Meet our executive leadership team
The Executive Leadership Team at Aurora Energy are the people we have entrusted with turning decisions into actions, both collectively and within and learn about the departments they lead.
We welcome feedback - if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please contact us.
Richard Fletcher | Chief Executive
Richard Fletcher (PhD, BEnvSc) joined Aurora Energy as Chief Executive in January 2018. He has extensive international experience in engineering and management consulting.
He has advised on energy regulation, asset management, due diligence studies for mergers and acquisitions, as well as engineering investment plans.
Before joining Aurora Energy, Richard was General Manager Regulation and Corporate Affairs at Powerco and before that a senior manager at national grid operator, Transpower NZ.
From 2000 to 2005, Richard was Head of Economic Regulation at Welsh Water PLC.
Richard Fletcher
Gary Dixon | Chief Financial Officer and General Manager Finance, Risk Assurance and Commercial
Gary (BCom, CA) joined Aurora Energy in October 2011. He is responsible for the accounting and finance, risk assurance, regulatory and commercial functions.
A Chartered Accountant, Gary has previously held a number of senior management and business service roles in the commercial and financial sectors.
He began his career with Westpac and was Chief Financial Officer of the Mainland Poultry Group for 12 years prior to joining Aurora Energy.
Gary Dixon
Glenn Coates | General Manager Asset Management and Planning
Glenn (NZCE, BE Hons Electrical) joined Aurora Energy in March 2018. He is responsible for asset management strategy and the associated growth and lifecycle management of our network assets. He also leads the Aurora design and engineering teams who support the delivery of our network and customer related projects.
Glenn has more than 25 years’ experience in the electricity industry having held senior management roles at Orion in Christchurch and operational roles for Transpower in Wellington.
Glenn brings broad experience in asset management strategy, planning and operations.
Glenn Coates
Tracey Saunders | General Manager Digital Transformation
Tracey (MBA) joined Aurora Energy in January 2020.
She is responsible for information technology strategy and operations and network technology development.
Before joining Aurora Energy, Tracey was the CIO at Dunedin City Council.
Tracey has over 20 years’ experience in local government, with expertise in business development, ICT and technology delivery.
Tracey Saunders
Mark Pratt | General Manager Customer and Connections
Mark joined Aurora Energy in 2018 and was appointed General Manager Works Programming and Contracts later that year. In June 2023, Mark moved into a new role as GM Business Process Optimisation, delivering productivity improvements. He is now GM of Customer and Connections, leading the teams that provide customer experience and communications, and network connections.
Mark Pratt
Matt Settle | General Manager Operations and Network Performance
Matt (ME, BE Hons) joined Aurora Energy in January 2020 as the Operational Performance Manager. He was appointed Acting General Manager Operations and Network Performance in June 2021 and was appointed to the role on a permanent basis in December 2021.
Matt is responsible for the operation of the network control centre, network access planning and operational performance. He is approaching 20 years’ experience in the electricity industry, most of which was in Australia. He has worked extensively in asset management, maintenance and reliability engineering and engineering risk management. Before joining Aurora Energy, Matt was the Lines Asset Strategy Manager at CitiPower/Powercor and part of the leadership team within the Electricity Networks business unit.
Matt Settle
Richard Starkey | General Manager Service Delivery
Richard (BCom, PGDipCom) joined Aurora Energy in November 2011.
He is responsible for the forward programming, network procurement, and delivery of the asset management plan on the Aurora Energy network.
Richard has over 20 years’ experience in New Zealand and international energy markets.
Prior to joining Aurora Energy, Richard was the Network Pricing Manager at Vector and before that, the Pricing Strategy Manager at Genesis Energy.
Richard Starkey