Further changes to Alpine Energy board announced

Thursday, 12 December 2024

Further changes to the board of Alpine Energy have been confirmed with the resignation of holdings company director Rebecca Keoghan.

On Wednesday, Timaru District Holdings Limited (TDHL) general manager, Frazer Munro, confirmed the resignation of Keoghan from its board and that of Alpine Energy.

“We want to acknowledge and thank Rebecca for her significant contributions to the TDHL and Alpine boards.

“Rebecca joined the TDHL board in 2019 and the Alpine board in 2022, making an immediate and positive contribution to organisational culture, accountability and health and safety,” Munro said.

Keoghan, who Munro said had resigned, will be replaced on the Alpine Energy board by TDHL director Aaron Bethune, who has experience with other lines companies in the North Island, Munro said.

“We listened to the Alpine board, and their need for transformational, technology governance and strategic risk experience. Aaron’s background demonstrates these skills and more, so are very excited to be able to appoint him.”

Bethune sits on the TDHL board with fellow independent directors Darren Evans and chairperson Mark Rogers, and Timaru councillor Sally Parker.

Alpine Energy board chairperson Melissa Clark-Reynolds said Keoghan was “hands down” the best director she had worked with in her career.

“Her contribution to the Alpine board has been enormous and she will be missed.”

Clark-Reynolds said as chairperson of the Health and Safety Committee, Keoghan worked tirelessly to improve safety.

“Rebecca also contributed to helping the board improve internal processes uncovered as a result of the overcharge issues, as well as reminding us to keep the South Canterbury community front of mind as we determined the best remediation approach.

“Her impact will be enduring. Personally, I hope I get to work with her again in another role.”

The latest changes leave Clark-Reynolds and Coutts as the only female directors, and Twizel-based Winders as the sole director living in the region.

Asked whether she had any concerns about the diversity of the board, or lack of local representation, Clark-Reynolds said despite living in Wellington, Coutts also had “whakapapa links to the area”.

“It is well accepted that diversity of life experience, skills and background are hallmarks of high performing boards.

“On one hand, Alpine is a trailblazer - the only female chair/CE (Caroline Ovenstone) partnership in the sector. On the other hand, I am sure our shareholders are not intending to send any message that the last two women to leave have been replaced with men.

“We certainly now have very solid engineering and finance skills around the table,” she said.

Asked whether she was concerned the by the impact of multiple recent changes, Clark-Reynolds said it was “difficult”.

“The level of change and influx of new board members is difficult for any team to manage, we will do the best we can with a team that fundamentally dominated by brand new board members.”

Wednesday’s announcement comes just over a week after confirmation three new directors had been appointed to the Alpine Energy board.

Stephen Lewis, Anthony King and Albert Brantley were added as directors on November 20, joining Clark-Reynolds, Kevin Winders, Karen Coutts and Keoghan.

At the time, Clark-Reynolds said she had also made changes to the make-up of the board’s committees including splitting risk and finance to form two committees.

“Quite a lot of companies are doing this now, especially as external issues such as climate impacts, the volatility in the economy and changing technologies are becoming more important to track and understand,” she told The Timaru Herald.

She said Winders would chair the Finance Committee, Brantley the People and Culture Committee, and King would oversee the new Risk Committee.

That was the second major shake-up of the board after changes were made following the resignation of former chairperson Warren McNabb, in the wake of the historic overcharging saga.

In April, the lines company admitted it had overcharged its customers to the tune of about $19 million over a nine-year period. The Commerce Commission investigation into the matter is yet to be finalised, but at a Timaru council meeting on Tuesday Munro told councillors an outcome was expected within “a couple of months”.

Following McNabb’s resignation, former director Linda Robertson was made chair of the People and Performance Committee and Winders replaced her on the Audit and Risk Committee. Karen Coutts retained her position on that committee and Rebecca Keoghan was appointed to chair the Health and Safety Committee.

Robertson was removed as a director just a month later.

Keoghan, who did not wish to comment on her resignation, will leave the Alpine Energy board on December 31.