The Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, has confirmed several new leadership appointments to the board of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Under the new changes, current Deputy Chair Marianna O’Gorman will step into the role of Chair on 18 July. She replaces Justin Punch, who has held the leadership position since July 2020. Existing board member Elizabeth O’Leary has been appointed as the new Deputy Chair and extended for another term.

The restructuring marks the very first time that both the Chair and Deputy Chair roles at the agency are held by women. Alongside these leadership updates, the government has appointed Lara Olsen and Kobad Bhavnagri to the board as new directors. Long-standing director Stephen McIntosh will be leaving his post, while sitting board members Ruby Heard and Dr Dean Travers have been reappointed to serve another term.

Zoe von Batenburg, acting as temporary CEO while Darren Miller is away on leave, expressed her support for the fresh appointments: “ARENA plays a critical role in accelerating the development and adoption of renewable energy technologies, and strong leadership at the Board level is essential to us delivering on this mission,” Ms von Batenburg said.

“Marianna’s experience across clean energy investment and public policy, and Elizabeth’s deep financial and sector expertise, have already been invaluable to us and we’re delighted to have a female Chair and Deputy Chair leading the board for the first time in ARENA’s history.”

“I’m also thrilled to welcome Lara and Kobad to the Board, both of whom will bring additional expertise and fresh perspectives to support the agency’s work in accelerating Australia’s transition to net zero emissions.”

“I would like to acknowledge the significant contribution of outgoing Chair Justin Punch and Director Stephen McIntosh, who have helped guide the agency through a period of growth and impact and have been instrumental in shaping ARENA’s strategic direction,” Ms von Batenburg said.

“We thank them both for their dedicated service and lasting contribution to Australia’s renewable energy sector.”

Ms O’Gorman brings extensive background experience from previous positions at the World Bank and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Ms O’Leary continues her work as a Senior Managing Director within Macquarie Asset Management. Mr Bhavnagri previously served as the Global Head of Strategy for BloombergNEF, and Ms Olsen has worked as the Global Head of Business Development at Tesla USA.