Women of Meridian - Penny Land

After a career in finance that took her to some of the world’s greatest and most exciting cities, it turned out to be home where Penny Land’s heart was. 

Born and raised on a farm near Ashburton, Meridian’s Head of Projects in the Electricity Supply team took a while to expand her horizons. Her childhood travels consisted of a single trip to the North Island, followed by a couple of roadies south to Dunedin and Wanaka during her studies at the University of Canterbury. 

“I graduated, looked around and I was not sure what I wanted to do,” Penny recalls.

“I was 21, I’d lived all my life in Canterbury.”

Many Cantabrians will tell you that’s no bad thing but, like so many Kiwis, young Penny felt there was more out there to see and do. 

So, she jumped on a plane bound for Sydney for “a little bit of an adventure”.

“I was pretty hard-working, always interested in talking to other people and finding out what they do. From there, the opportunities presented themselves.”

Her first steps onto the career ladder were in finance, first in Sydney, then London, back to Sydney and then postings to the Asian financial hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong.

For Penny, it was a series of adventures. A leap of faith after leap of faith. And, as scary as those leaps may have been, she has fond memories of people, cultures, places and work experiences across multiple countries.

Along the way she picked up an Aussie husband (in London) and gave birth to a daughter (in Singapore), but when the time neared for their daughter to start school, it was time to come home to New Zealand.

The couple chose Canterbury. And, while a rude shock was just around the corner in the form of the Christchurch earthquakes, they settled well. Penny put her corporate career on the backburner, taking part time roles that allowed the flexibility she desired as a working mother while still being able to call on the experience and expertise she had picked up.

“It was really important to me to be at the school gate a couple of times a week to pick my daughter up and spend time with her in those early years.”  

Those part-time roles included a stint with Meridian, a company she found to be especially family-orientated.

After another spell in the finance sector, Penny returned to Meridian full time in 2013.

“The thing I’ve really enjoyed about moving into a new industry is meeting a whole bunch of great new people and learning what they do,” she says.

“Each day is different. There are lots of opportunities to learn and develop, and I get to collaborate with a talented, dedicated and supportive group of people.”

In 2016, after a long stint in project management and leading operational teams in Meridian’s Retail business, Penny made yet another change - returning to the University of Canterbury part time to complete her Master of Business Administration.

“I’m so pleased that I did my MBA. I gained a lot of new knowledge and skills, interacted with a bunch of people who came from diverse and interesting backgrounds and industries, and was able to practically apply learnings in my work and home environments.”

It was that world of experience and transferrable skills that enabled her to take on a secondment in Meridian’s Wholesale business, before landing her current role in the Generation team.

She says that it’s been a steep learning curve, made much easier thanks to having a supportive team that have been exceptionally generous with their knowledge and experience.

“I’ve been to many of our hydro and wind sites around New Zealand and have loved seeing these incredible assets in some iconic parts of NZ. Meeting the people who work on them and seeing the work they do to keep them running for future generations is very inspiring.”

“It’s been over 12 months now, and I’m absolutely loving it - I’ve got my feet under the table, I’ve learnt lots, am continuing to learn and I’ve got an amazing team around me who are doing meaningful work.”