICD.
Annette Deveson
Director of Development, RES
Annette has two decades of experience in renewables spanning the UK, Japan and Australia.
As Development Director of RES – the world’s largest independent renewable energy company - Annette leads the development of a +5 GW portfolio of wind, solar and storage.
Commercially astute, she has a track record of delivering renewable projects – bringing +1.2 GW to financial close. Annette also established RES’ growing construction and asset management business, with 1.1 GW managed for range of clients.
Her experience would bring a deep knowledge of the renewables sector to the CEC Board from the point of view of development, investment, construction and operations.
Emma Fagan
Policy and Business Development Manager, Tesla Energy
Emma Fagan has been with Tesla since December 2016 and leads Tesla’s Energy Policy and New Business Development team across Australia.
Her key focus areas to date have included energy market reform for utility and distributed battery storage. This includes market development work for utility-scale storage, behind the meter storage assets and virtual power plants.
Emma has Co-chaired/Chaired the Distributed Energy Directorate since February 2017 and is a member of the CEC Distributed Energy Leadership Forum. Emma brings a deep knowledge of utility and distributed storage issues and opportunities to the CEC Board.
Haydn Fletcher
Country Manager, Canadian Solar
Since 2001, I have held various positions within the clean energy sector, including B2C and B2B sales, marketing and product management. I am the Country Manager for Canadian Solar after joining in 2014.
Whilst I will bring extensive background and experiences within our industry, I recently completed a Global Executive MBA and have been a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) since 2018 following their Company Directors course.
Over 20 years in this industry I have seen many changes. I hope to join the CEC board to ensure the next 20 years are setup for many generations to come.
Dennis Freedman
Director & Head of Investments and Development, Octopus Australia
I am a Director and Head of Investments and Development at Octopus Australia. I currently manage over $1 billion of assets in Australia and sit on the Board of Octopus Australia, the Darlington Point Solar Farm (333 MWp) and the Dulacca Wind Farm (180 MW).
I have over 15 years' experience in the energy sector with a strong background in transmission and hold a thought leadership role in regards to policy through the lens of the investor.
It is this unique blend of both the transmission and investor challenges facing our industry that I believe will be extremely valuable to the CEC Board.
Karen Gould
Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, Palisade
Karen is committed to renewables advocacy and has had a diverse career in the industry spanning 17 years.
She has extensive governance experience and is a Non-Executive Director on five boards, including the CEC.
She is also an Executive Director of Palisade where her role includes developing, financing and managing large-scale Australian renewables projects.
Karen was previously an Associate Director with Macquarie where she invested in global renewables projects.
Prior to this, she was a renewables and climate lawyer with Baker & McKenzie, a policymaker and UN climate change negotiator with the Australian Government and an engineer with CH2M Hill.
Hannah Heath
Principal, Energy Global Co Pty Ltd
Hannah is an energy industry leader with over 18 years’ experience successfully delivering strategic, innovative, risk-optimised, operational results. Before establishing EGC’s strategy, risk and compliance consulting practice in 2021, Hannah launched Nectr in the Australian retail energy market as Chief Strategy Officer.
With nine years at Origin and diverse roles within the AEMC and NSW Treasury, Hannah has driven positive change across the wholesale, retail and emerging markets sectors. She has a unique grasp of the commercial, physical and regulatory dynamics of energy markets from the perspectives of start-ups, established participants, customers and regulators.
Hannah received the CEC’s 2020 Women in Renewables AICD Scholarship.
Ben Hutt
CEO and Managing Director, Evergen
Ben has supported hundreds of Australian entrepreneurs over the last few years and was formerly Chief Program Director and Entrepreneur in Residence at Slingshot. Prior to this, Ben co-founded and led a global startup, the Search Party Group, raising over $20 million in venture and institutional capital. He went on to list the business on the ASX in 2016 and win a Westpac Businesses of Tomorrow award in 2017.
Ben is also an experienced company director and comes from a strong business background with over 15 years’ experience in management consulting and problem solving with top-tier firms including Macquarie Group and PwC.
Stefan Jarnason
Co-Founder and CEO, Solar Analytics
Pioneer of the solar industry, vocal advocate for renewable energy and an active participant in CEC working groups and Distributed Energy Leadership Forum.
Deep knowledge of electricity industry from years of working with regulatory bodies and commercial partners.
Understands critical issues to integrate DER effectively to support and accelerate the clean energy transition.
Key strength working productively with diverse organisations to deliver industry growth and stability.
Lillian Patterson
Infrastructure Development Manager, AusNet Services
Lillian brings a unique offering to the CEC board. As the CEC’s previous market and grid policy director, she has been a strong voice for the renewable energy industry on its most significant matters and has firsthand insights into the CEC’s vision, strategy, programs and operations. She recently moved to AusNet’s commercial arm where she continues to work on the vital enablers for the energy transition – connections, transmission development and batteries.
Lillian’s earlier roles at Origin Energy, the International Energy Agency and in government further highlight her capabilities across the political, regulatory, technical, commercial and strategic spheres of the industry.
Paul Scerri
Director Sales ANZ, REC Solar
Paul has been a CEC member since 2010, serving on the Solar PV Leadership Committee, Chairing the Inverter Listing Working Group, Solar Module Listing Working Group and Risk of Modern Slavery Working Group.
Acquiring experience at REC Solar, Bosch Solar Energy, RFI Solar, Solar Inception and Solari Energy.
Paul’s successful leadership of the Module Listing Working Group has resulted in the module listing requirements and processes standing up to challenges from government and offshore interests. Effectively, protecting the interests of CEC members and industry.
“I see the 2021 election as my next opportunity to contribute further to our industry.”
James Sturch
Technical Director, SolarEdge
Renewable energy professional, a wealth of experience in distributed energy which can offer the CEC Board valuable input.
SolarEdge Technologies Technical Director, global leading PV inverter manufacturer with over 21 GW, or 1.75 million monitored installations.
Industrial Design degree, UNSW graduate in applied photovoltaics, Standards Australia committee’s member, qualified electrician, CEC installer, CEC Distributed Energy Directorate co-chair, chair of the Energy Storage and National Construction Code working groups, CEC representative for DISER committee for Cyber Security and ISC Working Group on Cyber Security of DER.
Member of the Distributed Energy Leadership Forum and founding mentor in the CEC's Women in Renewables initiative.
Jason Venning
Country Manager, FIMER Australia
Managing Director of FIMER Australia & New Zealand, a manufacturer of solar inverters and electric vehicle chargers.
Prior to this, I have worked in senior management, commercial and operational roles for other major global and Australian companies like ABB and Downer in the electricity, power generation and water infrastructure industries for nearly 30 years.
I hold a Bachelor of Engineering Degree (Curtin University) and a Master of Business Administration (La Trobe University).
If elected, I will use the opportunity to publicly champion and support the clean energy transition in Australia and provide thought leadership on how we can achieve it.
Mark Vincent
GM of Strategy and Transformation, SA Power Networks
Mark is responsible for leading SA Power Networks’ strategy to support South Australia’s transition to a decentralised, decarbonised energy system, while continuing to deliver a safe, reliable and affordable distribution service.
Mark is also a Director, and chairs the Corporate Governance Committee, of ElectricSuper and sits on the Energy Industry Roundtable, providing advice to Federal Government on energy policy.
Mark is passionate about our environment, renewable energy and the opportunity for decarbonisation to create value for our community. Mark would seek to bring new insights to effective integration of even higher levels of renewables into networks and the energy system.
