Management team

Neal Barclay was appointed as Chief Executive in January 2018.

Neal joined Meridian in 2008 as their Chief Financial Officer. He then moved into the position of General Manager Markets and Production where he was responsible for generation asset management and wholesale trading. Neal held this position until April 2016 when he was appointed General Manager Retail, responsible for Meridian and Powershop New Zealand’s customer sales, service and operations.

Before joining Meridian, Neal held a number of general manager and finance roles during a 13-year career with Telecom New Zealand Limited. Neal has an accounting background and is a qualified chartered accountant.

Mike Roan was appointed Chief Financial Officer in April 2019. Mike and his team are responsible for finance, strategy and IT functions at Meridian Energy. Before this appointment, Mike was General Manager of Wholesale, responsible for all wholesale market activities. He holds a Masters in Finance.

Mike originally joined Meridian in 2006 as a Strategy Analyst before moving into the wholesale side of the business in 2009 as Wholesale Markets Manager. Before joining Meridian, Mike was domiciled in the United States where he worked in a number of energy trading roles. He is a kiwi who, prior to the US, spent time working within the New Zealand electricity sector and banking.

Guy Waipara (Rongowhakaata) was appointed to General Manager of Generation and Natural Resources in November 2017. Prior to this he was General Manager of Markets and Production from April 2016, and held the role of General Manager of External Relations from August 2010. Guy has held roles at Meridian in offshore business development and setting company strategy. He has over 25 years' experience in the electricity sector and previously worked at Transpower New Zealand Limited in roles responsible for transmission planning and network development.

Guy is responsible for generation asset management and operations in New Zealand and Australia. In New Zealand this generation asset portfolio includes seven hydro power stations and five wind farms that deliver around 30% of New Zealand’s electricity generation. In Australia, Meridian owns and operates two wind farms and three hydro stations. Guy's role also involves managing existing and future renewable projects.

Tania joined Meridian in June 2019 as Chief People Officer. She has strong experience in the electricity sector after spending six years as a member of Contact Energy’s Leadership Team – two years in the role of Chief People Officer and four years as General Manager Health, Safety & Environment.

As well as previously holding a number of senior Human Resources positions at Contact, Tania has a breadth of experience to share from running her own consulting business, leading people-related projects in the energy, science and research, manufacturing, retail, arts, financial services, non-profit and government sectors. Tania is a graduate of Victoria University and started her career in the NZ Air Force before moving into the private sector.

Nic Kennedy was appointed Chief Executive of Flux Federation in June 2019.

Flux is a subsidiary of Meridian Energy. They imagine, design and build software, brands and experiences for utility companies and their customers all around the world. Before her appointment, Nic held the position of Chair of the Flux Board.

Prior to Flux, Nic was the Chief Innovation & Ventures Officer at PwC, leading teams building global technology and business solutions.

She has been the Chief Delivery Officer on the Executive team at Vend, where she led the product and engineering teams. In this role she oversaw a strong growth period while building a top-notch team and a product that is now used in 145 countries around the world.

Nic is also on the Board of The Mind Lab and Tech Futures Lab, the award-winning postgraduate facility for contemporary education for executives and educators.

Chris Ewers was appointed General Manager Wholesale in August 2019.

Chris joined Meridian when it was formed in 1999. He was initially tasked with setting up Meridian’s spot electricity trading function, before undertaking a number of roles managing Meridian’s relationship with Transpower. In 2008, he returned to manage the spot trading team and subsequently, following the merger of the generation control function, spent 6 years as the Energy Trading Manager.

Before being appointed as General Manager Wholesale, Chris’s more recent role has involved working on the strategy side of the wholesale business as Meridian’s Portfolio Manager. Prior to Meridian, Chris worked three years for ECNZ across a number of engineering and commercial disciplines. He has extensive industry experience through his interactions across various roles, forums and advisory groups over the last 23 years.

Lisa Hannifin was appointed as Chief Customer Officer in November 2019. As General Manager of Meridian’s retail business, Lisa's role includes accountability for the Meridian and Powershop customer brands and the operational retail functions of the Meridian Group.

She brings rich experience and insight from a number of customer roles in her career, including a decade in the New Zealand electricity market.

During this time Lisa led the Sales and Service teams for Meridian as Head of Business and Residential, where she developed a reputation for her ability to think laterally, create and implement strategy, and drive transformational change. 

Lisa holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Management from Lincoln University. 

Jason Stein became the Chief Executive Officer of Meridian Energy Australia and Powershop Australia in January 2020.

Jason brings a sharp customer focus and considerable commercial experience to his role as CEO of Meridian’s integrated generation and retail business in Australia. As well as delivering a better energy experience to a growing number of customers, Jason and his team contribute to the debate on how Australia can decarbonise its energy system while maintaining reliability and affordability. 

Prior to his appointment, Jason was General Manager of the Office of the Chief Executive as well as Meridian General Counsel and Company Secretary. He was also a director of Meridian subsidiaries Dam Safety Intelligence Limited and Flux Federation.