Our Executive

John Cleland - Appointed 18 July 2016
Chief Executive Officer
BEc DipFinMan CA FFin, GAICD

John is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with comprehensive executive and non-executive experience with large and complex organisations in the infrastructure (rail, ports, energy transmission and distribution), resources and logistics sectors.

John is a director of Essential Energy and a member of its Board Regulatory Committee, and the Deputy Chair of Energy Networks Australia.

John previously held the position of Head of Infrastructure, Coal Division at Anglo American PLC and prior to that he was the CEO of WestNet Infrastructure Group.

Charlie Boyes - Appointed 6 March 2023
Chief Financial Officer
BBus (Acc/HRM), MAppFin, CA

Charlie is an experienced senior finance leader with expertise in corporate finance, treasury management, investor relations, revenue management, statutory reporting and audit management, and mergers and acquisitions.

Charlie commenced his career with Deloitte advising Government, Energy and Infrastructure clients on a range of corporate finance and strategic matters. Since 2009 he has led several functions and initiatives at AusNet Services Limited, most recently as the Deputy Chief Financial Officer.

Martin English - Appointed 1 January 2023
General Counsel and Company Secretary
BFA LLB (Honours Class 1), FGIA, GAICD

Martin joined Essential Energy as an in house lawyer in October 2014. In January 2018 he was appointed as the Head of Legal.

Martin is an experienced senior manager with expertise in corporate, commercial and property matters, including policy formation, workplace health and safety, industrial relations, stakeholder management, and in the broader Energy industry.

Martin commenced his career in private legal practice, and since joining Essential Energy has developed a deep knowledge of the Energy industry and the opportunities and challenges in this sector.

Justin Hillier - Appointed 1 November 2021
Chief Commercial Officer
BBus, CA, GDipAppFinInv, FINSIA, GAICD

Justin is an experienced executive with expertise in financial management, strategic planning, corporate development and negotiating commercial transactions in energy, mining and finance sectors across Australia and Asia. Justin has been a member of the Executive Leadership Team since 2016.

Justin previously held the position of Chief Financial Officer with Essential Energy, Executive Vice President (Acting CEO) with Glencore on the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project and senior commercial roles with global accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Tarong Energy.

Luke Jenner - Appointed 1 November 2021
Chief Operating Officer
BEng (Hons), EMBA, GAICD

Luke is an experienced executive with engineering and operational expertise in the energy and mining industries. Luke has been a member of Executive Leadership Team since 2012.

Luke has spent much of his career in the energy and mining sectors in senior management roles, including as Executive Manager Engineering, General Manager Customer and Network Services and General Manager People and Services with Essential Energy, and various Engineering Management roles with DBT (now HBT GmbH), a global mining equipment supplier, and Royal Dutch Shell’s underground coal division.

Sarah McCullough - Appointed 11 February 2020
Chief Digital Officer
GradCertMgt(InfoTech), MBA(Comp), GAICD

Sarah joined Essential Energy in 2018 as the Head of eTech Operations and was the Acting Chief Information Officer from 15 April 2019.

Sarah is an experienced Information Technology (“IT”) and Innovation senior leader and certified Organisational Change Manager, with over 20 years’ experience in the IT industry.

Sarah previously held the position of Head of Applications at Pacific National and Asciano, an ASX top 50 company.

Anne Pearson - Appointed 10 October 2022
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
BA LLB (Hons), GAICD

Anne is an experienced executive with a career that has centred around regulatory and policy frameworks in the energy sector at state and national levels, leading a range of regulatory and policy reforms. Anne is highly experienced in complex issue resolution and strategic stakeholder management.

A former lawyer, Anne has held senior positions in the Australian Energy Market Commission, and in business. Most recently Anne held the position of Head of Reputation within EnergyAustralia.

Amalie Smith - Appointed 29 November 2021
Chief People Officer
MBA (Log&SupChaMgt), GradCertBusMgt, GAICD

Amalie joined Essential Energy in July 2018 as the Works Delivery and Enablement Manager, soon after becoming the Head of Network Delivery and then Group Head of Network Investment and Maintenance. Amalie was also Acting General Manager Customer and Network Services at Essential Energy from 13 August 2021 to 1 November 2021 and a member of the Executive Leadership Team during that time.

Amalie has extensive experience in senior operational leadership and driving positive change in complex leadership roles. She also has expertise in supply chain management, health care and logistics, transformations and associated large-scale complex construction.

Amalie previously held the position of Capital Delivery Manager at GrainCorp and Managing Director of Territory Medical Group based in the Northern Territory.