Meet Your Trustees
The Trust is made up of five elected Trustees, who hold the shares in Unison on behalf of consumers connected to Unison’s electricity network in Hawke’s Bay. The Trustees are Kirsten WESTWOOD (chair), Barbara ARNOTT, Jeffrey FARNWORTH, David PEARSON and Craig WATERHOUSE. If you would like to contact the Trust, please email the secretary@hbpct.co.nz or phone 06 650 5600.
Kirsten Westwood – CHAIR (Trustee since 2020)
Kirsten has supported the Hawke’s Bay consumer for many years, holding roles on the Board of Sport Hawke’s Bay, Woodford Board of Proprietors and currently as the President of the Health Research Foundation – Hawke’s Bay. She is privileged to be able to support Hawke’s Bay power consumers keep their interests in the Trust and dividend payment a priority.
After completing her BCom/LLB Kirsten worked in a variety of legal/HR roles in London, UK. On her return to New Zealand, she worked primarily in education as the Head of School for Health and Sport Science at EIT. Kirsten is a currently a Barrister and Solicitor specialising in family law.
Barbara Arnott (Trustee since 2017)
Barbara has worked as an advocate for the Hawke’s Bay consumer for many years. Committed to governance and consumer service, Barbara served 12 years as Napier Mayor and currently volunteers for Pathways and the Historic Trust amongst other consumer organisations.
Her work with people in diverse roles has shown clearly how distributing good information leads to good decision making. She makes it a priority to involve consumers in decisions that affect them. Barbara considers it a privilege to be working with consumers and the Trust.
Jeffrey Farnworth (Trustee since 2020)
Jeff has spent more than 50 years in the energy sector working in roles spanning the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. He started as an apprentice electrician in 1964 and graduated with an honours degree in electrical engineering in 1970. Jeff was General Manager at Scanpower Dannevirke from 1990 to 2002 and General Manager at both Scanpower and Centralines Waipukurau from 2001 to 2004, from 2002 to 2004 as Regional Manager at Unison.
He then worked for grid operator Transpower for another nine years, retiring in 2013. Now seems an opportune time to pass on his experience gained in the industry to the HBPCT as a fellow Trustee.
David Pearson (Trustee since 2020)
David is a long-standing advocate and supporter of the Hawke’s Bay consumer. He is the Managing Partner of accounting and advisory firm, BDO Hawke’s Bay. He was on the Eastern Institute of Technology Council for 15 years, serving as Chair of Council for 13 of these. Previously, he was a Trustee for Sport Hawke’s Bay for 9 years and is currently a member of the Institute of Directors.
David strongly believes in the Trust’s role in ensuring the consumer continues to benefit from owning Unison Networks, through the continuation of a high quality, reliable service. He would like to see an increase in consumer understanding of the Trust’s role and how it works to benefit the consumer it serves. David fully supports paying the annual dividend to householders.
Craig Waterhouse (Trustee since 2024)
Craig is a respected business leader and community advocate. He is a qualified accountant with Fellow status in the New Zealand Society of Accountants and holds a business degree from Massey University. His career includes roles as Associate Partner in Chartered Accountancy, CFO at New Zealand Breweries, and CFO, later briefly CEO at Farmlands. Craig runs a consultancy business, helping organisations achieve business improvement.
Craig serves as the Board Chairman for the Regional Indoor Sports & Events Centre (Rodney Green), the Horse of the Year Board and has held chairmanships including Haha Wines and HB Lass. Craig advocates for Unison’s intergenerational ownership, emphasising community dividends and sustainable economic development for Hawke’s Bay.