PRESIDENT

CEO, Kea Aerospace

Internet and aerospace entrepreneur, Mark founded two internet companies in 1998 and sold one of those ventures to Telecom Yellow Pages in 2006. Mark was the first New Zealander to book a ticket with Virgin Galactic and was the seed investor and co-Director of Rocket Lab from 2007 to 2011. In 2018 Mark started up Kea Aerospace to develop commercial aerospace projects and is committed to growing the New Zealand aerospace ecosystem.

SECRETARY

CEO, Argus Group

After a brief career in the UK Merchant Navy as a radio/electronics Officer, Roland came to New Zealand and joined Tait Electronics in a manufacturing support role. This developed into setting up and running the test engineering department at Swichtec where after 10 years Roland had risen to the role of General Manager for the systems division. For the last 10 years Roland has been General Manager at TE Connectivity, and is now the CEO of Argus Group. He holds an HNC in Radio and Radar, HND in Electronics, an MBA and is PMP accredited.

TREASURER

Associate Director, EY

Supporter of innovation and technology development, Mark is an Associate Director at EY, assisting both high growth start-ups and globally successful innovators access a broad range of government grants and R&D funding. Originally trained as a geneticist, Mark has 10 years’ experience in the manufacturing and export sector in both leadership and technical roles. Now Mark is driven by the unique opportunity to support the growing aerospace hub here in Aotearoa.

COMMITTEE MEMBER

Aerospace Cluster Specialist, ChristchurchNZ

Emma is an experienced strategic partnerships manager who is passionate about the role of innovation and technology in addressing some of the world's most significant challenges. In her current position as the Aerospace Cluster Lead at ChristchurchNZ, Emma is responsible for developing an ambitious city strategy for the sector, with the goal of harnessing the incredible economic opportunities it presents. Prior to her current role, Emma's career primarily focused on health tech, where she held various positions in New Zealand and the UK, all centred around innovation within the health and disability sector.

COMMITTEE MEMBER

General Manager New Zealand, Nova Systems

Jude is the New Zealand General Manager for Nova Systems, a global engineering services and technology solutions company, partnering with clients to keep our nations and people safe and secure. An experienced and customer focused aerospace professional with over 25 years’ experience of leading operations in safety critical environments, Jude is passionate about supporting the growth of New Zealand’s aerospace sector.

COMMITTEE MEMBER

Director, Air Force Museum of New Zealand

In 2019 Brett was appointed as Director of the Air Force Museum of New Zealand a role he currently holds. As the role is a civilian one Brett “stepped out of uniform” to take up the role although he remains on the Air Force Active Reserve. Brett has two daughters, Amelia, who was born in October 2005 and Laura who was born in October 2007. His interests include working with youth, fishing, theatre (the kind with actors), rugby (supporting as opposed to playing), travel, and spending time with his girls and his partner Faye.

COMMITTEE MEMBER

Senior Lecturer, University of Canterbury

Dr Sarah Kessans is a lecturer in the UC College of Engineering’s School of Product Design. As a biochemist and synthetic biologist with a passion for space exploration, Sarah is working to create solutions for sustaining life both on and off Earth, as well as developing technology that will make this possible. As a committee member of Aerospace New Zealand, Sarah is committed to facilitating relationships between the aerospace industry and the tertiary education sector, ensuring a progression of qualified talent into the ecosystem as it expands.

COMMITTEE MEMBER

Commercialisation Programme Manager, KiwiNet

Michelle supports commercialisation capability building within the deep tech ecosystem through her national role with KiwiNet as a Commercialisation Programme Manager. KiwiNet administers pre-seed accelerator funding for 19 of our Universities, CRIs and publicly funded research organisations. As recreational pilot, she has a keen interest in the future of aviation and airspace integration. She sits on the Canterbury Aero club Committee, which also oversees the International Aviation Academy. She believes we need to be active participants in bringing MBIE's Aotearoa, New Zealand Aerospace Strategy to life, incorporating a cultural competency and sustainability focus with social licence essential for success.

COMMITTEE MEMBER

HOD Engineering and Architectural Studies, Ara

Robert has been part of the aerospace industry for over 30 years and 20 years in aviation leadership roles. Aviation experience has been from maintenance, modification of commercial aircraft through to the building aircraft interior products for Boeing and Airbus. Robert has had extensive experience working with customers, regulators and manufacturers and has previously held CAA NZ and EASA design delegations as well as working in the FAA regulatory system on both commercial and private jets. As a committee member of Aerospace New Zealand, his interest is now to support the growth of the aerospace industry in Aotearoa.

