Meet The Orbicans

Frenchman Antonin is a geospatial architect with one Masters in Geology and another in Computer Science with a geo focus. His professional credentials are equally two-thumbs up; his expertise is integral to the success of major GIS projects for infrastructure around the world. Antonin’s spectacular 3D platform smarts and curiosity for geo-everything drive inspiring solutions to customer needs. He strives for gold. He is an accomplished sportsman.

Arthur is the pivot king. He has a University of Canterbury civil engineering degree, taught high school physics for nine years and is now getting his “tech” on as a full-stack developer. He’s a part-time vegetarian, drives an electric car and loves nothing more than a quiet weekend walking his two miniature schnauzers and being creative in the kitchen. He consistently brings the best dinner leftovers for lunch.

Banika is Orbica’s resident full stack developer and yoga guru. When she’s not cranking out top-notch solutions for Orbica, you can find Banika mastering online coding challenges, running, cycling, walking and being a general fitness enthusiast. A New Delhi native, she’s an expert at design and development of .Net based applications and has extensive web development experience in sales, education, capital markets and intranet sectors. She’s also got a Bachelor of Computer Science and Master of Computer Application chalked up to her name.

Columns, calculations and fiscal systems may strike terror into the hearts of most mortals. But to Bridget, they are friends. She is a chartered accountant with a PGDip and a BCom. She draws upon her insight and professional experience with some of the best known accounting firms to ensure Orbica ticks along nicely. Bridget also really loves movies. You want her on your team on quiz night.

Bronwyn is Orbica’s resident people looker-afterer. She’s got a Bachelor of Applied Management and more than 20-years in human resources experience under her belt – 13-years of which were in the New Zealand Army. Bron believes complacency kills and she’s always looking for better ways to get things done. On a sunny day, you’ll find her - waxed surfboard in hand - chasing waves and an adrenaline rush down at Sumner beach.

Faisal is Orbica’s go-to geospatial craftsman and a master gamer. A graduate of Pakistan’s renowned FAST National University, Faisal has a Masters in Computer Science and could design and develop spatial systems from an egg-box, twigs and double-sided sticky tape if he had to. A true Orbican, Faisal advocates for curiosity, exploration and change as a means of constant achievement. He regularly cites Steve Jobs.

Justin is a geospatial whiz. With a Bachelor of Geography and Masters level GIS papers from Auckland University, he’s as handy coding savvy solutions as he is with big picture thinking and business consultancy. He’s also an international man of mystery, having plied his trade in the far reaches of the globe including the UAE and Finland. When he’s not solving geospatial mysteries, you can find him fossicking for crime, thriller and spy novels at rare bookstores.

Kurt is Orbica’s founder and mountain-biking CEO. Whereas a range of geospatial-shaped descriptions fit him way snugger than his fav baggies, Kurt’s strong customer focus means his specialisation lies in the geo-enabling of organisations: he identifies potential, makes connections, and turns them into an asset. His superpowers were recognised by the NZSEA with the Young Professional of the Year Award, 2016.

Dr Kurt Joy has a PHD in geology from the University of Canterbury and is one hyper-spectrally talented dude. His props include quantifying human impact on sensitive soils of Antarctica’s Dry Valley using UAV mapping and remote sensing. He’s also into a whole other kind of tech: he builds modular synthesisers for a hobby and desperately covets the TR808 drum machine that powered Public Enemy and Beastie Boys. He is currently an unpaid servant to four cats.

If Orbica was a netball team, Laura would be our Centre. She’s all over the court with her admin skills being generally awesome at supporting the team to get some scores on the board. Accounts, special projects, diary wizardry and reports are what Laura eats for breakfast. She’s also our resident animal lover, bespoke furniture restorer and she’s loves nothing more than a weekend mini-break to keep her on her game.

As chief operating officer Louisa is Orbica’s benevolent dictator of stuff that happens. With a BA in linguistics and law from VUW and a resume that reads like a best-seller, Louisa specialises in business analysis, service delivery, operational management and collaborative team environments. She cuts through nonsense. Her well-developed interest in Japanese culture extends to the delicate art of the tea ceremony. Louisa has undisputed control of Orbica’s kettle.

Location data specialist Neal was born in SA, raised in NZ and graduated from UC. He has a BSc in Geography, a PGDip in GIS, and a genius for controlling Python, SQL, databases and network routing etcetera using only his mind, fingers and thumbs. He also flies drones. In his dreams he is a decorated quadcopter fighter pilot.

