About us / Board & Exec

Board & Executive Team

Strong Governance

Our experienced directors hail from diverse backgrounds and lead Vector on behalf of our shareholders and other stakeholders.

Doug McKay

ONZM, BA, AMP (Harvard) CFInstD

independent non-executive director and chair (appointed on 29 September 2022)

Doug McKay has over 35 years’ commercial and operational experience and a deep understanding of New Zealand and Australian markets having held managing director and chief executive positions with Lion Nathan, Carter Holt Harvey, Goodman Fielder, Sealord, Independent Liquor and Proctor & Gamble. He was the inaugural chief executive of the amalgamated Auckland Council from May 2010 to December 2013 and a former director of Fletcher Building Limited, Genesis Energy Limited and Ryman Healthcare Limited. He retired as chair of Bank of New Zealand on 31 May 2024 and as Trustee (chair) of the Eden Park Trust Board on 30 June 2023. In 2015, Doug was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and local government. He currently holds directorships with IAG New Zealand and National Australia Bank Limited.

Alastair Bell

BCom, CA, CMInstD, PMP, JP

Non-independent non-executive director (appointed on 23 September 2019)

Alastair Bell is a chartered accountant, chartered director and qualified member of the Project Management Institute. He has more than 30 years’ experience in the corporate, public and not-for-profit sectors. Alastair balances his professional life between board roles and leading a consultancy specialising in business and infrastructure projects. He is an elected Trustee of Entrust, chairing the Entrust board’s Regulation and Policy Committee. Alastair chairs the Ōrākei Community Association. Formerly, he was deputy chair of Foundation North and a trustee of the Motutapu Restoration Trust.

Dr Paul Hutchison

MB, ChB, FRCOG, FACOG, Dip Com Health, Member of Institute of Directors

non-independent non-executive director (appointed on 8 December 2021)

Dr Paul Hutchison was elected to the AECT (now Entrust) in 2015. He is a clinician at Local Doctors (formerly East Tamaki Healthcare,) a former member of the New Zealand Medical Council as well as director of a number of companies and a member of the Institute of Directors. Paul was the MP for Port Waikato, then Hūnua from 1999 to 2014. He chaired the Health Select Committee from 2008 to 2014 and was awarded the NZ Medical Association’s award for outstanding contribution to health services in 2014. Paul was appointed as Honorary Consul Papua New Guinea in 2022. His other interests include science and innovation, sport, music and fishing and he enjoys spending time with his family.

Dame Paula Rebstock

BSc (Econ), Dip & MSc (Econ)

INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (appointed on 16 April 2019)

Dame Paula Rebstock is a leading Auckland-based economist and company director, who was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2015. She is chair of NZ Healthcare Investments (Awanui), National Hauora Coalition, and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Maia, and Deputy Chair of AIA and the NZX, and a director of Bluecurrent Group, SeaLink Group and Auckland One Rail. Dame Paula is the former chair of the New Zealand Commerce Commission.

Bruce Turner

BE (Hons), ME, BCom

INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (appointed on 16 April 2019)

Bruce Turner is a highly experienced senior executive with deep experience across the dairy and energy sectors, both in New Zealand and internationally. Working in the energy industry for more than 30 years, he was extensively involved in the development of the energy industries in New Zealand, Singapore and Europe. Bruce was a member of the New Zealand Electricity Market (NZEM) despatch rules working group, the NZEM Rules Committee, the MARIA governance board and the Electricity Authority’s Security and Reliability Council. This deep understanding of the sector is invaluable as Vector, and the energy industry, navigates the challenges of climate change and increasing demand for clean electricity supply. As well as the Vector board, his governance experience includes joint venture boards for both Mercury and Fonterra. Bruce is a director of GlobalDairyTrade Holdings Limited and an advisory board member at the University of Colorado’s JP Morgan Center for Commodities.

Anne Urlwin

BCom, FCA, CFInstD, MAICD, ACIS, FNZIM

Independent non-executive director (appointed on 1 September 2021)

Anne Urlwin is a professional director with experience in a diverse range of sectors including construction, property development, health, infrastructure, telecommunications, renewable energy, regulation and financial services. Her current governance roles include chairmanship of Precinct Properties New Zealand, and directorships of Infratil, Ventia Services Group and City Rail Link. Anne is a former director of Summerset Group Holding, Queenstown Airport Corporation, Tilt Renewables, Chorus, and Meridian Energy, and a former chair of national commercial construction group Naylor Love Enterprises and the New Zealand Blood Service. She is a chartered accountant with experience in senior finance management roles. Anne was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2022 for services to business.

