Master of Ceremonies


Rod Oram

Business journalist Rod Oram contributes weekly to Newsroom, Nine to Noon, and Newstalk ZB. He is a public speaker on deep sustainability, business, economics, and innovation. Rod is a member of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship, which brings together innovators and investors from here and abroad who seek to contribute to global change from Aotearoa.In Citigroup’s annual global journalism awards, Rod was the winner in 2019 in the General Business category in the Australia and NZ region for his columns in Newsroom on Fonterra; and he was the NZ Journalist of the year. In the 2018 New Zealand Shareholder Association Business Journalism Awards, Rod won the Business Commentary category for his Newsroom columns.Rod was a founding trustee and the second chairman of Ākina Foundation, which helps social enterprises develop their business models in areas of sustainability. He remains actively involved with the foundation and the ventures it supports.

Confirmed Speakers


Keynote Speaker

Benoit Lebot

Senior Advisor, Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France

As the former Executive Director of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC), Benoit boasts an extensive career in the fields of Energy Efficiency, Climate Change Mitigation and Clean Energy Policies. He is a long-time advocate for international cooperation in energy efficiency and offers extensive insight into international efficiency initiatives. Benoit previously worked for the UNDP, the IEA, ADEME (French National Energy and Environmental Agency) and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.


Keynote Speaker

Dr Matthias Raab

Chief Operating Officer, CO2CRC Limited

Dr Matthias Raab is CO2CRC’s Chief Operating Officer, where he plays a key role in developing and delivering a highly regarded program of carbon capture and storage research that has gained the respect of energy experts around the world. Matthias is also an experienced manager with international credentials in successful, high profile and complex projects in industry and academia.

Hon James Shaw
Minister for Climate Change

New Zealand can lead the world in transitioning to a high-value, clean-tech, post-carbon economy that works for everyone.  It’s one of the many reasons James joined the Green Party in 1990. 

Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, James had a successful career in management consulting, primarily in London, where he lived from 1998 to 2010.  James worked with large, multinational companies across Europe and around the world, helping them develop more sustainable business practices.

While studying in the United Kingdom for a Master’s degree in sustainable development and business leadership, James realised that the private sector alone wasn’t able to affect change at the speed and scale necessary to meet the great challenges of our time.

In 2015, James was appointed Green Party Co-leader, after being elected to Parliament as a list MP in 2014. In 2017, under the Labour-led Government, James was appointed Minister for Climate Change, Minister of Statistics and Associate Minister of Finance. 

James’ diverse business experience and expertise, from working for multinational corporates through to local start-ups, social enterprises and community organisations, has enabled him to lead the Green Party, the Government and New Zealanders towards a high-tech post-carbon economy and society.

Hon Dr Megan Woods

Minister of Energy & Resources | Minister of Greater Christchurch Regeneration | Minister of Housing | Minister of Research, Science & Innovation

Hon Megan Woods is a Christchurch local and has been the Member of Parliament for Wigram since 2011. Following the 2017 election, Megan was sworn in as a Minister of the Crown with portfolio responsibilities including Energy and Resources, Greater Christchurch Regeneration, and Research, Science and Innovation, picking up the Housing portfolio last year. Megan enjoys her diverse set of portfolios and has a particular interest in where they can complement each other, such as how housing can be more energy-efficient. Megan is also a member of the International Energy Agency’s Global Commission for Urgent Action on Energy Efficiency. Before becoming a Member of Parliament, Megan worked as a Business Manager at Plant & Food Research. She holds a PhD in New Zealand History from the University of Canterbury.


Clare Feeney

Founder, Strategic Environmental Training Institute

Clare is the founder of the Environment and Sustainability Strategic Training Institute (ESSTI). She has a First Class Masters in limestone hydrology and over 30 years’ experience in environmental management and training on a wide range of topics. She continues to give guest lectures at Masters level at the University of Auckland.

The second edition of Clare’s book How to Change the World – a practical guide to successful environmental training was published in the UK late last year. It’s a comprehensive how-to manual and comes out of her 30-plus years of hands-on environmental management and training experience.

Her unique strategic approach to environmental training supports environmental experts to develop and deliver truly great training – and to evaluate its effectiveness including its full financial ROI (return on investment). 

Clare is on a mission to elevate workforce training to its highest possible status: a powerful way of helping people solve the serious environmental issues facing humanity which also solves their associated social, cultural and economic problems.

Stacey Fellows

Energy and Utilities Technical Manager, Fonterra

Stacey enjoys all aspects of sustainability - economic, environmental and social.  With significant experience in energy efficiency this matches well with her role as Fonterra Operation’s engineering manager (energy and utilities), where she leads a dedicated team of specialist engineers to develop and share energy and carbon reduction opportunities.  

Jo Hendy

Chief Executive, Climate Change Commission

Jo led the Secretariat of the Interim Climate Change Committee and oversaw the Committee’s inquiry into renewable electricity, prior to the establishment of the Climate Change Commission. In her former role as Director of Research and Analysis for the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, she led independent environmental investigations into issues including sea-level rise and agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Jo also spent seven years working for Motu Economic and Public Policy Research. Jo holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics, and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Science (Meteorology). 

Mette Hoé

Partner, HOE360Consulting

Mette is a sharp mediator of socioeconomic and technical issues to political stakeholders and innovative development within green mobility and clean fuel policy. Create results through relationships and networks with many different actors in the transition from fossil fuel transport to electric mobility. Appreciated and respected, for the ability to see opportunities and make things happen. 

