Board appointments for Australian Renewable Energy Agency

Today, the Albanese Government announced several key appointments to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) board.

Mr Justin Punch has been re-appointed as chair for his third term, while Ms Elizabeth O’Leary will continue in her role for a second term. Ms Ruby Heard and Dr Dean Travers are each appointed as board members for their first term.

Mr Punch, an experienced environmental investor focussed on climate and energy investment, has served as chair of the ARENA board since July 2020.

Ms O’Leary is a Senior Managing Director in Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) Real Assets, leading MAM’s development of methods of measuring, reducing and removing climate pollution across its farming operations.

Ms Heard is an electrical engineer and founding director of Alinga Energy Consulting and brings considerable experience in the building services and energy space in addition to her work with rural First Nation communities in the renewable energy sector. Ms Heard is the first Indigenous ARENA board member.

An experienced energy sector strategist, Dr Travers has worked across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia to develop conventional and renewable energy projects for ENGIE, formerly GDF Suez.

Since its establishment in 2012, ARENA has provided more than $2.6 billion in grant funding to unlock nearly $12.5 billion in investment in Australia’s renewable energy sector. ARENA is now playing a key role in the Government’s Future Made in Australia agenda, administering Hydrogen Headstart, Solar Sunshot, Battery Breakthrough and the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen welcomed the re-appointments of Mr Punch and Ms O’Leary and first-term appointments of Ms Heard and Dr Travers.

“ARENA’s work is instrumental to advancing emerging renewable energy technologies and innovation in Australia’s renewable energy sector,” Minister Bowen said.

“Justin and Elizabeth’s re-appointments to the board ensures certainty as ARENA continues to play a critical role in Australia’s energy transition and delivering a Future Made in Australia.

“I also welcome Ruby and Dean for their first terms on the board and trust their experience will prove highly valuable to ARENA’s important work.”

Mr Bowen also expressed his appreciation to outgoing members Anna Matysek and John Hirjee, who each served two successful terms on the board.

Background:

Justin Punch

Justin has served as chair of ARENA’s board since 2020, with a 30-year career in private equity, line management and management consulting. A co-founder of Assembly Climate Capital and a Director of Tasman Environmental Markets, he was also previously a partner at Archer Capital leading investments across a range of sectors.

Justin currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Karrkad Kanjdji Trust, which supports the work of Indigenous ranger groups in Arnhem Land on conservation and educational projects. He holds Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of NSW and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He has served as the board’s Chair since 2020 and has been re-appointed for his third term in the role.

Elizabeth O’Leary

Elizabeth is a Senior Managing Director at Macquarie Asset Management and head of MAM Agriculture & Natural Assets, one of the world’s largest private land managers. She is an experienced board and investment committee member, having served on Macquarie’s Energy, Emissions and Efficiency Advisory Committee, and the CSIRO Agriculture and Food Advisory Group.

Elizabeth is a regular speaker and an industry contributor including as a current member of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). She joined ARENA’s board in 2022 and has been re-appointed for her second term in the role.

Ruby Heard

Ruby is a descendant of the Jaru people of the Kimberley and is the founding director of Alinga Energy Consulting, providing energy research, feasibility and design services with a focus on affordable and sustainable off-grid systems which improves the livelihood of Indigenous communities.

As part of her role as a consultant for Arup, Ruby has designed electrical and lighting systems for iconic buildings in Melbourne and worked on complex solar arrays and microgrid concepts for Google campuses in California.

In 2019 she was awarded as Young Professional Engineer of the Year – Victoria by Engineers Australia and was also featured in their top 100 Engineers Making a Difference list.

Dr Dean Travers

Dean has more than 25 years of experience in the energy sector across global markets in mergers and acquisitions, deal structuring, project development and operations and maintenance.

He has worked across Southeast Asia, Australia and Europe with global electricity utility and energy service company ENGIE, formerly GDF Suez. During his time at ENGIE he was responsible for market entry into the UK, upstream biomass production in British Columbia, Canada, and the development of renewable projects in Indonesia.

Dean is a founding member of 123V, which works to develop integrated projects using hydrogen from electrolysis. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering from the University of New South Wales.