The AEMC Commissioners are supported by the Chief Executive and the AEMC’s Executive Leadership Team and staff. Together they discharge rule making and market development roles in line with the AEMC’s Code of Conduct which requires AEMC staff to act with fairness, honesty, impartiality and integrity in all our dealings. The Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team have delegations in relation to some statutory decisions, including initiation of rule changes, and a range of other operational matters, including the employment of staff and engagement of consultants.
“Our management team strives to continually improve the quality of the AEMC’s analysis. We hold ourselves accountable to our stakeholders with respect to our statutory responsibilities for market development, reviews and rule making. We are always looking for new ways to cultivate engagement with consumers, government and energy market participants on strategic issues and challenges. We lead by example in implementing and embedding positive organisational change, and are united by a shared commitment to demonstrating the AEMC’s core values of leadership, engagement and integrity in everything that we do.”
Responsibilities
Mr Andrew Lewis
Chief Executive (Acting)
Andrew has over 20 years’ experience working in and around energy in a variety of roles, and brings perspectives from his time at government agencies, an energy peak body, energy market participants and ministerial offices. He has held senior executive positions with a strong focus on developing and implementing strategies and programs for energy market reforms, policy and regulatory analysis and development, consumer protection and support, stakeholder engagement and technical regulation.
Andrew has significant senior leadership, stakeholder engagement, communication and management capabilities gained at a time of intense political and public interest in issues including energy and housing affordability, ownership of utility assets, renewable energy and climate change. He has proven success in regulatory and policy development and advocacy; building, leading and motivating teams; and identifying strategic directions, implementing change and delivering customer-focused programs and reforms.
Ms Danielle Beinart
Executive General Manager, Networks and Technical
Danielle is an experienced leader with more than 20 years of experience working in the energy sector. During this time Danielle has worked in a broad range of functions and leadership roles, with experience in policy, regulation, commercial, strategy and consulting roles.
Danielle joined the AEMC in 2021 and is currently an Executive General Manager leading the Networks & Technical function. This function includes the policy team responsible for rule changes and reviews relating to transmission and distribution network regulation reform for the transition to net zero by 2050.
Danielle has a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours and a Bachelor of Science (Environmental Biology) from the University of Technology, Sydney. She also holds a Master of Business Administration (Executive) from the Australian Graduate School of Management.
Ms Gayee McGrath
Executive General Manager, Corporate Services
Ms McGrath has been working with the AEMC since 2016, and is currently the Head of People and Culture, the team responsible for organisational culture, professional development and recruitment. Ms McGrath’s background is in executive management; she previously worked as Executive General Manager for CiEvents, a global strategic event management agency, and spent 16 years with Qantas in senior executive roles. Ms McGrath has qualifications in business studies, and certifications in leadership, executive management and human resources.
Ms Victoria Mollard
Executive General Manager, Economics and System Security
Victoria Mollard is an experienced leader with more than 15 years of experience working in the energy sector. Victoria joined the AEMC in 2012 and has predominantly focussed on transmission frameworks and wholesale market reforms. She is currently the Executive General Manager leading the Economics and System Security team. This team is responsible for rule changes and reviews relating to system security and transmission access reform as we transition to net zero by 2050, as well as our in-house economics function.
Before joining the AEMC, she worked for NERA Economic Consulting advising clients on a range of matters on competition, regulatory principles and policy across the water, transport and energy sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Arts, and Masters of Commerce in Economics from the University of Auckland.
Mr Jack Schmidtke
General Counsel, Legal and Governance
Jack leads the team which provides and coordinates support to the Commission on legal, regulatory and governance matters, and drafts amendments to the national energy rules. In 2018 he was seconded to the Energy Security Board to work on key energy market reforms. Jack has worked as a legal adviser in both the corporate and public sectors. Before joining the AEMC in 2014, he worked for Herbert Smith Freehills and DLA Piper in their corporate practice groups and as an in-house legal counsel, providing legal advice on regulatory matters, corporate governance, and public and private mergers and acquisitions. He was also an Associate to the Hon. Richard Conti, a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia. Jack holds a Bachelor of Law with First Class Honours and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney.