Board

The ARENA board sets the investment strategies and priorities, oversees the running of our agency, and approves funding for projects up to $50 million.

Appointed members have experience and knowledge in either renewable energy, technology, commercialisation, business investment or corporate governance. This ensures expert administration of funds available.

The ARENA Board also has oversight of two committees including:

1. The Risk and Audit Committee: Download the Charter (PDF 700KB)
2. The People and Culture Committee.

Justin Punch, Chair / Non-executive member

Justin Punch is an experienced environmental investor focused on decarbonisation and conservation, with a 30-year career in private equity, line management and management consulting. He is a co-founder of Assembly Climate Capital and a Director of Tasman Environmental Markets. He was previously a Partner at Archer Capital, where he led investments across a diverse range of sectors, and has extensive experience in the management of operating businesses as well as consulting experience with the Boston Consulting Group.

Justin serves as the Co-Chair of the Karrkad Kanjdji Trust. The Trust supports the work of Indigenous ranger groups in Arnhem Land on projects including assisting with landscape-scale carbon abatement programs, conserving endangered landscapes and species, conserving Indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage, and improving education outcomes.

Justin holds Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of NSW and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

John Hirjee

John Hirjee is an experienced company research analyst, banker and senior adviser, specialising in Australasian energy and utility industries and companies. He is currently Head of Research & Analysis, Resources, Energy & Infrastructure, Australia at ANZ Banking Group.

John has a significant track record with high-level achievements in equity research, analysing the development of company strategies and financial metrics. John’s career has included working with key stakeholders across private and public institutions, and the fostering of strong links with senior executives, professionals and government officials.

John has a Bachelor of Engineering specialising in Chemical Engineering from Monash University.

Anna Matysek

Anna Matysek is an economist and strategy specialist in the resources, energy and infrastructure sectors, and is currently the Head of Climate Change at BlueScope Steel.

Anna was previously an executive at Rio Tinto and TransGrid, has worked in various consulting firms and government agencies including the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and the Productivity Commission. She has been a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and is a Council Member of the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Anna holds a Master of Environment from the University of Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Tasmania.

Elizabeth O’Leary

Elizabeth O’Leary is a Senior Managing Director in Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) Real Assets. Elizabeth leads MAM’s Agriculture & Natural Asset’s platform encompassing large-scale specialised funds and related investment vehicles.

Elizabeth is committed to developing the natural assets sector into a mature and attractive asset class with growing institutional investment. Under Elizabeth’s leadership, MAM Agriculture & Natural Assets has taken a leadership position in the development of methods of measuring, reducing and removing greenhouse gas emissions across its farming operations.

Elizabeth is a keen participant in the natural assets sector as a member of various boards. Elizabeth is a regular speaker and an industry contributor including as a current Member of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).

Stephanie Unwin

Stephanie Unwin is Chief Executive Officer of Horizon Power. She was previously General Manager Transformation and Technology of CBH Group, where she was responsible for information technology and overseeing the transformation of CBH to a low-cost, efficient supply chain from paddock to port. Prior to that she was Chief Executive Officer of Phylogica, a biotech and medical devices company in Western Australia.

Stephanie has significant executive and board- level experience across a variety of sectors, and is a former General Manager Commercial at energy generator and retailer Synergy. During her time at Synergy, Stephanie was responsible for strategy and innovation, modelling and analytics, corporate affairs and communication, policy and regulation, corporate development and continuous improvement.

Stephanie has considerable experience with renewable energy, including being a key negotiator at Synergy and then the General Manager with oversight for the construction and commissioning of the Greenough River Solar Farm and Mumbida Wind Farm. She also conceived of and developed a renewables infrastructure fund to initial commercial close, took the Alkimos Beach Community Battery Storage project through funding to commissioning and into delivery, and developed the company’s forward strategy for innovation and renewables

Stephen McIntosh

Stephen McIntosh has more than 36 years of global experience in the resources sector. He spent 33 years with the Rio Tinto Group culminating in the role as Group Executive Growth & Innovation. In that role he had accountability for most of Rio Tinto’s global technical functions including exploration, studies, construction, technical services, information technology, data science, robotics and automation, R&D, asset closure and for the last year he also led the global Health, Safety, Environment, and Security function. This accountability also included areas such as mineral processing, energy projects and latterly climate change.

Stephen holds a Master in Science from the University of Auckland, and is a geophysicist by training. He is a non-executive director of Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth (AROSE), a non-executive director of Chalice Mining, and a director and chairperson of Datarock Holdings. He is also an advisor to the Monash University led Critical Minerals Consortium.

Jo Evans, Ex-officio member

Jo Evans is a Deputy Secretary at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, and the nominee for the Secretary on the ARENA Board.

Jo has worked in a number of portfolios including the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of the Environment and Energy. Prior to joining the Australian Public Service in 2000, Jo worked for management consultants McKinsey & Company.

Jo has a Masters of Public Policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University; a Masters in Environmental Science from the University of Melbourne; and a combined bachelor degree in Asian Studies and Economics (Honours) from the Australian National University.

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