Arron Wood AM is CEO of Yurringa Energy, Australia’s first Indigenous-owned energy retailer. He has nearly 25 years’ leadership experience spanning business, sustainability, education, local government and community service.
Arron was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the environment, local government and the community. His other accolades include the Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year Award, the United Nations Individual Award for Outstanding Service to the Environment, the Centenary Medal and the Melbourne Business Award for Contribution to the Environment.
He was also named the 2001 Young Australian of the Year for the environment and received the News Ltd Telstra Micro Business Award.
Arron’s previous leadership roles include Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Melbourne and Chair of its Finance and Governance Portfolio. He has also chaired the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute and served two terms on the South East Water Board.
His other board experience includes roles with Sustainability Victoria and the Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority.
Growing up in Mildura, Victoria, Arron began campaigning to protect the Murray River from an early age—an experience that inspired his autobiography, Billabong Boy.
He later founded Kids Teaching Kids, an award-winning peer education program that involved more than 100,000 students between 2000 and 2020. He also worked as 3AW’s environment reporter for several years.
Arron is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and completed a Churchill Fellowship with the United Nations in New York. His environmental work has also been featured on ABC’s Australian Story.