Involvement with irrigation schemes in his role as national water director for Downer NZ has landed Bjorn Triplow the top job with Opuha Water.
Opuha Water Ltd (OWL) chair Ryan O’Sullivan announced the irrigation co-operative has secured Triplow as its chief executive.
Triplow take up his position with Opuha on November 6.
He has extensive experience in the civil water and infrastructure industries.
“In his current role he had involvement with irrigation schemes which proved to be a catalyst for his interest in the role at Opuha,” O’Sullivan said.
“With 15 years’ experience successfully leading infrastructure businesses and associated workstreams, Bjorn brings this very relevant and valuable experience to Opuha as we continue our commitment to enabling sustainable growth for the company, our community and continuing our commitment to benefit the cultural, recreational and commercial communities of interest in the Timaru District.”
Triplow has been with Downer since July 2019. Prior to that he was with Citycare Ltd in Christchurch for 10 years.
In his senior management role at Downer Triplow is responsible for business development, stakeholder engagement, financial and commercial management, and operational oversight throughout New Zealand.
The role provides executive management with industry insight, strategy, governance, and guidance to ensure the company is best position in the market; all attributes he will bring to the irrigation company, O’Sullivan said.
Born in Gisborne, Triplow lives in Christchurch but has committed to being based locally during the week, with a medium-term plan to move closer to Pleasant Point where the OWL head office is located.
Triplow takes up the chief executive role from Andrew Mockford, who left OWL at the end of July to take up the operations manager role with Mid Canterbury water distribution company, Rangitata Diversion Race Management.
In his five years with Opuha Water, Mockford was successful in expanding the team across multiple business units to better meet the external demands placed on the business in the regulatory financial and dam safety space.
He oversaw the implementation of a much-enhanced automation programme across surveillance, water control and measurement and scheme network communications.
