Powerco CEO Nigel Barbour will move to Christchurch to take up the Orion role on July 1.
The Orion board today announced the appointment of Nigel Barbour as the company’s new group chief executive.
Nigel is currently chief executive of Powerco and will move to Christchurch and take up the role on July 1, 2021.
As group chief executive, Barbour will lead the Orion Group, which comprises the central Canterbury electricity distribution business, Orion, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Connetics, which provides design, construction, and maintenance services to the electricity distribution industry in New Zealand.
Barbour will be responsible for a combined asset base of $1.2 billion and more than 600 staff.
Based in New Plymouth, Barbour has been with Powerco for 19 years in a range of executive management positions, and has been CEO for more than nine years. He has an economics and legal background and previously held roles with Transpower and the Bank of New Zealand.
Announcing the appointment, Orion Group chair Jane Taylor said: “Nigel has an impressive track record of delivering results in the electricity sector and we look forward to him bringing Orion’s strategic vision to life to serve the future needs of our communities.”
Ex-Connetics chief executive and group transformation lead, Jono Brent, has been interim Orion Group chief executive since the departure of Rob Jamieson in September 2020, and will continue in that role until Barbour takes up his new position mid-year.
The Orion Group is 89% owned by CCHL, the investment arm of Christchurch City Council, and 11% owned by Selwyn District Council.
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