On board for electric drive
Drive Electric has announced the appointment of three new board members. They are Jenny Cresswell, of Hyundai NZ, Moonis Vegdani, of Counties Energy / OpenLoop, and Katherine Sandford, of electric-bike company UBCO.
“This group of directors has a diverse range of experience, which will add genuine value to Drive Electric and the e-mobility ecosystem,” says Kirsten Corson, pictured, incoming board chair.
“Our immediate priority as a board will be to engage the incoming government on the acceleration of e-mobility. We want to work with it to accelerate uptake in all forms of e-mobility from cars, bikes and mopeds to commercial vehicles and trucks.
“Success will depend on many factors including the way we harness the generation and distribution of renewable electricity.
“This year we had a record number of applicants for board roles, which is testament to the work Drive Electric is doing and the rapid uptake of electric vehicles.”
About new board members
Jenny Cresswell is the chief financial officer of Hyundai NZ. She is a chartered accountant and has automotive and logistics experience. Cresswell is also an experienced director in the not-for-profit sector.
Moonis Vegdani is group chief strategy and transformation officer at Counties Energy / OpenLoop. He has enterprise, scale-up and start-up experience. His career includes consulting, energy, fuels and digital services with key experience in infrastructure, utilities, renewable and new energy, and digital products.
Katherine Sandford oversees business development at UBCO. She has 30 years’ international technology executive and governance experience in corporate, early-stage companies and not-for-profits.
These three appointments have been made by the Drive Electric’s board after a recruitment process, and will be taken to the membership for confirmation at 2024’s annual general meeting.
Who else is involved?
Drive Electric’s current board includes Mark Gilbert, chair – retiring on December 30, Kirsten Corson, incoming chair, Annette Azuma, director of business advisory services at Baker Tilly Staples Rodway, and independent director Richard Dellabarca.
The other board members are Matthew Bailey, chief executive officer of Kings Plant Barn, Tim Calder, emerging markets and innovation lead at Meridian Energy, Eric Pellicer, Powerco’s general manager of business development, Dennis Kelly, FleetPartners’ director – pan-Tasman fleet, and Sam Steele, managing director of APAC, EO Charging.
At Drive Electric’s AGM in September, incumbent board members Corson, Azuma, Calder, Pellicer and Kelly were reappointed for two-year terms.
At that meeting, outgoing board members Gilbert, Dean Sheed, and Duncan Stewart were awarded lifetime membership of the group. They have joined four other lifetime members, who Ewan Morris, Rob McEwen, Soichiro Fukutake, and Hideaki Fukutake.
