meet our team
BOARD MEMBERS
Grant King
Chair at North Harbour Clean Energy
Grant King is currently Chairman of HSBC Australia, the Climate Change Authority, CWP Renewables and Green Collar. Grant was Managing Director of Origin Energy Ltd between 2000 and 2016 following its demerger from Boral, where he was Managing Director of Boral Energy. He is a former Director of BHP Billiton Limited, Contact Energy Ltd, Envestra Ltd and the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association Ltd (APPEA).
Grant is the former Chairman of Australia Pacific LNG, Oil Company of Australia Ltd and the Energy Supply Association of Australia (ESAA). He was appointed President of the Business Council of Australia in 2016, a role he held until 2019, and is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Tony Schultz
Managing Director and a Board Member of North Harbour Clean Energy
Tony is an experienced leader in the energy industry spanning the areas of investment, finance, project management, contracting and engineering. Tony has strong networks and relationships across the energy sector and investment community.
Prior to this role, he has been Managing Director, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), and has held several board roles. Prior to KKR he held pivotal management roles with TCW, Westpac, Halliburton, Duke Energy, KBR and Kinhill Engineers.
Steve Banning
Executive Director, Development and a Board Member of North Harbour Clean Energy
Steve is a recognised leader in the Australian energy market and energy project development both as an owner/operator and as a service provider in development projects of over $1 billion.
Prior to this role, he has been the Managing Director of Epic Energy and Managing Director of ASX-listed engineering firm LogiCamms.
Allison Warburton
Board Member of North Harbour Clean Energy
Allison is an experienced company director and senior executive who brings 30 years’ commercial, operational, policy and governance experience in the energy sector.
She established and led the climate practice at the law firm, Minter Ellison, setting up some of Australia’s first carbon capture and storage offset projects. She was recently appointed Chair of CleanCo and is currently also a director of the Scheme Financial Vehicle for the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, director of Lacuna Professional Solutions and sits as a member of the King’s College Council, University of Queensland.
Alison previously served as Commissioner at the Australian Energy Market Commission overseeing development of energy policy reforms and market rules. She was a director of Stanwell Corporation Limited and was appointed to the Queensland Government’s independent Renewable Energy Expert Panel.
The Hon. Robert Hill
Board Member of North Harbour Clean Energy
The Hon. Robert Hill brings considerable public policy, political and environmental connections as well as direct start-up experience as the Chairman of Re Group a recycling business. Robert is a former barrister and solicitor who specialised in corporate and taxation law and who now consults in international political risk.
Robert was previously Australia’s Minister for Defence, Minister for the Environment and Leader of the Government in the Senate during his time as a Senator for South Australia. He is a former Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, former Chairman of the Australian Carbon Trust (later Low Carbon Australia Ltd.).
He is currently an Adjunct Professor in Sustainability at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and Chairman of the CRC for Low Carbon Living at UNSW, Chairman of Viva Energy, Chairman of Re Group Pty Limited and a former Chairman of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust.
Josh Ryan
Board Member of North Harbour Clean Energy
Josh has over ten years of experience working in public company corporate development, corporate finance advisory and investment management roles during time spent across the UK and Australia.
Josh has particular experience in sustainable technologies as well as the automotive and broader industrial sectors.
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Tony Schultz
Managing Director and Board Member at North Harbour Clean Energy
Tony is an experienced leader in the energy industry spanning the areas of investment, finance, project management, contracting and engineering. Tony has strong networks and relationships across the energy sector and investment community.
Prior to this role, Tony has been Managing Director, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR), and has held several board roles. Prior to KKR he held pivotal management roles with TWC, Westpac, Halliburton, Duke Energy, KBR and Kinhill Engineers.
Tony enjoys spending time with his two sons and is an avid mountain biker and skier, with a poor track record of staying upright.
Steve Banning
Executive Director, Development and Board Member at North Harbour Clean Energy
Steve is a recognised leader in the Australian energy market and has been involved with over $1 billion of energy development projects as both as an owner/operator and as a service provider.
Steve was previously the Managing Director of Epic Energy and Managing Director of ASX-listed engineering firm LogiCamms.
Outside of work Steve is a keen triathlete having competed twice at the Ironman World Championships, but now more likely to be found downhill skiing.
Justine Isemonger
General Counsel at North Harbour Clean Energy
Justine is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer, having worked in leading law firms in Sydney and London and as in-house counsel in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors. She has advised on a broad range of corporate, commercial contract, M&A, financial services, and risk and compliance matters.
She was previously the Director, Legal and Company Secretary at Social Ventures Australia (SVA). Prior to SVA, she held roles at Fairfax Media, Herbert Smith Freehills, Slaughter and May and Minter Ellison.
Justine keeps busy outside of work spending countless hours at cricket and rugby matches with her husband and 3 sons, and (slowly) regenerating a large garden and the landscape at their farm south of Sydney.
