Directors' profiles
Rob Wheater
Chair
Rob has worked in senior business roles in New Zealand, the Middle East, Australia, China and North America. This work included 27 years on the electrical industry where he gained experience in many fields including strategy, business development, mergers and acquisitions, electrical contracting and manufacturing, finance and information technology.
He has served on various Boards, Advisory Boards and other governance committees. Rob joined the Board of Unison Networks Limited in February 2017 and was appointed Chair in 2024. He previously served as Deputy Chair and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee. Rob is a director of ETEL Limited and ETEL Services Limited. He is also Director and General Partner at True North Equities Limited.
Rob lives in Havelock North and has an honours degree in Commerce and is a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand. He is also a chartered Member of the Institute of Directors.
Blair O’Keeffe
Deputy Chair
Blair O’Keeffe is a Hawke’s Bay based company director and advisor, with governance experience in NZX listed, central and local government, and private entities.
He is a former Chief Executive with 25+ years of local and international senior executive experience, including infrastructure, energy, property and transport.
Blair joined the Unison board in August 2022.
He is also currently Chair of NZX-listed Napier Port, Hawke’s Bay Regional Recovery Agency and Hawke’s Bay Rescue Helicopter Trust and is a director of Central Air Ambulance Rescue Limited. He also operates a board/commercial advisory business.
Blair is a member of the institute of Directors and holds a Postgraduate Degree in Business.
Dan Druzianic
Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
Dan is a chartered accountant, business advisor and independent director with broad experience across business sectors including agribusiness, health, infrastructure, property and investment.
He holds a Commerce degree from Lincoln University, is a fellow of the Institute of Charted Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors.
Dan was appointed to the Unison board on 5 May 2020 and resides in Hawke’s Bay. Other current governance roles include Director of Unison Contracting Services, Chair of the Hawkes Bay Regional Investment Company (HBPIC), Director of Napier Port Holdings; Director of Bostock (NZ) and Bostock Brothers.
Barbara Elliston
Audit & Risk Committee Member
Barbara is an electrical engineering with power systems background. A short stint in transmission system development with the NZED was followed by commercial experience with Comalco, looking after the aluminium smelter power contracts and liaison with both Transpower and ECNZ. This was followed by past directorships with Transpower, Genesis and Counties Energy.
Barbara’s current board roles are with Unison, ERGO and a solar inverter startup, Easy Warm. Barbara also sits on the board of the Smart Energy Council, the Australian solar peak body based in Canberra, and is a member of the Security and Reliability council of the Electricity Authority.
Barbara is keen to gain a better understanding of the Hawke’s Bay region and its economic contribution to the rest of New Zealand, and to help Unison grow as it meets the challenges and opportunities presented by decarbonisation and an electricity sector becoming much more engaged with communities.
Wendie Harvey
Audit & Risk Committee Member
With a background in law, Wendie has extensive experience as a director, trustee, lawyer and business consultant. Her roles have extended across the public and private sectors (including listing on the NZX), local government and not for profit organisations.
Wendie’s current directorships include Hawke’s Bay Airport (Chair), Eastland Infrastructure (Chair), Port Taranaki, TAB New Zealand, Aurora Energy and Hawke’s Bay Regional Recovery Agency.
Her former directorships include Fire and Emergency NZ, Centralines, EIT, Napier Port and QRS Wairoa. She knows Unison well from her time as GM Operations Support, a role she held until 2011, prior to her becoming a professional director.
Jon Nichols
Audit & Risk Committee Member
Jon’s background is in finance and commercial growth initiatives with over 30 years’ experience. His strengths include strategy development, risk management, collaborations, infrastructure life cycle management and capital structuring. As an experienced director and consultant, he has led and overseen many strategic and operational initiatives across a variety of private, public and not-for-profit entities.
His current directorships include Ngawha Generation, Top Energy, Eastland Generation and Hawke’s Bay Airport. Additionally, Jon is the Independent Chair of Risk and Assurance at Hastings District Council, and Audit and Risk at Maungaharuru-Tangitū Trust.
Former directorships include Electra, Palmerston North Airport, Napier Port, Eastland Group of Companies and Centralines where Jon was the Chair.
