< Back to News

Solarcity new CEO appointment

Neil Cowie appointed CEO of New Zealand’s leading solar power company

Today solarcity, New Zealand’s leading solar power company, announced that Neil Cowie, former CEO of Mitre 10, has joined the business as Chief Executive Officer.

Cowie assumes the role from Andrew Booth, solarcity’s founder who has led the business since its inception, from a start-up based in Nelson to a successful enterprise with over 3,500 solar customers. Booth will remain an integral part of the business, taking on the role of Executive Director to focus on the development of solarcity’s key partnerships and wider industry engagement.

Cowie, as the newly appointed CEO of solarcity, will focus on building on the company’s exponential growth. In 2016, to make solar more accessible for Kiwi homeowners, the business launched solarZero, New Zealand’s first solar energy subscription model, and in 2018 added the solarZero smart battery as part of the service. solarcity has installed more than 3,500 solarZero systems on Kiwi homes, collectively producing around 12,600 MWh (megawatt hours) of clean solar energy and preventing 1,550 tonnes of carbon emissions from reaching the atmosphere (equivalent to planting 14,375 trees to offset the carbon emissions) per year.

I’m excited to be part of solarcity as it embarks on its next growth phase - it’s a dynamic and successful company built on purpose and innovation.  What attracted me to the role was their focus on New Zealand’s desire to protect the environment we all enjoy, by designing a unique solution that delivers solar power and battery storage as a service.  In the past the upfront costs of solar energy made it too expensive for some, but they’ve turned this on its head and made it a real option for everyone. It’s an honourable goal and I’m looking forward to helping more New Zealanders take advantage of this unique service.”

Philippa Weston, Chairperson of solarcity’s Board of Directors comments, “This change in leadership will strengthen our senior management capability and equip our business for its next phase of growth.  We welcome Neil to the Executive team and look forward to working with him.

The Board sincerely appreciates the commitment and passion that Andrew has brought to successfully build the business from start-up to one of the fastest growing green companies in New Zealand. He will continue to contribute to the vision and values of solarcity as we move on our promise to make solar energy a real option for all Kiwi homeowners and small businesses.”

Solarcity – R&D funding