OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Michelle joined WEL in 2013 and has had various managerial roles within the business including billing, pricing, revenue and regulatory. Michelle brings strong commercial and analytical skills to her role with experience in central and local government and also within the competitive business sector.

Managing the Revenue, Legal and Business Development Solutions functions, Michelle has responsibility for strategic planning and regulatory management. She has a Bachelor of Management Studies from the University of Waikato.

Hamish joined WEL’s leadership team as Chief Digital Officer in May 2024 following a successful consulting engagement to establish WEL’s Digital Strategy. He has extensive experience in leading technology teams and developing digital work programmes. Hamish’s experience spans multiple industry sectors, and he has worked for technology solutions providers as well as senior leadership roles on the customer side. His past work in the utilities sector included scaling the billing and customer care platforms for large North American customers of Peace Software, improving the resilience of the technology infrastructure behind the scenes of 2degrees Mobile and defining a new technology and systems strategy for Rockgas part of the Firstgas Group (now Clarus).

Prior to joining WEL fulltime, Hamish was working as a freelance technology consultant. He has previously held the role of Chief Technology Officer for TSB Bank and IBM New Zealand. His initial focus at WEL has been on developing the organisation’s digital strategy and he is now leading the digital transformation necessary to unlock WEL’s energy future. 

Hamish has a Bachelor of Engineering, Electrical and Electronic from the University of Auckland.

David has been with WEL since April 2019 and holds the position of Chief Financial Officer overseeing Finance, Procurement, Treasury, Insurance, Fleet Management and the Distribution Centre.

David has a background in finance, risk management, markets, advisory and supply chain across a range of industries and companies including Nestle, Transpower, Vector, Westpac and ANZ Bank.

Dan joined WEL in 2020 as a member of the commercial team, creating a platform that has allowed WEL to be an active participant in the reserve market. He subsequently expanded this successful reserve market platform, developing it into a product for commercial customers.

Now as General Manager Works Programme, Dan is leading a team focussed on enabling the delivery of WEL’s expanding network and driving customer engagement and satisfaction. He enjoys bringing people and teams together and his leadership mantra is to help people and business be more than they thought possible.

Dan holds a MBA from the University of Auckland and prior to joining WEL, spent 15 years in the oil industry working for Chevron NZ and Z Energy. He held a broad range of operational, safety oriented and commercial roles in these organisations, including the development of the Z/Caltex loyalty programme, Pumped.

Vicky joined WEL Networks in 1998 and has held a number of roles within the organisation; from leading the risk, insurance, business continuity and internal audit functions through to her current role managing the Human Resources, Organisation Development, Health and Safety and Communication units.

She is responsible for ensuring these core business functions align with and support WEL’s business strategy, culture and values. Vicky has a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Post Graduate Certificate in Management Studies from the University of Waikato.

Kerry joined WEL in 2013 after an aviation career in the RNZAF followed by the commercial airline industry.  Having developed a passion for planning and delivering maintenance and engineering requirements to satisfy the demands of a busy airline, Kerry developed the airline reliability programme and managed the fleet gas turbine engine programme.

A new direction was sought and upon completion of a Master of Business Administration at the University of Waikato, Kerry was employed by WEL in the Works Programme space responsible for customer engagement, design, planning and scheduling and ultimately the complete delivery of the Annual Works Plan. He then took on the role of General Manager Energy Services, leading a team focussed on new energy solutions including renewable generation development and WEL's subsidiary EV charger business, We.EV.

As General Manager Asset Management, Kerry now leads a team responsible for ensuring the reliability and resilience of WEL’s network through effective lifecycle asset management and proactive network development.

With over 28 years’ experience in the utility sector, working in Electricity Distribution, Transmission and Telecommunications infrastructure, George Pirie has joined WEL as General Manager of WEL Services.

Originally from Scotland, George started his career in Distribution as a Line Mechanic and moved to New Zealand with his family in 2007. Working initially for Electrix as Contracts Manager and then BBUGL, George joined WEL from infrastructure company Connect 8 Ltd, where he was part of the senior management team.

George joined the WEL team in October 2019 and oversees WEL’s Field Delivery and Business Services.

David began his career in the energy industry over a decade ago at Eastland Networks. Since joining WEL Networks, he has been involved in key areas across the business, including pricing, commercial operations, investment and strategy, energy retailing, and business development. His experience culminated in leading WEL’s revenue and regulatory function before stepping into his current role as General Manager of Energy Services.

David holds a Bachelor of Business Analysis (Finance) from the University of Waikato and is currently undertaking an MBA at the same institution. His strong commercial acumen and deep industry knowledge ideally position him to deliver WEL’s strategy as he helps shape and lead Waikato’s energy future.