COMMITTEE ADVISOR

Corporate & Commercial Partner, Lane Neave

With over 25 years’ legal experience, Graeme heads up Lane Neave’s technology practice, including telecommunications and aerospace. His expertise includes corporate advisory, shareholder agreements, technology and other commercial contracts, privacy and technology regulatory compliance. Graeme is excited by new technologies, and over the years has been fortunate to be involved with projects that relate to enterprise resource planning systems, Internet of Things sensors, location-monitoring apps, and the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in surveying. Graeme is ranked in technology in global law directories Chambers Global (since 2008) and Best Lawyers (since 2019).

COMMITTEE ADVISOR

Vice President of APAC and Air Operations, Wisk

Catherine brings more than 23 years of experience to her role as Vice President of the Asia Pacific Region and Air Operations at Wisk. She is responsible for leading a multinational team focused on bringing Wisk’s first self-flying eVTOL air taxi to market. Prior to joining Wisk, Catherine was a Group Captain in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and has held several leadership positions across the New Zealand Defence Force. Catherine has led strategic change programs, including the transformation of Air Force Intelligence, and the integration of new aircraft fleets. Catherine also served at the Ministry of Primary Industries, where she grew the intelligence capability to strengthen the protection of the country’s biosecurity, fisheries and trade functions. She has also served as the Military Secretary to the New Zealand Minister of Defence. Catherine has a Master in International Security (with distinction) from Massey University.

COMMITTEE ADVISOR

Founder and CEO, Argo Navis Aerospace

Malcolm has been a pioneer in New Zealand's aerospace sector. He completed his PhD at the University of Canterbury, designing world leading control algorithms and New Zealand's first guided rockets. Malcolm was an early employee of Rocket Lab, and developed the navigation system for the Electron launch vehicle. In 2019, he founded Argo Navis Aerospace to fill the gap in the commercial propulsion market. Here he has been developing liquid rocket engines which are not only high performance but also commercially viable for the global space launch industry. Outside of work, Malcolm is involved in precision target shooting and high performance skiff sailing, where he is an 8 time national champion.

OPERATIONS MANAGER

Aerospace New Zealand

Victoria has over 7 years experience working in the areas of development, project management and events management within the tertiary sector in Melbourne. After moving to Christchurch in 2019, Victoria joined Aerospace New Zealand as the Communications and Events Manager to support the successful development of the aerospace community in Christchurch. In June 2022, Victoria took on the position of Operations Manager, facilitating corporate sponsorships, strategic partnerships and leading project implementation.

TECHNICAL COORDINATOR

Aerospace New Zealand

Rushil has significant experience in technology, working as a computer technician previously, with experience in Python, C#, HTML and CSS. He is currently in his second year of studying a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours, specialising in Mechatronics Engineering, at the University of Canterbury. Combining his passions for Aerospace and Technology, he joined Aerospace New Zealand as the Technical Coordinator, creating and managing the Aerospace New Zealand website, associations and related technical media.

EVENTS & HR COORDINATOR

Aerospace New Zealand

Brydee has extensive experience in Christchurch’s events sector, with comprehensive knowledge of event logistics/coordination, health and safety, employment law and strategic HR development. She is incredibly passionate about delivering events to a high standard and cultivating meaningful relationships with stakeholders. Brydee is currently working with Aerospace New Zealand as the Events & HR Coordinator, and has just finished studying for a Bachelor of Applied Management, specialising in Event Management and Human Resources Management.

MARKETING SPECIALIST

Aerospace New Zealand

Mekdim is an aerospace entrepreneur and marketer with a passion for all things space. He has a background in aircraft engineering and since completing a BCom at the University of Canterbury in 2022, he has co-founded Oasis Orbital Systems. His startup aims to create new avenues of space exploration through innovative orbital camera systems. This technology aims to provide greater accessibility to tools for exploring our universe. Mekdim is the Marketing Specialist for Aerospace New Zealand and works across the organisation to elevate the brand and reach of our message across all channels.

EDUCATION MANAGER

Aotearoa Aerospace Academy

Miranda Satterthwaite grew up under the stars of the Dark Sky Reserve, Lake Tekapo, developing a love for astronomy. She studied sciences at University of Otago and ICT at University of Canterbury. She holds both a Masters Degree in International Business Law and a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership. Recently she has worked as the Academy Director for the International Antarctic Centre where she guided the Aurora flights across the Southern Skies. There she directed the Mission to Space programmes where, within a curriculum-based framework, students are led through interactive programmes on Antarctic Aerospace, along themes ranging from the survival in extreme environments to technology tested in Antarctica for space exploration. Currently Miranda is a Rocket Lab Educator trained through the Rocket Lab Educator Academy at Rocket Lab’s Production Complex and Mission Control Centre. Miranda previously trained in STEM education through a range of NASA bases in the USA, including NASA Marshall Flight Centre, NASA Kennedy Centre, NASA Armstrong Flight Centre and NASA Ames Centre and she has flown twice with NASA Sofia on astronomy Missions about the Antarctic Circle.