New Chair for Entrust
Long serving Entrust Chair William Cairns has announced that he will not stand as a candidate in the upcoming Entrust election and has resigned as Chair effective immediately.
Mr Cairns was elected as a Trustee in 2009 and has been its Chair since April 2012.
“My decision to not stand again, was not an easy one. I have served the power consumers of the Entrust district for a long time, however I will be retiring at the end of this term.”
“It has been a privilege to be an Entrust Trustee, and I wish my fellow Trustees, and the new Chair all the best.”
Denise Lee has been elected as the new Chair by her fellow Trustees. She has been a Trustee since October 2021, taking on the lead role for the dividend sub-committee, and then becoming the Deputy Chair in June 2024.
Ms Lee has a strong track record in leadership and governance as a former Member of Parliament and Auckland Councillor in the Entrust district. Having recently been the head of advocacy for Property Council New Zealand, Denise is now a strategic consultant to the organisation which enjoys NZ’s largest commercial, industrial, residential sector companies, government agencies, and professional services as members. Her past roles include time with Morgan Stanley Asset Management in the United States and upon returning to NZ to raise children, she founded a successful local charity designed to link up school mums, neighbours, small business and other charities to pull off projects for good.
Denise is a member of the Institute of Directors, a Trustee for the Sir Peter Blake Marine Education Recreation Centre, and an active member of Community Patrols NZ. She is the recipient of a New Zealander of the Year, Local Hero award (Auckland).
Reflecting on her new role, she says: “I am looking forward to the challenge, and doing all that I can, alongside our Trustee group to look after the interests of power consumers in our district into the future.
“William has done a tremendous job for Entrust during his time as Trustee and will be missed,” says Ms Lee.