Peter is in charge of Orbica’s European operations for good reasons. As well as a BE(Hons) he holds an MBA from WHU in Germany, and has studied business and management at so many institutions it would be quicker to tick off those not on the list. His background includes the GIS consulting industry alongside Orbica’s fearless leader Kurt, and managing multiple complex turnkey industrial developments throughout Europe. He’s fluent in German, plays a mean guitar and is sickeningly fit. Just in case that’s not enough, Peter was also the recipient of the WHU Future Leaders Challenge award, 2016.

Phil is Orbica’s environmental scientist and undisputed master of all things H20. Even cooler, we can call him Dr Phil since he recently received his Ph.D. in water resources management from the University of Canterbury. Phil relishes the power of data to inform environmental policy and is equally comfortable in the lab, the field and talking tech. Still, his happiest place is way off the beaten path in the vast outdoors.

Rimu can literally suss-out a dev project and transform it faster than you can say “code-master.” He’s got a Bachelor of Information Technology from Otago Polytechnic and an arsenal of coding languages in his quiver. He swears he’s an average guy but he’s lived in Japan and Borneo, his favourite book is always the one he’s currently reading and he’s a bona fide deck boss of large fishing vessels. He’s also partial to angling for trout.

Rob likens himself to a bridge builder in the geospatial world. His work enables clients to make the connections necessary to understand and improve their environments and information systems. Rob has held various leadership roles in the geospatial sector and enjoys working collaboratively with his clients. Rob’s spatial skills come in handy creating challenging obstacle courses for his kids.

Sagar is a data scientist and an AI specialist with an MTech in IT. His enthusiasm for the deep space of data sends him exploring for hidden treasures using machine learning and deep learning algorithms. A multilingual coder, he is proficient in Java, Python and R. His insights solve real world complex problems: he developed the Indian space agency’s Earth rock image classification system. Sagar is equally enthusiastic for cricket. And he plays chess like a demon.

Sakinah likes to code. A lot. So coming onboard the Orbica rocket as a full-stack developer is kind of like the mothership calling her home. Sakinah gained super coding skills during her Bachelor of IT at Otago Polytechnic and industry savvy from Signal ICT graduate school. She loves nothing better than a job well done and seeing good code come to life on screen. She an avid reader of sci-fi/fantasy novels in her spare time.

Indian-born innate philosopher Santosh is a spatial solutions specialist. And a formidable talent. He studied Mathematics, Geophysics, Economics and GIS in Texas, a lot. Santosh integrates various technologies to problem-solve and develop enterprising spatial solutions that make Orbica clients very happy. Santosh is a world adventurer. Travelling makes him very happy – see him smile.

Sunny by name and by nature, Sunny is super qualified in all things map-ish. He has a Bachelor of Land Resource Management from Northeast Agricultural University in China, a Master of Geography Information Science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a Graduate Diploma of Computer Science from University of Auckland. Phew! Not surprisingly, he relates to his superhero of choice’s smarts (and handsomeness) – Dr Strange. When he’s not making beautiful maps or apps, he’s Orbica’s resident Pavarotti: a trained opera singer, level-9 pianist and accordion player.

Suvarna is Master of Science in Computer Networks and the mechanic who keeps the Orbica rocket ship engine humming. She’s constantly tuning efficiencies that automate the everyday stuff so the whole team can operate in hyperdrive. She specialises in business applications, is a SharePoint guru, and technology is her tool of choice to beat pesky, complex data problems into shape. Out of work she’s an adventure seeker who loves silver screen treasure hunting flicks.

Armed with a B.A in international relations and a Graduate Diploma in Journalism, master communicator Vanessa brings the Orbica team a bevy of skills she racked up reporting on Middle East politics and Tel Aviv tech start-ups. She not only translates Hebrew to English, but more impressively, tech/geek-speak into everyday-mortal-language. Vanessa loves nothing better than a finely crafted sentence and an adventure. She is Orbica’s best bet at negotiating a Middle East peace solution.

Location data specialist William has a BSc in Geology and a PGDip in GIS. He’s a critical thinker with an eye for opportunity and a knack for practical application. Wielding all the digital trickery of the spatial trade, William transforms dusty piles of data into inspiring real-world solutions. A sportsman and a qualified ski instructor, he says it comes in handy for avoiding avalanches. William also paints spectacularly.