Our people and teams
EECA's senior leadership team
Mike Underhill, Chief Executive
Mike has extensive management experience in the gas and electricity sector in New Zealand and overseas. He has been Chief Executive of WEL Networks, TransAlta, and Energy Direct.
He has also had significant governance experience in this sector, and has been chairman of Pacific Energy Ltd, EECA, and Katolyst, the Waikato Regional Development agency.
He has a Bachelor's degree in engineering, a Master's degree in economics, has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard, and is a Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers.
Mike Underhill joined the EECA team as Chief Executive in May 2007.
Ian Horne, General Manager, Corporate Services Group
Ian Horne joined the EECA team in October 2006.
Ian has had substantial experience in both the private and public sectors. He initially joined the public sector to lead the state sector and public finance reforms in the New Zealand Customs Service. He moved to Public Trust in 2001 to implement a reform programme to return Public Trust to profitability. His diverse private sector experience spans from banking to the motor industry.
He has a Master of Business Administration (with Honours) from Massey University, has completed the Strategic Management Programme at Henley, and is a graduate of the Jonahsm programme.
Terry Collins, Manager Products Group
Terry has a background in policy, quality management systems, regulatory compliance, and standards development. He is responsible for relationship management with the trans-Tasman Equipment Energy Efficiency Programme and he chairs the APEC working group on energy efficiency and conservation.
Pat Murray, Manager Marketing and Communications Group
Pat has extensive experience in business management, ranging from general management roles, executive teams, running his own businesses, and directorships. His previous senior executive and management positions include business strategy, strategic marketing, business development, operations, and corporate human resource management both in New Zealand and internationally. His marketing roles have seen him operating in many countries and in numerous industries with great success in creating and sustaining market leading brands.
Fiona Weightman, Manager Capability and Performance
Fiona worked in the UK on energy issues for several years. She was Energy Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, working on renewable energy and energy efficiency. In New Zealand she worked for the Sustainable Energy Forum before joining EECA as the Renewable Energy Facilitator in 1996. In August 2003 she took up the role of Energy Supply Manager and in August 2011 she moved to the Manager Capability and Performance role. Fiona has an Honours degree in History and Political Science from Victoria University.
Robert Linterman, Manager Residential Delivery Group
Robert Linterman joined EECA in 2008 to work on the Residential programme.
Robert has extensive experience in business management and re-engineering. He previously held roles as the CEO for Norsewear (clothing manufacturer and retailer) and as CEO for The Wellington Company (a Wellington commercial property company).
Richard Norris, General Manager Business
Richard joined EECA in November 2010 following the decision of the 2009 Ministerial review of the electricity market to transfer the electricity efficiency programmes of the Electricity Commission to EECA.
Richard has 14 years of broad electricity industry experience across generation, retailing, transmission and regulation, in New Zealand and Australia. Previously his background was in merchant banking, insurance and management consulting, in New Zealand and the UK.
Kathryn-Jane (K-J) Dillon, General Manager Strategy and Evaluation Group
K-J leads EECA's Strategy and Evaluation Group which is responsible for developing EECA's strategies, economic evaluation, programme design, strategic partnerships, research and governance positions.
Prior to joining EECA, K-J held a number of executive positions at Meridian Energy providing expertise in strategy development, new ventures and business growth. K-J has driven profitable business growth across the energy, telecommunications and financial services sectors in the United States and Australasia.
EECA's external delivery teams
EECA has four delivery teams who work in partnership with stakeholders to improve energy use across all sectors of the economy.
Residential Delivery Team
A warm, dry home contributes to better health outcomes as well as lower energy bills. EECA's Residential team works to improve the way people choose to use energy in their homes. The team administers a range of financial incentives including for insulation, clean heating and solar water heating, and provides information to empower households to use energy wiser.
Products Team
Appliances take up an increasing proportion of our energy use, so it's important to make the right choices about how we choose and use them. The Products team works to improve the energy efficiency of domestic appliances, commercial and industrial equipment, motor vehicles and homes. This is achieved through a combination of measures, including mandating energy rating labels on appliances and vehicles, developing and implementing minimum energy performance standards, and promoting the voluntary ENERGY STAR endorsement label.
Business and Industrial Team
Better energy use in business results in improved productivity as well as profitability. The Business and Industrial team helps businesses large and small identify and implement opportunities for energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in their operations, through providing advice, information and financial assistance.
Electricity Efficiency Team
In October 2010, the efficiency functions that used to sit with the Electricity Commission transferred to EECA. Investment in cost-effective electricity efficiency initiatives provides a better economic return than expenditure on more expensive new electricity generation and transmission assets, thereby benefiting all consumers. This includes the development and implementation of programmes to provide incentives and information for cost effective electricity efficiency, funded by a levy on all wholesale electricity market participants.
EECA's corporate teams
EECA has six corporate teams whose focus is to provide support, advice, expertise and resources to assist and facilitate the delivery of EECA's programmes and projects.
Strategy and Reporting Team
A sound knowledge base is key to planning effective interventions. The Strategy and Reporting team helps set EECA's future direction in promoting the uptake of cost effective energy efficiency and renewable energy. The team also provides monitoring, analysis and research to support EECA's programmes and projects and plays a key role in monitoring energy efficiency developments both within New Zealand and internationally.
Marketing and Communications Team
An important part of EECA's work is providing useful and accessible information so consumers and businesses can make informed energy choices. The Marketing and Communications team promotes EECA's activities and programmes and works to raise awareness and uptake of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Finance and IT Team
The Finance and IT team is responsible for providing financial and IT processes, systems and outputs for EECA. This group provides support to managers and staff within EECA to assist them to deliver their project milestones and outcomes.
Human Resources and Corporate Services Team
EECA's Human Resources and Corporate Services team focuses on attracting and retaining talented staff, and overseeing their training and development. In addition the team ensures the delivery of quality property and facilities management and office support services.
Centralised Grants Management
The Centralised Grants Management team coordinates GEM - the EECA-wide grant enterprise management software system. GEM actively supports grant-based contract management - variation, extension and closure processes, as well as non-grant contracts. The team works with Finance to approve payments and provide a suite of reports to support the requirements of EECA delivery teams.
QA, Audit and Compliance
It's important that work carried out under EECA's programmes is to a high standard. This includes the installation of insulation, clean heating, and solar water heating. EECA's Quality Assurance, Audit and Compliance team is responsible for implementing and maintaining Quality Assurance and Auditing programmes, and by providing training to external auditors.
Chimney Replacement Programme
The Chimney Replacement Programme team has been formed to work with the Earthquake Commission to assist with processing claims from the Canterbury Earthquake. Under this programme, homeowners can elect to have their damaged chimneys replaced with clean, efficient heating options. The Chimney Replacement Programme team is based in Wellington and Christchurch.
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