SIMPLY ENERGY - Key Persons
Ambili is our pricing guru and a super-sleuth when it comes to identifying unknown risks and hidden opportunities. While being in Taipa makes her the farthest-flung amongst us, she's set the bar when it comes to remote working and you never feel she's ever very far away.
If there was one word to describe Ambili (other than fabulous) it would be calm. Nothing phases her, nor is anything a drama. It comes from over 15 years of navigating the challenges of New Zealand's dynamic and fast-paced energy industry and from her roles supporting day-to-day operations and informing strategic development.
Outside of work, when she's not buried in a good novel, you'll find her outdoors exploring the natural beauty of New Zealand's far North. She also loves fat cats and cupcakes (although we hope they're not related), and whose 15 minutes of fame came when the hula dancing troupe she belonged to opened for a Sir Howard Morrison concert.
With a real passion for improving the world we live in, Andy's the driving force behind shaping Simply to support our customers transition to a low-carbon future. When he's not leading the team, and creating a supportive culture, he's out and about talking with customers, looking for new partners to team up with and providing direction and vision on future technologies.
Andy came to Simply when it joined forces with Contact in 2020. During his nine years at Contact, his focus on people before process delivered significant business improvements and shifts in culture within the teams he led as Engineering Manager, Head of Operations Support and more recently General Manager Innovations and Ventures.
No stranger to deep water, Andy spent 26 years above and below it in various engineering roles for the Royal Navy. Home is Te Horo with his wife, three beautiful daughters, and a menagerie of animals including a Leonberger (a dog the size of a lion), a German Shepherd, three smaller moggies as well as a few horses, cows and sheep!
Before joining us, Casey spent a couple of years in the public sector, before moving to Contact Energy where she spent 11 years working in a range of HR roles
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Office Manager
Ellie started working front of house for Contact nine years ago and is now front and centre of everything we do at Simply. She's amassed a mountain of skills over the years, from managing our office to working as a project administrator on one of the biggest operational safety programmes we've undertaken.
Ellie rolls with style. She has organising skills that would put Marie Kondo to shame, can decipher the most illegible of scrawls, and wrangle a diary within a minute of its life. Supporting our Leadership Team is a demanding gig, but Ellie does it with a good dose of humour and just the right amount of attitude to keep us honest. She has an incredible natural talent for making everyone's jobs easier and we just love having her around.
As much as we hope she loves us, her real love is spending time with her husband and two gorgeous kids on the weekend. She also loves to cook, has an interest in fashion and makeup and when the kids are in bed has been known to play the odd video game with her husband. Family extends beyond humans for Ellie. She's a huge animal lover, especially the cold-blooded type, and has two pet reptiles and one very fluffy grumpy Persian cat.
Coming from Contact, where Hema was Head of Technology for Generation & Trading, she was happy to ditch her acronym for being ‘HOT' for something a little cooler. As our CTO, Hema's responsible for growing our technology footprint, our tech team, and the solutions we offer customers.
While at home with technology, Hema's day usually starts on a more human note, around the watercooler, catching up with what's going on. A great opportunity, she says, to spark conversations about how technology and data can help our people and customers.
We love that our very cool CTO is as interested in the people her team develops for as the tech itself. She gets that it has to be simple and that at the end of the day, all anyone wants is relevant content, delivered anywhere, in the format, and on the device of their choosing.
Hema is also passionate about sharing what she's learned in the 15+ years she's been working in the industry and continuing to learn and grow. It's why, outside the office, you're most likely to find her mentoring tech interns and wannabes at a local café and adding an MBA to the engineering degree she already holds. All while enjoying quality time with her beautiful family.
Job Titles:
- Head of Business Excellence
- Head of Energy Transition
As our Head of Business Excellence, Jade loves nothing more than harmony and is happiest when our people, processes and systems are humming.
Jade is always looking for ways to improve and innovate and is a whiz at troubleshooting and problem-solving. Much of her inspiration and can-do attitude comes from her days backpacking through remote areas of South America and the Middle East.
After starting out in telecommunications, Jade shifted over to energy six years ago and has been honing her skills and strengthening the core of our business ever since. In a nutshell, the work Jade and her team does makes it possible for us to offer customers smart and sustainable energy solutions.