Gavin Mullett
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at North Harbour Clean Energy
Gavin joined North Harbour as CFO in March 2023. Gavin was formerly Head of Infrastructure investment management for Challenger Limited where he was responsible for a diversified portfolio of energy, utility and infrastructure investments.
He has previously held roles at JPMorgan in Sydney and NatWest Markets in London. Gavin holds a Bachelor of Business and Legal Studies as well as a Master of Business Studies (Finance) degree from University College Dublin. He also holds a postgraduate qualification in I.T. from UNSW and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Emily Wilkinson
General Manager, Hydropower at North Harbour Clean Energy
Emily is an experienced civil engineer and project manager and has worked across a range of major infrastructure projects, with a focus on hydropower and dams, over the past five years.
She has worked for SMEC and Leighton Contractors (now CPB) and has been integral to the projects Snowy 2.0 Pumped Hydro Energy Storage and new Dungowan Dam.
Outside of work, and during her lunch breaks at the Manly office, Emily enjoys reading, surfing and swimming.
Yana Qiu
General Manager, VRFB at North Harbour Clean Energy
Yana is an experienced leader in the Australian energy industry with twenty years of experience across oil, gas and renewable sectors in both technical and commercial leadership roles.
Prior to this role, she was leading the development of multiple GW pipeline of renewable projects covering BESS, wind and pump hydro projects at CIP and AGL. She is especially recognised for her expertise in development of grid scale battery projects in the NEM. Yana has a chemical engineering background and worked for Shell for many years in technical, operations, trading, M&A roles in its downstream and upstream business units.
Outside of work, Yana enjoys cooking new recipes with her little one and a bit of reading and writing in her spare time.
John Hann
Head of Planning and Stakeholder Engagement at North Harbour Clean Energy
John Hann is a former Deputy Chair and Commissioner, NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) from 2015 to 2021 and chaired the IPC Risk and Compliance Committee from 2020 to 2021. He has recently been appointed as a member of the Sydney District and Regional Planning Panels, in addition to the panel of Chairs for the NSW DPE Community Consultative Committees. John was also appointed Independent Chair of the NSW DPE Flood Technical Advisory Group and served as Principal Advisor to the 2022 NSW Flood Inquiry.
John’s senior management roles include leading planning approvals, environmental compliance and stakeholder engagement with Holcim Australia and corporate advisory to Adelaide Brighton Ltd and Fletcher Building Limited.
James Hyde
Head of Corporate Development at North Harbour Clean Energy
James has two decades of experience advising corporations on mergers, acquisitions and divestments across various industries including industrials, resources and more recently in energy transition.
Prior to joining North Harbour, James spent several years working at CIBC World Markets and began his career in the Royal Australian Air Force after graduating from the Australian Defence Force Academy.
James enjoys most outdoor activities starting with the letter “S” and dreams of travelling the world under sail, solar and battery power.
Dianne Nicotra
Senior Project Manager at North Harbour Clean Energy
Dianne is a skilled energy industry professional with over 15 years’ experience in diverse roles including power development, grid connections, project management, technical, planning, and wholesale trading functions.
Prior to joining North Harbour Clean Energy, Dianne worked at Alinta Energy, where she was involved in the development and execution of major projects including Yandin Wind Farm, Port Hedland Solar Farm & BESS, Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro (OMPS), and others. Earlier in her career Dianne was a Spot trader/analyst, identifying opportunities in the NEM optimising the dispatch of Eraring Power Station (Australia’s largest coal-fired power station) and Shoalhaven Hydro Pump Storage Scheme.
Outside of work Dianne enjoys all things to do with live music and exploring the great outdoors.
Alistair See
Senior Commercial Analyst at North Harbour Clean Energy
Alistair has worked across various industries, with a focus on financial risk, investments and strategy over the last 10 years. Prior to joining North Harbour, Alistair was a Senior Quantitative Risk Analyst at Snowy Hydro where he first got his exposure to the Australian electricity market and the desire to push forward the energy transition. Alistair holds a Bachelor of Actuarial Studies and Bachelor of Applied Finance at Macquarie University.
Outside of work and crunching numbers, Alistair enjoys training their mischievous cavoodle with his wife, and doing outdoor activities such as tennis, golf and swimming. He is also known to be quite competitive when playing board games.
SENIOR ADVISORS
Leigh Clifford AO
Senior Adviser at North Harbour Clean Energy
Leigh Clifford AO is the Chairman of Crestone Wealth Management, a Director of Bechtel Group Inc (USA) and Chairman of Bechtel Australia Pty Ltd, a Senior Adviser to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, a member of the Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria, Chairman of the National Gallery of Victoria, Foundation Chairman of the University of Melbourne’s philanthropic campaign and Chairman of the Robert Menzies Institute.
Leigh has also been Chairman of Qantas and Chief Executive and Director of Rio Tinto, with a career spanning 37 years.