Our people

Matt was appointed chief executive of Eastland Group in 2003. He has more than 25 years’ experience in the utilities and infrastructure sectors, including senior roles with major players such as United Networks. Matt has worked in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Southeast Asia, South America and the Pacific Islands.

Brent leads the team responsible for the overall management and operation of the electricity distribution and transmission network assets of Eastland Network. He has worked in the electricity distribution industry for more than 30 years. Brent joined Eastland Network in 2002 after management positions within the industry in Wellington and the Bay of Plenty.

Born on the East Coast, Andrew has been involved in the local forestry industry from an early age, from driving trucks in Mangatu forest to planting around Ruatoria. Andrew worked offshore in various project management positions before returning home to New Zealand to complete a Masters in Engineering Management. He started with Eastland in 2004. After being general manager ports for a number of years, in mid-2019 he was promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer - Regional Infrastructure. This encompasses the ports sector and all non-energy related infrastructure projects and businesses.

Originally from the Waikato, Ben joined Eastland Group in 2004 following a three year role with London Underground on the Public Private Partnership project to modernise the system through the privatisation of the maintenance and upgrade of the network. While in the UK, Ben obtained a Diploma in Financial Management which complemented his training as a mechanical engineer. He has also worked in the construction sector as a process engineer for Firth Stresscrete.

Aaron is responsible for the finance, shared services, legal, company secretary, property and technology functions of the company. He supports the group chief executive, the board of directors, the businesses within the group, and the company's growth initiatives. Prior to working at Eastland Group, Aaron worked in the financial services sector for Deutsche Bank in New York.

Jarred has spent more than 10 years specialising in health and safety management. At Eastland Group, his key focus is ensuring the right attitudes towards safety management are achieved at all levels right across the company. Prior to his current role, Jarred was Hikurangi Forest Farms' health, safety and environmental manager. Earlier in his career, Jarred established and operated Integrated Safety Solutions, an occupational health and safety company.

Alice began her career in finance roles across Australia and in London, before returning to her home town of Gisborne. She joined Eastland Group in 2007 as the management accountant, which was a pivotal role in a period of rapid growth for the company. In 2014 Alice was seconded to assist with the establishment and operations of Activate Tairawhiti Limited, and in 2016 she was appointed commercial manager at Eastland Group. In mid 2017, Alice was appointed business development manager, and in 2019 she was promoted to general manager business development.

Suzanne grew up in Gisborne and has more than 25 years' experience in advertising, marketing, public relations and journalism. She was a creative director at Publicis Worldwide in London, Sydney and Auckland, and has created award-winning campaigns for clients including Air New Zealand and Mercury Energy. More recently, Suzanne consulted to economic development agency Activate Tairawhiti.

Phil has spent over 20 years delivering IT transformation and digital change within the corporate sector in New Zealand and abroad. Phil joined Eastland Group in 2018 as group technology manager. He is responsible for delivering on IT strategy as well as all aspects of information and communications technology.

Steven is an international specialist in emerging technologies, with a particular focus on renewables, power storage and power markets. He has established large scale geothermal, solar and wind projects across Asia and the Middle East. He most recently worked at Saudi Aramco, where he led the development of renewable energy projects for Saudi Arabia’s 9.5 GW by 2023 National Renewable Energy Program.

Matanuku is a lawyer and is a founding partner of the law firm Kahui Legal, and has also held a wide variety of board roles. These include being the former deputy chair of Aotearoa Fisheries Limited and chairman of Sealord Group Limited. He is the current chairman of Ngati Porou Holding Company Limited, the company that oversees Ngati Porou's commercial interests. He is also a director of Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou Trustee Company Limited and the NZ Merino Company Limited, a member of the New Zealand Geographic Board, and a former Trustee of the Trust Tairāwhiti.

Currently executive project advisor to the Hastings District Council, Tony was previously chief financial officer at Hastings District Council. Prior to that, Tony held the senior finance role at Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu (two years), the CFO role at Mighty River Power (seven years), and the same position at TVNZ (12 years). He has been on the boards of various companies including CLEAR Communications and Sky Network Television Limited. Tony is currently a director of Ngati Apa Developments, Maungaharuru Tangitu Limited, Civic Financial Services Limited, Artemis Nominees Limited, Quality Roading and Services (Wairoa) Limited, and chair of Ngati Pukenga Investments.

John has a broad range of management and directorial experience in a variety of different business sectors including banking, investment, venture capital, technology, infrastructure, construction and engineering. He has had wide-ranging global experience with management and governance responsibility for operations in New Zealand, Australia, Asia and Europe. In addition to chairing the National Infrastructure Advisory Board, which provides independent advice to Treasury and the Minister for Infrastructure, John is also currently a director or chairman of a number of other boards across many sectors. In the region, he is chairman of both Activate Tairawhiti (Gisborne's economic development agency) and the Corson group of companies.

Wendie has wide-ranging experience as a director, trustee, lawyer, executive manager and business consultant. Her governance experience encompasses the public and private sectors, local government and not for profit organisations. Her current governance roles include chair of the health and safety committee for Aurora Energy Limited, chair of the remuneration committee for Fire and Emergency New Zealand, chair of Hawke’s Bay Airport Construction, and council member of the Eastern Institute of Technology. Wendie is a director of Hawke’s Bay Airport, Electrical Training Company and Centralines. She was a director of Port of Napier for six years, and Wairoa-based Quality Roading and Services (QRS) for seven years.

Jon was a director at Napier Port from 2007 to 2017, through a period of sustained growth. He currently chairs Central Hawke’s Bay network company Centralines and is a director of Palmerston North Airport, where he chairs the audit and risk committee. Jon is also independent chair of audit and risk at Hastings District Council and the Maungaharuru Tangitu Trust. As a consultant, Jon has led a number of significant infrastructure-based projects and has assisted clients in developing commercial strategies. He is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and a Chartered member of the Institute of Directors.