boardroom
Share

South East Water has appointed Lara Olsen as its new Managing Director, effective 17 February.

Ms Olsen has customer experience, digital and technological expertise in both the corporate and start-up environment.

Prior to joining South East Water, Ms Olsen was the Global Head of Business Development and Industrial Product at Tesla Energy based in the USA, responsible for scoping and launching Tesla’s next generation of commercial business models and industrial products.

Before her time in the US, she led the business development and industrial product team for Tesla Australia, including the big battery projects in South Australia and Victoria.

In 2010, Ms Olsen co-founded Billcap, a software-as-a-service energy platform that provides data and insights to energy retailers and their customers to manage their usage and bills.

Former roles also include Head of Strategy for Citipower, PowerCor and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), and Project Leader with the Boston Consulting Group.

Ms Olsen holds honours degrees in chemical engineering and arts from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD in France.

“Lara has an impressive record as a strategic leader with the ability to accommodate the needs of multiple stakeholders and to create an environment where teams can innovate and people achieve their maximum potential,” South East Water’s Chair, Lucia Cade, said.

“The board was particularly impressed with Lara’s strong focus on customers and her track record in developing and implementing strategy, and initiating and launching new technologies and services which will position South East Water for success as we transform the way we operate to deal with climate change and population growth.”

Ms Olsen is excited to join the South East Water team.

“I’ve been impressed with South East Water’s commitment to its customers, staff and the environment and I look forward to joining the organisation in this next phase of delivery and innovation,” Ms Olsen said.

Minister for Water, Lisa Neville, welcomed the news of Ms Olsen’s appointment.

“Congratulations to Ms Olsen on her appointment. I look forward to working with her as the leader of South East Water and as an active representative in the wider water industry,” Ms Neville said.

“We’ve had a real push to see more women in leadership positions in the water sector and it’s fantastic to have someone of Ms Olsen’s calibre appointed to guide the organisation into the future.”

Charlotte Pordage is Editor of Utility magazine, a position she has held since November 2018. She joined the team as an Associate Editor in October 2017, after sharpening her writing and editing skills across a range of print and digital publications. Charlotte graduated from Royal Holloway, University of London, in 2011 with joint honours in English and Latin. When she's not putting together Australia's only dedicated utility magazine, she can usually be found riding her horse or curled up with a good book.

©2024 Utility Magazine. All rights reserved

CONTACT US

We're not around right now. But you can send us an email and we'll get back to you, asap.

Sending

Log in with your credentials

Forgot your details?