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Our Executive Team

Phaedra Deckart

Chief Executive Officer
Phaedra is CEO of the Solstice Energy Group and has successfully transformed it to a diversified energy business. She has previously served as a senior executive at AGL and Santos and with more than 25 years’ experience in domestic and global markets, Phaedra is one of Australia’s strongest advocates for the role gas plays in the transition to diversified and renewable energy in Australia. She began her career in law, before moving into the business side of energy, is the first female CEO of Solstice Energy and is a vocal advocate for women in leadership.

James Jenkins

Chief Financial Officer
James is the Chief Financial Officer of the Solstice Energy Group and leads the strategy and inorganic growth opportunities for the business. He started his career in investment banking with J.P. Morgan, before moving into strategy roles at Fosters and Treasury Wine Estates. Most recently, James spent almost ten years in a range of senior commercial, financial, and strategic roles at Hydro Tasmania. During that time, James worked on a number of significant projects relating to the generation, wholesaling, and retailing of electricity and gas, and developments associated with the Battery of the Nation initiative.

Sarah Thurstans

GM Retail
Sarah is the General Manager of Solstice Energy Retail, responsible for Solstice Energy residential, commercial and industrial customers, energy procurement and marketing. Sarah joined Solstice Energy in 2021, having previously worked in various leadership roles in AGL Retail, with experience in Third Party Sales channels, Marketing and Customer loyalty. Prior to AGL, Sarah had a background in Financial and Identity Services at Australia Post and earlier in her career working at Lloyds TSB in London.

Will Temple-Smith

GM Commercial & BD
Will is the General Manager of Commercial and Business Development at Tas Gas Networks, part of the Solstice Energy Group, and leads organic growth and development opportunities from the network. Will started his career at global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co and has subsequently led growth and operational improvement across a range of diverse industries in Australia and overseas. Most recently, he was the General Manager of Strategy and Capital Allocation at ASX-listed energy networks company AusNet Services prior to joining Solstice Energy in 2021.

Ben Charles

GM Health, Safety and Environment
Ben is the General Manager of People, Safety and Wellbeing of the Solstice Energy Group, and is a strong advocate for continuous improvement of safety and care through culture and systems. Previously, he worked as Manager of Health, Safety, Security and Environment at Horizon Oil Limited and Rio Tinto and Team Lead of Business Development and Projects at BHP.

Ashley Peck

General Counsel & Company Secretary
Ashley is the General Counsel & Company Secretary and joined Solstice Energy in 2021. Prior to joining Solstice Energy Ash was based in the UK working in various corporate and commercial legal roles within Vodafone, including Senior Corporate Solicitor for Vodafone Group and Head of Legal and Regulatory for Vodafone Portugal.

Kylie Ackerley

GM People and Culture
Kylie is the General Manager of People and Culture and joined Solstice Energy in 2023. She has extensive experience in managing people and relationships, particularly in logistics and FMCG industries. Prior to Solstice Energy, Kylie worked with Strait Link where she led a number of key people initiatives to support the separation of the business to be a standalone entity. With over 20 years’ experience in people management Kylie brings to Solstice Energy extensive expertise in building and shaping a performance-based culture with people at the centre.