New Zealand energy provider Mercury appoints new Chief Sustainability Officer

Mercury New Zealand Limited has appointed Catherine Thompson as its new Chief Sustainability Officer, starting on July 28, 2025.

Thompson previously held senior legal and management roles at a number of energy companies, including King Country Energy, Manawa Energy and Contact Energy. Her latest position was Acting Head of Legal Partnering at KiwiRail.

She has 30 years of experience across corporate affairs functions, sustainability, as well as consenting, strategy and risk management. 

At Mercury, she will play a key role in helping position the firm as a leader of New Zealand’s electrification journey

“I’m delighted to be welcoming someone of Catherine’s calibre. She has extensive energy sector experience, a reputation as a person with strong values and the ability to build deep stakeholder relationships. These qualities are key in a sector as interconnected as ours,” said Chief Executive Stew Hamilton 

“Her experience in driving transformation and culture, as well as building and retaining high-performing teams, will also be crucial as we continue to navigate significant change across the business, the sector and wider energy system."  

Replacing Lucie Drummond

Thompson will replace Lucie Drummond, who was named Mercury’s CSO in 2021 after five years in the company’s sustainability and risk management teams.

Drummond also came from a legal background, having worked as a solicitor for five years before joining Mighty River Power – which later rebranded as Mercury.

She will stay on until June 2025 to support Thompson and the company with the transition – and is yet to announce her next move.   

Mercury stopped generating electricity from fossil fuels several years ago, now focusing on hydro, geothermal and wind. The company aims to reduce Scope 1 emissions intensity by 70% and Scope 2 and 3 absolute emissions by 90% by 2040.