Experienced Leadership
Vector’s management team are experts in their field, committed to delivering world-class infrastructure services, and attuned to the rapidly evolving demands of our customers.

Simon Mackenzie

Grad DipBS (Dist), DipFin, NZCE

GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Simon Mackenzie is passionate about the power of technology to transform the energy industry and consumers’ lives. As group chief executive, he has expanded and driven Vector’s portfolio of businesses to embrace innovative technologies and strategies to deliver efficient, sustainable energy solutions to consumers. Simon was appointed Vector’s group chief executive in 2008. His tertiary qualifications include engineering, finance and business studies, and the Advanced Management Programme at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Jason Hollingworth

MCom (Hons), FCA, CMInstD

Chief Financial Officer

Jason Hollingworth joined Vector as chief financial officer in May 2019. He has over 30 years’ experience in a range of senior corporate finance roles including being CFO of public listed pay television company Sky TV, CFO of telecommunications company TelstraClear, investment manager for the diversified investment company Ngāi Tahu Holdings, executive director at Asian private power development company AsiaPower and a director of corporate advisory firm Southpac Corporation. Jason has a Master of Commerce degree, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants ANZ and a member of the Institute of Directors.

Shailesh Manga

BTech, Optoelectronics (Hons)

Chief Operating Officer, Vector Technology Solutions

Shailesh Manga leads Vector Technology Solutions (VTS) and is responsible for driving its growth. Specifically, he is charged with building relationships with key global partners to co-develop digital platforms critical to a new energy future. Shailesh has a strong focus on local and global customer opportunities to increase revenue and deliver key aspects of our business strategy. His experience is unique and vast, having worked both locally and globally in the fields of physics, telecommunications, user experience and innovation. In his last role, Shailesh delivered innovative experiences for some of the world’s largest brands including Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and LG. He has been an owner/founder in a user experience consulting business as well as an SaaS Product company (Optimal Workshop) that services around half of the Fortune 500 companies.

John Rodger

LLB, BA

Chief Legal and Assurance Officer and Company Secretary

John Rodger is Vector’s chief legal and assurance officer and company secretary. He is responsible for Vector’s legal, corporate governance, health and safety, business performance, internal audit, risk, compliance, privacy, government relations, and property functions. John joined Vector in 2006 and has extensive experience of Vector’s businesses and operations. He has worked across a range of sectors including energy, telecommunications and financial services and previously held legal roles in major corporates and professional services firms in London, the Cayman Islands and New Zealand.

Peter Ryan

chief operating officer electricity, gas and fibre

Peter Ryan is responsible for the strategic operations of Vector’s electricity, gas and fibre network businesses and the digital operations. He has 20 years’ international experience within the telecommunications and energy industries, leading engineering, field and operational teams, and customer operations in the deployment, operations and maintenance of telecommunications, electricity and gas networks. Most recently, Peter was the chief network officer at NBNCo Australia, where he oversaw the highly successful implementation and operation of the broadband network. He brings a wealth of experience in operations management, performance transformation as well as a proven ability working across technical, operational and commercial strategy to optimise business objectives.

Mark Toner

LLB (Hons), BCom

Chief Public Policy and Regulatory Officer

With over 25 years’ experience across a range of sectors including energy, telecommunications, aviation and technology, Mark Toner has consistently navigated market, regulatory and policy changes across industries in disruption. Responsible for leading the group’s regulatory, public policy, decarbonisation and data insights and analytics functions, he combines strong stakeholder engagement and reputation management expertise with his commercial and legal background to drive Vector’s vision of creating a new energy future. Mark is a past recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Business Scholarship and in 2018 completed an Advanced Management Programme at MIT in Boston.

Sarah Williams

BA, Cert. Journalism

Chief People and Communications Officer

Sarah Williams leads Vector Group’s people, marketing and communications business units. Along with her teams, she is responsible for planning and delivering strategies across these three disciplines. Sarah is a senior leader with 30 years’ experience, and has had a range of leadership roles at an executive and board level spanning public relations and human resources remits. She joined Vector from Porter Novelli, a public relations and marketing agency, where she held the position of Managing Director. Her experience encompasses crisis management, reputation and stakeholder engagement, workforce planning, wellbeing and people development. In 2019, Sarah was inducted into the College of Fellows of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand in recognition of her significant contribution to the industry and high levels of competence.