Senior Leadership Team

Jason Franklin
Chief Executive

Jason is director of the Southland Regional Development Agency (Great South), SmartCo Limited and the Electricity Networks Association. He is a former director of Invercargill Airport Limited and former director and chair of Rugby Southland. Jason is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors and a Chartered Fellow of Australia New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Kewal Bagal
GM Business & Customer Growth

Kewal joined the PowerNet team in 2020 with his appointment as GM Business & Customer Growth. Kewal is a highly skilled senior executive with an excellent track record in operational management, safety leadership and business improvement in the Utilities sector.

Anton Booyzen
GM Asset Management

Anton is the General Manager Asset Management at PowerNet. He brings vast asset management, engineering management and power quality experience to PowerNet.

Greg Buzzard
Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer at PowerNet, Greg leads the Finance and Commercial team, including Finance and Treasury, Commercial, Corporate, Regulatory and Risk Management.

Kavi Singh
GM New Energy Development and Strategy

Kavi joined PowerNet in 2018 as General Manager New Energy Development & Strategy. His business unit supports business strategy, decarbonisation, and use of new energy technologies to improve asset management, operations, health & safety, and deliver innovative customer-centric solutions.

Rangi Solomon
GM Health, Safety and Environment

Rangi has significant experience in health, safety and welfare and has previously held roles with the Southern District Health Board, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, Air New Zealand and Fonterra.

David Stevens
GM People, Culture & Communication

David is an experienced leader who is passionate about human resources and communication, adding value to PowerNet’s business.
He has a collaborative leadership style with 16 years of experience in human resources and operational roles.

Geoff Thorburn
GM Operations

Geoff joined PowerNet as General Manager Operations in August 2022. In this position, he leads the team responsible for delivering capital and field operations across PowerNet’s managed networks.

Rachael Watt
GM Business Support & Improvement
BCom (Hons) and CA

Rachael was appointed General Manager Business Support and Improvement in 2019. She is an experienced leader who strongly focuses on strategy and business improvement.