Since The Boardroom Table first published its NZX board director benchmark, one name has sat consistently at the top: Pip Greenwood. Chair of The a2 Milk Company and non-executive director of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (retired September 2025). Greenwood has defined the gold standard of NZX governance – anchored in two of New Zealand’s most celebrated export innovators. In the latest The Boardroom Table update from Datamine, there’s a new top performing director.
Two directors have surged to the top positions: Alison Gerry, Chair of Infratil (IFT) and director at Air New Zealand (AIR) now sits at the top, with Mark Verbiest, Chair of Meridian Energy (MEL) and Summerset (SUM) close behind. Both Chair companies whose core identity is sustainable energy infrastructure – and in the past month alone, both companies have delivered results that propelled Alison seven places from 8th to 1st, and Mark four places from 6th to 2nd.
On 6 May, CDC Data Centres (49.7% owned by Infratil) secured the largest data centre contract in Australian history: a 555MW, 30-year deal with a US hyperscaler, taking CDC’s total contracted capacity past one gigawatt. Infratil’s share price surged more than 13% on the NZX, adding roughly $1.7 billion to its market capitalisation in a single session. Three weeks later, Infratil’s FY26 full year results confirmed the structural shift: proportionate operational EBITDAF up 11% to NZ$989 million, total asset value up 13% to NZ$20.6 billion, and FY27 guidance set at NZ$1.3-1.4 billion – 21% higher at the mid-point. CEO Jason Boyes was unambiguous:
“Demand for efficient AI infrastructure is striking and may be the investment opportunity of a lifetime.”
Critically, renewable energy is not incidental to CDC’s appeal – Infratil itself pointed to Australasia’s access to renewable energy as central to its ability to attract global computing capacity at this scale. Infratil isn’t only interested in supporting the building of AI infrastructure, but rather converging renewables and sustainable efficiencies within their holdings:
In a time when AI is labelled as environmentally unsustainable, Infratil’s board is pushing that narrative away in favour of an environmentally conscious version.
Meridian’s contribution came via its monthly operating report, released 15 May. Year-to-date inflows stood at 121% of historical average (the 8th highest on record) while retail sales volumes in April were 8.2% higher than the prior year, with residential up 25% and large business up 11.4%. But the operational numbers were only part of the story. On 5 May, Meridian became the first and only New Zealand company ever to be included in the S&P Dow Jones sustainability Index – formally placing it among the world’s most sustainable companies in the eyes of one of institutional capital’s most closely watched benchmarks. That same month, the company secured resource consent for the Bunnythorpe Solar Farm in the Manawatū, set to host its second battery energy storage system. For a company reliant on the unreliability of natural weather events, the board has been able to achieve and capture the immense benefits of true sustainable growth in mind.
What this month’s The Boardroom Table result captures is something global institutional investors have been pricing in for years, but which NZX governance benchmarking has not visibly reflected until now. New Zealand has proudly built a renewable energy sector that the rest of the world is beginning to take seriously, where Infratil and Meridian are its most visible commercial expression. Through data centre contracts, access to clean energy, and sustainability index inclusion that no New Zealand company had achieved before. Board directors such as Alison and Mark are being rewarded for their board’s strategic inclusion of New Zealand’s renewable technology and energy advantage.
The Boardroom Table is a first-of-its-kind service that sets a new benchmark for good governance in New Zealand's publicly listed boardrooms. With data from over 200 sources, including financial metrics, media perception, and customer and employee sentiment, The Boardroom Table measures the relative impact a director has made to their company during their tenure.
Eligible directors must hold either two or more current public New Zealand company directorships, or at least one current and one recent past directorship within the last 12 months. More information can be found at datamine.com/theboardroomtable.
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