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Our Board

Our board members represent most elements of NZ business and industry, offering their various expert insights and influence to facilitate positive change in the transport sector.

A PASSIONATE COLLECTIVE OF PROFESSIONAL
CHANGEMAKERS IN THE E-MOBILITY INDUSTRY

Kirsten Corson

Chair

Kirsten has a long history of working in the e-mobility space Co-Founding Zilch, Carbn Asset Management and Sustainable Fleet Finance.

Kirsten has a depth of knowledge and experience with fleets, EVs, charging infrastructure, EV finance and change management.

Kirsten has previous governance experience as Chair of Carbn Group and is current Chair of Totara Hospice. Kirsten joined the Drive Electric board in 2021 and will become Chair in January 2024.

Eric Pellicer

Deputy Chair

Eric is the General Manager of Business Development at Powerco. He actively supports Powerco’s goal to help New Zealand businesses on their decarbonisation journeys through prudent investments in private energy infrastructure and future technologies. This includes areas such as renewable generation, energy storage & transmission, hydrogen, low emission transport, and decarbonising industrial processes.

Eric is passionate about e-mobility and has led many initiatives aimed at mainstreaming electric transport in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Annette Azuma

Secretary/Treasurer

Tim Calder

Meridian Energy

Tim leads the Energy Innovation Team at Meridian Energy, with a focus on developing solutions that help homes, businesses and communities decarbonise. He has driven Meridian’s investment in the Zero network, delivering public charging stations across Aotearoa New Zealand, and aiding the development and delivery of home and business EV charging solutions.

Tim is the Board lead and member of Drive Electric’s Charge Point Operator (CPO) sub-group that has been established to focus on working with stakeholders to rectify sector issues associated with investing in charging infrastructure.

Dennis Kelly

FleetPartners

Dennis has 45 years’ experience in vehicle leasing, commercial asset financing and banking, with the last 17 years spent at FleetPartners. Dennis was Managing Director of FleetPartners NZ for 8 years, followed by 3 years as Managing Director for FleetPartners Australia, before taking on his current role as Director of the FleetPartners NZ.

Currently Dennis is responsible for new business sales and Corporate and SME Relationship Management for FleetPartners NZ, overseeing key Corporate customer relationships including those that span NZ and Australia.

Prior to his tenure with FleetPartners, Dennis has held several senior executive roles including Managing Director of Hertz Fleetlease NZ, General Manager of Capital Equipment Finance NZ, Regional Manager at Countrywide Bank and General Manager of NZI Bank. He has a passion for and is extremely well informed and positioned to contribute meaningful insights on electric fleet implementation, finance and the wider transport industry.

Sam Steele

EO Charging

Sam is Chief Commercial Officer at EO Charging. Sam has a background on large scale infrastructure projects for the resource sector across Australasia and Africa.

After moving to the UK in 2015, Sam developed his passion for e-mobility working for SSE where he led the team that delivered London’s first on-street public charging network, Source London.

More recently he has spent five years with EO Charging building the commercial arm of their business, deploying c. 10,000 chargers throughout UK, Europe, and North America.

Matthew Bailey

Kings Plant Barn

Matthew is CEO at Kings Plant Barn, Auckland’s premier plant retailer.

Matthew is a CFA Charterholder and has experience in the Retail, Automotive and Investment sectors.

Kings Plant Barn is a STILL company, and is part of STILL’s initiatives to change Aotearoa New Zealand enduringly for the better.

Richard Dellabarca

Independent Director

Richard has operated internationally as a technology entrepreneur, an investment banker, and both an executive and a director in a variety of global technology companies. He has over 13 years governance experience including for NZ Rugby Union, NZ Post and ASX-listed Harmoney, among others. He is currently Chair of Solvency II Solutions and Founder/Director of Partnerships for EV Infrastructure Partners. He was previously Chair of ChargeNet (as well as being interim CEO for his final year with them).

Katherine Sandford

Katherine Sandford

UBCO

Katherine built her executive career at Trimble Inc where she led global customer services and sales teams, and held a number of general management roles.  Since returning to Aotearoa New Zealand a decade ago, she has been engaged in supporting the early-stage technology ecosystem as an investor, advisor and director.

In addition to Drive Electric, Katherine serves on the boards of KiwiNet, Project Crimson/Trees That Count Trust and the Advisory Board of the New Zealand Brazil Business Chamber.  She is also an elected member of the Agritech New Zealand Executive Council. 

Katherine has played a key role in the growth of  New Zealand electric motorbike company, UBCO, and is passionate about the potential for electric micro-mobility deployed at scale to significantly impact emissions reductions in both rural and urban environments

Jenny Cresswell

Jenny Cresswell

Hyundai

Jenny is Chief Financial Officer at Hyundai, a Chartered Accountant and has experience across automotive and logistics. She is also an experienced director in the not-for-profit sector.

Jenny is committed to the mainstream adoption of electric mobility, and creating a cleaner transport future.

Moonis Vegdani

Moonis Vegdani

Counties Energy / OpenLoop

Moonis is Group Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Counties Energy
/ OpenLoop. He is a digital / technology and transformation executive with enterprise, scale-up and start-up experience, as well as not-for-profit experience. His career spreads across consulting, energy, fuels and digital services industries, with key experience in infrastructure, utilities, renewable energy, digital products, and new energy services.

Moonis is committed to driving towards a sustainable and customer-focused shift towards a net-zero economy.

LIFETIME MEMBERS

Hideaki Fukutake

Founder

Soichiro Fukutake

Founder

Ewan Morris

MARK GILBERT

Independent Director

Mark Gilbert retired as Managing Director of BMW Group NZ in 2012. He has nearly 30 years automotive industry experience, working in both New Zealand and Asia for international companies Volvo and the BMW Group.

Mark has previously been an Executive Member of the NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development (now the Sustainable Business Council), and President of NZ Motor Industry Association Inc.

He has been active in driving the mainstreaming and adoption of EV’s in Aotearoa New Zealand, leading Not-for-Profit Drive Electric Inc., for 11 years between 2012 to 2023. In December 2023 Mark retired from from the Drive Electric Board and became a life member.

Mark continues to work in non-executive Director and/or Chair roles. He is still interested in the continued uptake of EVs and is keeping an eye on the implementation of charging infrastructure.

Dean Sheed

European Motor Distributors

Duncan Stewart

Greenhouse Capital

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