David Darling can at best be described as an ‘entrepreneur extraordinaire’ in the field of science and technology. David is CEO of Pacific Edge Limited, a New Zealand based cancer diagnostic company specialising in the discovery and commercialisation of diagnostic and prognostic technology for the early detection and monitoring of cancer. David has had considerable experience developing start-up companies and early stage technologies through to commercialisation. He has been involved in the entrepreneurial development of biomedical devices, biotechnology, nutraceuticals, herbal medicines, forestry and horticulture.
Steve Saunders is the owner of the Plus Group of companies, specialising in horticulture management/consultancy, global pollen production, robotics development, international JVs, tech R&D/innovation and science. Steve is also a major stakeholder in the kiwifruit postharvest sector and an active Angel investor. He has won a number of innovation and export awards, as well as government and Zespri / KVH funded technology projects. He is the co-founder of Newnham Park Horticulture Innovation Centre at Te Puna, which hosts five local export award winning independent companies.
Ed Burak is User Experience Design Manager at Tourism Holdings Limited (THL). THL is the largest provider of recreational vehicles across Australia, New Zealand and the USA. A talented industrial designer and marketer Ed has built a reputation for innovative work driven by customer insights. His current role at Tourism Holdings is focussed on accelerating THL’s design-led strategy. Prior to joining THL, Ed held a number of roles at Formway Design including Senior Designer and General Manager of Marketing.
Rob Heebink is Research and Development Executive at Gallagher. This year Gallagher is celebrating 75 years of innovation and business excellence, providing innovative solutions to agricultural, security and fuel partners around the world. Rob has extensive international experience in operations and R&D management. Rob's vision - "Innovation is not an R&D activity, it is a business activity” all parts of the business need to work together to identify new possibilities, contribute to the generation of new ideas, and take responsibility for their respective roles in the realisation of new products and solutions.
Blythe Rees Jones is Programme Director at Locus Research. Locus Research is an award winning Product Development Company whose innovative products have helped position NZ export companies as leaders in key markets across the world. Blythe is highly experienced in directing research and development targeted at delivering new creative insights, and greater market opportunities, through effective application of design.
Tony Hadfield is a self-employed consultant working in research and development and commercialisation of R&D. Most recently he was the General Manager of Seafood Innovations Ltd a company promoting innovation within the seafood sector by funding R&D projects in aquaculture and the wild-catch fisheries, as well as covering a wide spectrum of scientific disciplines. Tony has been involved directly in the innovation sector since the early 1990’s when he joined the then government R&D funding agency, the Foundation for Research Science and Technology
This event is brought to you in conjunction with Western Bay at Work and the Young Innovator Awards, and could not happen without the support of Priority One, Locus Research, Woods Creative, ExportNZ BOP, Enterprise Angels and Callaghan Innovation.
