Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
I've spent 30 years doing innovation, leading NZ and international R&D teams in functions including mechanical engineering, industrial design, systems engineering, innovation, and sustainability. During that time I was closely involved in requirements management, test strategies, project management, roadmap planning and global sourcing. In 2023 I moved over to supporting innovation, heading the commercialisation team at AUT Ventures to help identify and realise commercial opportunities from the IP generated at AUT university. And since 2024 I've been teaching innovation to engineering students at Auckland University of Technology. If you're trying to bring physical products to market, drop me a line, I'd be happy to chat.
Leading the commercialisation team at AUT Ventures to bring AUT's incredible research capabilities and technologies out into the world.
Working to help commercialise some of the amazing tech coming out of AUT's research programs
Lecturing a masters level course at AUT's Engineering School called Innovation Management. I've learnt so much from all the amazing people I've worked with over the years, now I get to pass some of that on.
Leading the global mechanical design and systems engineering teams. Heading up the NZ site (140 people). Responsible for sustainability (in R&D) and innovation. A strong commitment to innovation and experimentation, including launching and continuing to run Navico's global, cross functional hackathons. Worked closely with the CTO and Head of Agile to update NPD processes as the software teams transitioned from Waterfall to Agile.
Leading the global mechanical design and industrial design teams, made up of 34 people across 4 different countries - NZ, Italy, USA, and Mexico. During this time those teams brought to market over 200 unique products across a wide range of categories, including over 150 designed in-house, and 50 in collaboration with ODM suppliers. 9 of those products won Best Design Awards. On the commercial side, participated in annual supplier reviews and helped define sourcing strategies for all mechanical commodities (total $40M annual spend), and conducted due diligence for R&D on a company acquired by Navico. Part of the small team with hardware and software that redefined the NPD process to reduce time to market to 44 weeks from concept to mass production. Spent 2 of these years living in France supporting the world's largest boatbuilder, while continuing to run the global team.
Managed the mechanical design team of Navman's Marine division, developing waterproof electronics products for boats.