roger sutton commenced as cera's ceo on 13 june 2011. he had previously been ceo of orion new zealand, the electricity distribution company for the christchurch area. sutton resigned as ceo on 17 november 2014 effective on 31 january 2015 when cera was downgraded from a public service department to a departmental agency within the department of the prime minister and cabinet (dpmc). john ombler, cera's establishment ceo was appointed on 19 november 2014 effective on 1 december to be acting ceo until a permanent chief executive is named. cera received criticism for paying panel members $1000 per day, approximately 10 times the national average.