SPEAKERS
Andy Bedford (Ecogas)
Andy Bedford is the North Island Manager for Ecogas and Fertify, overseeing operations, business development, and team growth. With a decade as an Infantry Officer in the New Zealand Army, he brings expertise in leadership and operational management. Since 2019, he has held national operations roles in construction and manufacturing. Based in Kinloch, Andy maintains strong ties to the Taupō community.
Andrew Knight (Gas Industry Company)
Andrew Knight commenced as Chief Executive of Gas Industry Co in March 2018.
Prior to that Andrew was the Managing Director and Chief Executive of New Zealand Oil & Gas (NZOG) and was on the Gas Industry Co Board from 2012 to 2016.
He has also previously held executive management roles with Vector Limited, the NGC Holdings Limited Group of Companies, The Australian Gas Light Company and Fletcher Challenge Energy. Mr Knight’s early career was spent as an auditor with Coopers & Lybrand.
Dr Trevor Stuthridge (Cetogenix)
Dr Trevor Stuthridge has spent most of his career as a senior executive in R&D, innovation, and technology commercialisation for the primary industries, bioeconomy, and clean technologies sectors, including as Research Director for AgResearch, Executive Vice President for FPInnovations in Canada, and as General Manager of Sustainable Design at Scion.
He has led deployment of technology spin-out platforms, served as Chair/Director for multiple Boards, and as strategic advisor for industry/academic research consortia. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at University of British Columbia and University of Toronto and is an Executive-in-Residence for Foresight Canada – a cleantech accelerator.
In 2022, Trevor transitioned into entrepreneurship via his role as a co-founder and CEO for Cetogenix – a climate tech start-up company focused on delivering high value economic and environmental benefits through its proprietary organic waste-to-X conversion technologies that can generate renewable natural gas, green ammonia and other low-carbon alternatives to fossil products.
Hon Simon Watts (National Party)
Simon Watts was elected as the Member of Parliament for North Shore in the 2020 election. He is the Minister for Energy, Minister for Local Government, Minister of Climate Change and Minister of Revenue.
Simon grew up in the Waikato, where his family were farmers and orchardists. He is married, has two sons, and lives on the North Shore with his family.
Hamish Waugh (MDC)
Hamish Waugh is the General Manager – Infrastructure at Manawatu District Council, leading the strategic delivery of transport, three waters, civil defence, and solid waste services. With over 20 years in local government, he is a strong advocate for sustainable infrastructure and environmental management.
Hamish is driving the Council’s waste system transformation, focusing on organic waste management and resource recovery. The district is developing strategies to divert organic waste from landfill and return nutrients to land, including piloting biosolid composting and anaerobic digestion solutions suited to its rural and urban mix.
He is forging partnerships with private businesses to create commercially viable, scalable waste and resource recovery models, blending innovation with public outcomes. A champion of circular economy principles, Hamish takes a systems-based approach to infrastructure planning, aligning environmental outcomes with operational efficiency and long-term affordability — particularly for solutions supporting the agricultural and primary industry sectors.
Eleanor Grant (BANZ)
Parul Sood (Auckland Council)
Parul is an experienced public service leader, bringing more than 20 years of experience in local government in New Zealand. Prior to Auckland Council, Parul has held senior strategic and operational roles with the former Waitakere City and Rodney District Councils. She has a master’s degree in Environmental Science and a Diploma in Environmental Law.
In her current role as the Deputy Director Resilience and Infrastructure at Auckland Council, she works alongside the director resilience and infrastructure to ensure Auckland Council is delivering on its commitment to build resilience in our region and respond to the impacts of climate change. Their focus is on partnering with communities to build resilience, assessing current risks and vulnerabilities, and future-proofing our infrastructure.
Parul is also the chairperson of the Waste Management Institute of New Zealand and one of the controllers for Auckland Emergency Management.
Richard Bartlett (BioGrid)
Richard Bartlett (CPEng, MBA) brings over 15 years of hands-on experience in the design, construction, and commissioning of biomethane & renewable energy projects.
Having managed the commissioning, certification and operational handover of some of the largest biomethane projects in Europe and North America, Richard is well placed to lean-in and support the establishment of a renewable gas industry in Aotearoa
Recognised for his structured approach to project management and ability to navigate complex energy infrastructure programs, Richard combines deep technical expertise with strategic insight. He holds postgraduate qualifications in both renewable energy and business, enabling him to bridge technical and commercial domains to accelerate the clean energy transition.
