Refining NZ hires Santos exec Naomi James to take over as CEO

Naomi James. Photo / Refining NZ

Refining NZ has hired Santos executive Naomi James to take over the reins of the country's only refinery after it was forced into a finding a replacement four months ago.

The company said James is expected to start in April, but an official date hasn't been confirmed. She replaces Mike Fuge who handed in his notice after just 13 months in the job to take the top position at Contact Energy. Fuge officially departs in March.

James is currently an executive vice president of Santos, joining the Australian oil and gas producer in 2016, where she is responsible for midstream infrastructure assets including oil and gas processing facilities.

Santos carved out those midstream assets into a separate unit, which attracted unsolicited interest from infrastructure investors. A sale wasn't behind the move, but the Australian Financial Review reported that Santos was open to exploring those options.

Before joining Santos, James spent a decade with Australian steel maker Arrium, including a senior leadership role until its voluntary administration in 2016.

"The Refining NZ board believes that Naomi's prior experience in strategy development, operations and change management will be hugely beneficial as the company transitions to meet the needs of a lower carbon economy and realise the full value of Refining NZ's infrastructure assets," chairman Simon Allen said in a statement.

Refining NZ shares last traded at $1.81 and are down 24 per cent over the past 12 months.