Withers stepping down from Mercury

Joan Withers will step down as Mercury NZ chair in September.

Withers also chairs The Warehouse Group and is a director of ANZ New Zealand. She has been chair of Mercury and was previously chair and on the board of its predecessor Mighty River Power for 10 years.

Mercury chief executive Fraser Whineray says Withers is one of the hardest working directors and has contributed tremendously to the business.

The energy company has recently moved to new headquarters in Newmarket, Auckland, where its renewable energy outlook and drive for electric vehicles is illustrated.

Withers has driven a whopping 83,000km in her Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV over four years. She says she noticed a 75% drop in her fuel bill after switching from a Porsche Cayenne.

Whineray has driven a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for five years and racked up 70,000km. He also drives a Nissan Leaf which has done 45,000km.

Withers says it has been a privilege working with a company whose heritage on the Waikato River is almost a century old, and now has almost 20 years of experience in geothermal, the NZ Herald reports.

“Everyone here, I think, really understands the importance of those sources of energy to a healthier, low-carbon future for our communities and our country.”