Don Elers (Powerco)
Don leads the Gas Team, ensuring the planning and operations of our Gas networks are aligned to deliver the energy mix that customers want today and in the future. This includes the development and integration of biogas and other renewable gases to reduce New Zealand’s emissions and increase renewable energy to help Aotearoa ‘grow to zero’.
With a trade background, starting as an engineering cadet in the gas industry 30 years ago, Don has hands on experience in construction and maintenance, project management and contract management.
He has held senior service delivery and operational roles in the gas sector within New Zealand and is experienced in asset strategy and planning, management of safety and operational risk.
Don joined Powerco in 2010 as the Gas Service Delivery Manager and has successfully led a transformation of an asset-centric delivery model to a customer-focused operations model.
"The challenge for New Zealand to move to a more sustainable energy future is significant. With that challenge comes opportunity, and our gas business is well placed to provide leadership and solutions to transition to a net zero carbon energy mix in New Zealand. It’s more than opportunity – it’s our responsibility. We service New Zealand communities, these are our whānau, so we have a responsibility to ensure the pathway to a sustainable energy future is an affordable one."
Insa Errey (BANZ)
Bioenergy Association of New Zealand Representative Gaseous Biofuels , Senior Manager Future Fuels Genesis
Insa Errey is a dynamic professional with a background in both public and private sectors and a passion for driving impactful results.
With a strong focus on bioenergy and decarbonisation, Insa brings a thoughtful and collaborative approach to every initiative.
Paul Bennett (Scion)
Paul started with BP in the UK as scientist in 1988 and held a series of roles in R&D, Product Management, Policy Development, Strategy and Business Development. In 2005, he was part of a small team that established BP Biofuels business unit and has been working on bioenergy and biofuels ever since. In 2009, he left BP and has worked in a variety of bioenergy roles from business development through to Government Strategy.
In 2014, he joined Scion in Rotorua, New Zealand as a Bioenergy expert and is a recognised expert and thought leader on biofuels and bioenergy. Amongst the key activities has been the development of New Zealand’s Biofuels Roadmap, being a principal author of the New Zealand Royal Society’s “Climate Change Mitigation Options for New Zealand” report.
During this time, Paul has been an active member of the International Energy Agency Bioenergy Group. He has acted as Vice Chair for 3 years and from 1 January 2021 he has been the Chair of the Executive Committee.
Alzbeta Bouskova Houghton (Ecogas)
Alzbeta works as Chief Technology Officer at Ecogas and is an expert in anaerobic digestion and resource recovery from organic residues. Her professional experience of 15 years in design and optimisation of waste-to-energy and wastewater treatment plants is underpinned by a notable academic background. Alzbeta holds a Master and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration. Alzbeta has been at the forefront of the bioenergy industry in New Zealand over the last 10 years through her involvement in the Bioenergy Association of New Zealand (BANZ).
Michael Baker (Jemena)
David Hendry (PowerCo)
David leads Powerco’s work in investigating, enabling, and realising opportunities to incorporate renewable gases into Powerco’s gas distribution network to provide lower emission gas solutions for New Zealand.
David has a commerce degree and is a chartered accountant with experience in regulation, business development, commercial, and operational roles in both the energy and primary industry sectors.
He is deeply passionate about renewable energy, and both the challenges and opportunities that decarbonisation presents for New Zealand.
David is also a Board Member of the Bioenergy Association of New Zealand.
Jack Bellagh (Fonterra)
Jack Ballagh is Senior Energy Engineer for Fonterra. He has worked on a range of energy efficiency and decarbonisation projects including heat recovery, heat pumps and electric boilers. His first introduction to biogas was investigating the feasibility of anaerobic digestion for production of biogas for decarbonising boilers in 2009 and he is passionate about seeing this energy source play a part in New Zealand’s energy mix in the future.
Jeffrey Clarke (GasNZ)
Jeffrey has been Chief Executive of GasNZ since March 2024. GasNZ’s vision is of a sustainable, net-zero emissions New Zealand, where Kiwi households and businesses can enjoy gas as a reliable, affordable energy source – and Jeffrey was excited to take up the role to focus on making that vision a reality as quickly and effectively as possible.