Equally at home barefoot or in a pair of hiking boots or jandals Jade loves the outdoors and spending time with her partner Paul and dog Ziggy. When she's not trailblazing at work, you'll find her blazing Aotearoa's trails with friends and family or come summer playing ball and coaching kids on a softball diamond.
Job Titles:
- Head of Sustainable Solutions
We think of James as our very own Bond. He's daring, thinks on his feet and enjoys taking advantage of new tech innovations. He even plays a starring role in our EV case study video.
James leads our Sustainable Solutions team which is responsible for bringing sustainable ideas, tech and solutions to our commercial and industrial customers as they look to lower their energy emissions. This includes everything from technology that enables them to reduce power and support the grid during times of peak demand, to partnering with companies on energy solutions and structuring smart supply deals that help make the switch from fossil fuel operations to electric, commercially viable.
James was born in Wales, and prior to joining us worked in the UK helping organisations with their energy strategies. He was a Commercial Lead for Rolls-Royce and more recently an Energy Consultant for the global consulting firm Anthesis.
Outside of work James is a keen cyclist and likes to spend as much time as he can exploring and tramping around Aotearoa, the place he now calls home.
Job Titles:
- Head of Communications & Marketing
Things can get a bit techy around here so it's great to have Lisa on board to help keep things simple. Lucky for us she's a gun at translating our tech speak into something everyone understands.
As well as disliking acronyms with a passion (and we have more than our fair share in energy) she's a bit of a Swiss Army Knife when it comes to comms and marketing. Lisa drives our marketing strategy and turns her hand to everything from providing strategic input into RFPs, to copywriting and design.
Her experience comes from over 25 years working in advertising and direct marketing agencies, on some of New Zealand's best-known brands.
She's a firm believer that the best things come from living outside your comfort zone. It's little surprise then, that when she's not making us sound awesome, she's out surfing, going on adventures with her daughter and learning new stuff. On days when there's no surf, you'll find her designing and making clothes, hand stitching beautiful leather bags, and renovating and upcycling all sorts of cool things with her growing collection of power tools.
With a focus on meeting every customer's needs with care and consideration, Martin is the perfect person to lead our customer care team.
For Martin, Customer Care combines what he loves the most - taking the time to understand what customers need and guiding and creating an environment that fosters collaboration, creativity, and continuous improvement.
Martin comes to Simply with more than 15 years of experience in marketing, loyalty, sales, and operations. Most recently, as Head of Retail Operations for Z Energy in New Zealand, he guided and inspired a large team in shaping and delivering Z's retail customer experience.
Beyond work, Martin's love for exploring landscapes, cultures and cuisines has taken him on numerous adventures, including conquering four of New Zealand's great walks. On weekends, Martin proudly supports his favourite football team, the Nix, and even takes to the field himself on Saturdays.
Job Titles:
- Head of Energy Partnerships
As well as being an all-round good guy, Phill's a true people person and loves nothing more than talking with our customers, consultants and partners about opportunities to collaborate on energy solutions that accelerate New Zealand's low-carbon transition.
As the Head of Energy Partnerships for Simply Energy, Phill is on a mission to help large energy users reduce their carbon footprint and create a cleaner, greener world.
When he's not busy saving the planet, Phill is a family man through and through. He loves nothing more than spending quality time with his wife and kids, whether they're camping next to a beach or enjoying a lazy weekend at home.
But Phill isn't all about relaxation. He's also a bit of a sports fanatic and can often be found on the ice playing hockey or out on the trails going for a run. With a well-rounded approach to life, Phill brings a unique perspective to the energy industry and is always up for a challenge.
Tim's ability to untangle challenges and avoid roadblocks, also make him everyone's first choice for the person you'd most want beside you in an Escape Room. It might also have something to do with the fact that as a back-up, he could probably kick, punch, or elbow his way out thanks to his kick-ass Thai boxing skills which led him to set up his own Thai boxing club here in Wellington.
When he's not at work or hanging out with his beautiful wife and new baby, he's either building a new home for himself in the Wairarapa, or at his second home down at the club, keeping fit and training up the next generation of Muay Thai champs.