Our Board of Directors
Ben Kepes
Chairman
Ben is a professional Board member, a globally-recognised technology commentator, and co-founder of successful workwear and equipment brand Cactus Outdoor. He is currently Deputy Chair of Kordia Group, Deputy Chair of Unimed and sits on the boards of Corde, Pegasus Health, and Paenga Kupenga. Ben is a Chartered Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. He has been an investor in a large number of early-stage technology start-ups across three continents and has had successful exits to listed and privately held companies in Canada, the US, and the UK.
Garth Dibley
Director and CEO at WEL Network
Garth joined WEL Networks as CEO in 2014. His career in New Zealand’s electricity industry spans generation, retail, transmission, and more recently, distribution sectors. Previously Garth was GM Grid Performance at Transpower and also held a number of engineering and senior management positions at Meridian Energy, including GM Markets and Production. Garth holds an engineering degree and an MBA.
Rachel Watt
Director and General Manager of Business Support and Improvement at PowerNet
Rachael Watt joined the SmartCo Board in 2025, bringing her extensive leadership experience and strategic acumen to the company. She has been the General Manager of Business Support and Improvement at PowerNet since 2019, where she focuses on driving strategy, business improvement, and fostering a collaborative organisational culture.
Rachael is passionate about waste reduction and continuous process improvement, aligning with SmartCo's commitment to innovation and efficiency in the utilities sector. Her leadership style emphasizes teamwork and enhancing organisational dynamics to achieve sustainable outcomes.
A Chartered Accountant (CA) with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in Accounting, Rachael combines financial expertise with a strong vision for operational excellence. Her dedication to progress and sustainability makes her a valuable asset to SmartCo as it continues to serve over 250,000 urban and rural consumers across New Zealand.
Oliver Kearney
Director and CEO at Network Tasman
Oliver Kearney is the CEO of Network Tasman and is a qualified chartered accountant. He is also a director of On Metering Limited & Nelson Electricity Limited.
Caroline Ovenstone
Director
Kavi Singh
Director and General Manager New Zealand Energy Development & Strategy, PowerNet
Kavi joined the SmartCo board in 2019. He has been the General Manager New Energy Development & Strategy role since 2018 when he returned from the UK, where he held executive roles with global energy and analytics companies. Prior to that he worked for both Mercury Energy and Vector in management and operational roles. Kavi is a highly accomplished and entrepreneurial executive, with extensive experience in global energy markets. He has a strong background in commercialisation, operations management and strategic planning. Kavi has an engineering degree, a PhD in operations management and optimisation, and is a member of the NZ Institute of Directors.
Our Leadership
Guy Marquet
Chief Executive
Guy Marquet brings over 30 years of experience in New Zealand’s electricity industry to his role as Chief Executive at SmartCo. With a career spanning leadership, operations, and project management, Guy has a proven track record of driving growth and innovation.
Previously, Guy owned and directed an electrical and field services management company that pioneered smart metering deployment services in New Zealand. He also served as Operations Manager at SmartCo and held key project management roles at Alpine Energy Limited and On Metering Limited.
Guy is passionate about empowering people and leveraging data-driven insights to inform strategic decisions. His leadership focuses on fostering growth, enhancing team dynamics, and using advanced analytics to deliver operational excellence and sustainable outcomes for SmartCo’s stakeholders.
Natasha Gilison
Product Manager
Natasha Gillison is a product leader specialising in energy analytics and innovation within the electricity sector.
As Product Manager at Hiko Energy Insights, she plays a critical role in helping New Zealand’s electricity distribution businesses harness smart meter and network sensor data to make smarter, data-driven decisions. With a wealth of expertise, she is dedicated to using data to drive innovation, efficiency, and sustainability in the electricity industry.
Calvin Varney
Senior Software Engineer
Calvin brings 20 years of engineering and technical lead experience at IAG, AMI and Lyttelton Port Company to our team.
Calvin is interested in how data science and software engineering can improve network management. He works to extract insights from billions of data points, to support networks with decision making, progressing new initiatives like carbon reduction, and improve quality of service.