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.

Darren is an easy-going guy whose motto is to “live a simple life in a complex world.” But don’t be fooled – he’s got a BSc in Environmental Science and Statistics and wields his life outlook to demystify, simplify and wrangle complex data into easy-to-consume and beautiful applications. His love of the outdoors sparked his passion for geography: he’s adventured in India, climbs mountains and has walked the 3000km trail from Bluff to Cape Reinga.

With a Master of Computer Sciences (Earth Sciences) and an MBA, Delphine is a French-Kiwi who is as au fait with geek-speak as she is with spreadsheets. She brings bucket loads of enthusiasm, software product and solution experience to Team Orbica and eats up challenge, change and collaboration for breakfast. In life, as in work, you’ll find Delphine powering 100kph at stuff that equally scares and thrills: surfing, downhill biking, kitesurfing and snowboarding.

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.

Gareth has a Diploma of Business and a penchant for tackling pesky problems with out-of-the-box thinking. He’s a consummate communicator who gets his kicks helping teams work better together and succeed. Gareth ran a behemoth sports bar/club in Swansea and has tackled business analysis and project management roles for big business and government. He’s chalked up living on an Israeli kibbutz, meeting Dave Grohl and one-day adventure races for Cure Kids. His charcoal barbecue is basically a family member.

Holly is Orbica’s uncontested office queen. She is supreme ruler of getting stuff done, keeping office processes running smoothly and fronting health and safety to make sure that we don’t kill ourselves doing something stupid. Holly likes to draw, potter in the garden, read a good spy novel or chill out watching Die Hard. She’s also a trained production make-up artist who can create a full zombie get-up should we ever need it.

Shanghai native Jiaxin has a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Science and Technology in Beijing and a Master of Computer Science from the University of Edinburgh. He’s also got a sweet spot for good-looking code: away from work he’s wrangling Python to teach his robot car to auto-pilot for fun. While he misses good Chinese dumplings and 24-hour home deliveries, he loves living in NZ, jogging, fishing, travelling, stargazing and watching science fiction movies. He’s a mean badminton player.

John honed his developer and map skills in the New Zealand Defence Force as an information systems technician and geospatial intelligence analyst. He’s used his GIS powers for good helping to combat narcotics smuggling and piracy in the Arabian Gulf. Back on home turf, he’s developed GIS and ICT systems for organisations around the country, like Civil Defence. And he loves nothing better than keeping fit and exploring the great outdoors. Mountain biking is his adventure-in-waiting...

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.

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.

Mallory loves maps and their ability to communicate information and tell data stories. This explains the Bachelor of Science in Geography from University of Canterbury and her ongoing study towards a Diploma of Business at SIT. She shunned the obligatory OE to explore her own backyard in Kiwi-land, challenging herself to take on Outward Bound and learn to kayak-roll. She loves hanging out with her horse Chiquita and dreams of owning a lifestyle block. She’s a former Special Olympics equestrian teacher.

Mike is not your stereotypical accountant. Sure, he has a B-Com from University of Otago and was NZ Financial Leader of the Year SMEs at the 2016 NZCFO Awards. But underneath the turned-up polo shirt collar is a former NZ Black Stick with a silver medal from the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games. He’s been a hockey gear designer, Canterbury Suburban Reps cricketer and stay-at-home dad. On the weekends you’ll find him playing golf, fishing or renovating his 1920s villa.

Buenos Aires-born Milena is an innate community builder who managed a bustling, high-growth start-up company co-working space before Orbica. She also runs a mean event – TedxCHCH and PechaKuchaNight anyone? She studied zoology at University of Oklahoma and University of Texas (Dallas), she’s blessed with the gift of the gab and loves board games, podcasts, theatre, murder mysteries and distilling whisky with her dad. She once drove a Toyota Yaris 35,000km from London to Kazakhstan and back.

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.

Rafael has a Master of Computer Science and an MBA from University College London and was Swedish Leader of the Year in 2010. He is a well-renowned business trail blazer and pioneer of Earth observation technology. He’s visited more than 100 countries; he completed the big five marathons in a single year, and at 12-years-old he was the youngest person in Sweden to qualify for his amateur radio license. The Starship Enterprise is his dream second home.

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.

Stefan is a Berlin native and true geo-geek. He has a Master’s degree in geography from Heidelberg University with a thesis on using laser scanning to automatically detect changes to the snow surface on Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain. He’s equally code-savvy with full-stack design talent. When he’s not fixing computers for friends, you’ll find Stefan running, climbing and walking or cycling long distances. To wind down, he schools up on the latest politics, sports and tech news. He’s an effective altruism believer and part-time drummer.

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.