Anna Rowe - Property Specialist
If you've met Anna at a pōwhiri, you'll know her for her beautiful singing. She's an integral member of Powerco's waiata rōpū and Te Puāwai o Powerco – Powerco’s te ao Māori interest group.
But it’s not only her singing that makes Anna stand out. She brings the same warmth, energy and connection to her work with communities, colleagues and stakeholders across our network.
Anna joined Powerco in March 2020 as in-house legal counsel, just three days before we went into Covid lockdown. It was an unusual way to start a new job, but also the beginning of a path that has taken her into a role she describes as her “happy balanced place”.
After starting in the legal team, Anna took a secondment to the Property and Consents team in 2021 as a Property Specialist. She made the move permanent in 2022, bringing with her a mix of legal knowledge, relationship-building skills and a genuine love of working with people.
She says her role gives her the right balance of technical work, industry knowledge, time at her desk and time out in the field.
“It is fast paced, varied and full of connection - with colleagues, contractors, iwi, community members and other external stakeholders,” she says.
Anna still gets to use “a bit of her old legal brain”, while also working on a wide range of projects across Powerco’s network. She particularly enjoys iwi and community engagement, which she now gets to do more of through a 10-hour-a-week project secondment for the WBOP Development Project.
That mix of people, place and project work is what Anna values most. She enjoys knowing a project is running smoothly and that she has played a part in creating a positive experience for the communities and customers who benefit from new works, maintenance or upgrades.
A large, multi-year project up the Whanganui River will always be one of her proudest moments. It was a long journey that involved working closely with the community and contractors, building strong relationships and helping the project run smoothly. The result was not only successful work on the network, but also lasting connections and great outcomes for those involved.
The role has also taken Anna to some of the more remote and beautiful parts of Powerco’s network. She loves visiting places around the motu, staying on marae, putting her te reo Māori me ōna tikanga into practice, and connecting with nature and people.
“There’s always lots going on, which I love,” Anna says. “It’s fast paced and colourful.”
