Marcel was born, raised and completed his primary and secondary schooling in the Waikato. He then served in the Royal New Zealand Navy, and holds an Honours Bachelor degree in Engineering (Mechanical), as well as Business Management and Institute of Directors qualifications. Marcel has considerable experience as a Chief Executive Officer, having worked, around New Zealand and internationally, in the contracting, electrical distribution and renewable energy industries. He is passionate about supporting and creating opportunities for our people and communities. A family man with two active teenage sons, in his spare time he enjoys trail running, skiing and open water swimming.

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David's background was initially in social work, youth work and community development, and he has worked for various local agencies since the late 1970s. His extensive experience in funding goes back to establishing COGS in the Waikato, Hauraki, Tauranga and King Country regions in 1984, and then managing regional community services for the Department of Social Welfare. Along the way he established and managed a nationally recognised and award-winning education training provider. This was followed by almost 15 years of self-employment working for training providers, government departments and community organisations, undertaking research, development, project management and other consultancy work. This also included 10 years of managing national contracts to deliver training, mentoring and coaching in the social services sector. In 2007, David was contracted by the WEL Energy Trust as a Grants Assessor for the annual grants round. He commenced working for the Trust on a permanent part-time basis in June 2011 in the role of Grants Advisor, and since July 2014 has been in the full-time position of Grants Manager.

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Shelley is originally from Auckland and has lived in Hamilton since 2001. She has been in secretarial roles most of her working life and was employed part time in the accountancy sector as an Administrator before joining the Trust. Shelley's husband is an electrician by trade and together they have two daughters and a son.

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A Waikato local through and through, Ness brings extensive experience in accounts and administration to the Trust team, joining us in 2023. When she's not keeping our operations running smoothly, you'll find her catching up with her two grown children or hitting the road in the family campervan with her partner and their Sydney Silky Terrier. She shares a passion for motor vehicles and loves any chance to escape the city for an adventure.

Stacey hails from the Waikato and holds a Masters degree from Victoria University of Wellington.  After several years in London, she settled back in the Waikato with her husband and their two teenage children.  Stacey has worked in the local not-for-profit sector for over 15 years supporting a range of services with grants, governance and marketing assistance.  She started with WEL Energy Trust in February 2024 and in her spare time enjoys volunteer work and her local Park Run.