About me

I’m a Sales Engineer at Starboard Maritime Intelligence—though, to be honest, the title doesn't quite fit. I’m neither an engineer nor a typical salesperson. What I have done is play a key role in taking Starboard from a conceptual prototype to a million-dollar company in just four years. How? By diving into customer research problems, leveraging our data and experts to solve them, and ensuring our product and engineering teams understand exactly what our clients need.

 

I’ve also been responsible for acquiring and retaining clients, and I’m Starboard’s go-to writer for tender responses. One of my proudest accomplishments? Writing about 70% of the proposal that secured us the multi-year, multi-million-$ New Zealand all-of-government contract for a defence fusion system. 

I’ve represented Starboard on the global stage at conferences, published respected research, and led collaborative projects that have positioned the company as a trusted global brand, known for its science-driven products, and top-tier customer relationships. My quantitative analysis of tuna transshipments on the high seas is driving real policy change in the Western Central Pacific. So, maybe, I’m a "Sales Engineer" after all, and an oceanographer at heart.

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How I got here

I have a Ph.D. in biological oceanography at Dalhousie University, Canada. During my post-doc I worked on 3-D coupled hydrodynamic models and ocean colour remote sensing. Then I spent six years as an environmental consultant working on projects around coastal processes, marine and fresh water quality and coastal sediment transport.  

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In 2014, my family and I relocated to Aotearoa New Zealand for a research fellowship at the University of Waikato with Professor David Hamilton and the LERNZ group.

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I have a track record writing winning proposals for research funding and consulting projects. This includes contribution to the successful proposal for the Lakes Resilience MBIE Endeavour programme (2016-2020); and in 2017, I conceived the Eye on Lakes project and was the principal proposal writer for a successful Smart Ideas bid. Eye on Lakes develops advanced remote detection methods for cyanobacteria blooms. 

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External funding for my work also came from consulting projects I proposed and ran. For example, Waikato Shallow Lakes Restoration Modelling and feasibility studies for councils to demonstrate the power of satellite remote sensing for lake monitoring. 

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I have had the pleasure of working with Māori groups and individuals on a number of occasions and have formed a particular relationship with Te Arawa Lakes Trust. We are currently developing in situ monitoring for cyanobacteria in the Te Arawa (Rotorua) Lakes under Eye on Lakes. I led several projects with iwi as major stakeholders (Lake Rotoiti Diversion Wall and Waikato Shallow Lakes Restoration Modelling). 

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In 2018, I joined Xerra to drive the research and development of satellite Earth observation data products to enhance stewardship of our land and water resources. I spearhead Xerra's research on marine invasive species for our maritime domain awareness platform Starboard and work on operational water quality remote sensing.

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I hold an Adjunct Senior Research Fellowship at the University of Waikato (staff profile page) through which I maintain an active freshwater research portfolio, conduct teaching activities and postgraduate student supervision. 

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Read about selected research, consulting and student projects on my Projects page.