Dr Marcus Jones


Senior Lecturer, Chemistry, Auckland University of Technology

After university studies in the UK, Marcus took a postdoctoral position at the National Renewable Energy Lab in Colorado, where he studied the properties of nanoscale materials and their potential for photovoltaic applications. This research continued during postdoc at the University of Toronto and, in 2009, Marcus joined the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In 2014 he was awarded a prestigious NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program grant and, in 2015,  was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. Marcus joined AUT in 2018 and is building research capacity to continue his studies of nanomaterials for enhanced photovoltaics.

Belinda Mathers

General Manager, Technical, Toitū Envirocare

Belinda leads Toitū Envirocare’s technical team. She oversees the delivery and continuous improvement of Toitū’s leading environmental programmes, and ensures they incorporate the latest scientific research and best practice to respond to the changing needs of New Zealand businesses. With a background in chemical and environmental engineering, Belinda has more than twenty years’ experience working in the climate change field.

Frans Plugge

Director, ecoNEW Limited

Frans completed a degree at Lincoln University in Valuation and Farm Management before establishing a consultancy business in the property sector and moved into energy efficiency in 1993.He established ECOsystems in 1995 with the mission ‘to reduce energy consumption in commercial buildings by 50%’.  ECOsystems grew to become one of the largest private energy efficiency specialist companies in the commercial sector and received numerous national energy efficiency awards.  ECOsystems was sold to Pioneer Energy in 2015.Frans is a longstanding and current elected board member of the EMANZ and in 2016 established ecoNEW to provide consultancy services.In 2018 Frans helped establish the Kata school to promote the practices of continuous improvement that Toyota has used for 70years.  He is the current Chair.

Sam Rorke

Solar Farm Development Manager, ITP Renewables

Sam has over ten years’ experience in the energy industries of Australia and New Zealand.  He has held a wide variety of roles involving business development, relationship management, account management, project management, energy procurement, data analysis and contract management. Sam has worked for, or closely with, businesses in the retail, distribution, generation and energy efficiency sectors.

In his current role of Solar Farm Development Manager at ITP Renewables, Sam is responsible for creating and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with landholders, as well as project management of ITP Renewables town-scale solar farm development project.  Sam has a Masters of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and is on the Conference Committee and Board of CEP.

Jeff Smit

Director, DETA Consulting

Jeff is a director of DETA Consulting, and worked in the efficiency industry since 2007 in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Region, and the Middle East. Jeff is an EMANZ accredited EnergyMaster, and has fronted many projects for customers across the industrial and commercial spectrum, and has led projects in Fiji and Nauru. Jeff developed and project managed the Hanmer Springs Generation Project, which won the 2018 EECA award for innovation.

Jennie Vickers

CEO, New Zealand Defence Industry Association

Jennie is delighted to have been the CEO of NZDIA for more than 3 years. Formed in 1993 on the back of the ANZAC Frigate Project, NZDIA is described in the New Zealand Government's 2019 Defence Capability Plan (DCP) as: "the preeminent body representing the commercial interests of Defence industry and its individual members. It is industry's main conduit into Defence and vice versa."

The primary focus of NZDIA remains to enable Members (and broader industry in NZ and globally) to be informed about, understand and support the Crown’s Defence and national security/humanitarian procurement programme.

Jennie is still a bit proud to have been one of the top 1% most viewed LinkedIn profiles in the World (as measured a few years back when they hit 200m members). 

20+ years in business building strong trusting and enduring relationships, Jennie is committed to connecting people with people, ideas with delivery, and problems with solutions.

Jennie’s creds in the commercial management sphere include being a lawyer, a Fellow of the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM), an IACCM Expert in SRM Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) and a Certified IACCM CCM Practitioner.

Pamela Walklin

General Manager NNEDC Establishment, Te Puna Umanga/Venture Taranaki

Pam Walklin is the GM, NNEDC – Establishment, with Venture Taranaki.

Pam’s career covers project and consultancy services to electricity distribution, smart metering and energy services companies and senior leadership roles in electricity retailing, generation, metering and energy sector services, as well as ski area operations, television production and Iwi advocacy.


Steve Webster

Chief Infrastructure Officer, Watercare

Steve is a civil engineer with more than 20 years’ experience in senior leadership roles, predominantly in the infrastructure sectors in New Zealand and Australia, delivering projects and maintenance services to government, local authority and private asset owners. He was appointed Watercare’s General Manager – Infrastructure Delivery in May 2015 and appointed Chief Infrastructure Officer in January 2018. Steve is responsible for Watercare’s delivery of infrastructure projects from servicing strategies, through planning to construction and for supporting external developer services to enable growth in Auckland.

Craig Weise

Chief Executive, New Zealand Green Investment Finance

Craig is the Chief Executive for New Zealand Green Investment Finance, a new green investment bank.  He has over 25 years’ experience in private capital markets, both in the US and NZ, grounded in finance, law, and investment banking.At the New Zealand Treasury, Craig led teams focused on investment stewardship and performance monitoring across the New Zealand government’s investment portfolio, representing over NZ$100b in assets.  Before his time at Treasury he was Managing Director, Investment Banking, at Armillary Private Capital.Craig holds an Honours Degree in Economics from Randolph-Macon College and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia.  He is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, Certified Investment Fund Director and Member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.