Jeffrey has served as NZ’s Energy Advisor at the International Energy Agency in Paris, working to protect NZ’s long-term energy interests, and prior to that he was Legal Affairs Manager at Meridian Energy for four years. Aside from his work in energy, Jeffrey has been General Manager Advocacy & General Counsel for New Zealand Winegrowers, the NZ wine industry’s peak body, and was the Chief Executive of the New Zealand wine industry’s cutting-edge research and innovation centre, Bragato Research Institute. He also worked for Fried Frank as a mergers and acquisitions counsel in New York and London, and as a corporate lawyer for Russell McVeagh in New Zealand.
Grant Bourke (NZ Institution of Gas Engineers)
Grant is a mechanical and hydraulic engineer who looks after larger water heating jobs at Rinnai.
He has over 40 years experience in the gas and appliance industries, and has been a member of the New Zealand Institution of Gas Engineers for 35 years.
Grant completed an NZCE at Unitec and a mechanical engineering degree and subsequently a PhD at The University of Auckland.
His PhD looked at how best to Incorporate gas water heaters into renewable energy water heating systems.
Grant is a two times winner of the NZIGE Horrocks medal for best technical presentation at the Spring Seminar.
When not working Grant can usually be found messing about in boats, attempting to lower his golf handicap, or riding his bicycle.
Charlotte Morton OBE (World Biogas Association)
James Irvine (Clarus)
James joined Clarus as General Manager Future Fuels in March 2022, responsible for driving development in renewable energy. To date this has included New Zealand’s first biomethane project, New Zealand’s first hydrogen blending pilot and the development of New Zealand’s largest solar farm.
Prior to joining Clarus James spent 12 1/2 years with Shell International in The Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK working in both gas and renewable power development. He held roles spanning technical, project management, strategy development, commercial and mergers & acquisitions.
James is a Chartered Engineer with the UK Engineering Council and Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. James holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bath, UK.
Chris Burgess (NZTE)
Chris Burgess is an Investment Manager at Invest New Zealand. Invest New Zealand is a Crown entity which operates to attract international capital, ideas, and expertise. Chris focuses on Cleantech Greenfield opportunities which includes ‘waste to value’, anaerobic digestors, and bioenergy. He is passionate about decarbonisation and supporting the transition to renewable fuels and energy.
Chris is based in Auckland, however, supports projects across the country.
Ben Gerritsen (Gas NZ)
Ben Gerritsen is the current Chair of GasNZ and has worked in the New Zealand gas industry for over 10 years. Ben is the General Manager of Customer & Regulatory at Clarus, where he overseas commercial operations and government relations for regulated gas and electricity networks. He has been closely involved in developing facilities that use existing gas pipeline infrastructure to transport renewable gas – both biomethane and hydrogen. Ben is passionate about the opportunity facing the biogas industry in New Zealand, while being clear-eyed about the challenges that need to be overcome to scale-up.
Conrad Lendrum
Conrad is a Fund Manager in the Partnerships and Investments Business unit at the Ministry for the Environment (MfE). Over the last 3 years Conrad has supported the assessment, funding, and investment management of waste-related projects via the Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF), and the Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF). On the back of New Zealand’s Emissions Reduction Plan, the WMF (and CERF) has been investing in projects that divert organic waste from landfills to maximise resource use and minimise methane emissions.
Prior to joining MfE Conrad had over 20 years at Callaghan Innovation and its predecessor Industrial Research Ltd, as a materials scientist and then a Group Manager. During this time Conrad worked to support innovation in New Zealand businesses across a broad range of sectors and materials classes, including high temperature ceramic processing and the gasification of biomass to generate hydrogen.
Ben Smith (Turners & Growers)
Ben Smith. General Manager – Growing, for T&G Fresh.
With 25 years in and around the horticulture industry Ben has experience in growing, packing and selling fresh produce to domestic and export customers. T&G Fresh are the landowner and key energy customer of Ecogas in Reporoa - New Zealand’s first large scale food-waste-to-bioenergy facility built on land adjacent to T&Gs 5 hectare glasshouse. This is part of the grower network that allows T&G to supply tomatoes across New Zealand to supermarkets, food service, and independent retailers. This project aligns with T&Gs philosophy around Kaitiakitanga - treating the land, people, produce and resources with the greatest respect and care.