Chief Executive
Al started his career as a geotechnical engineer, lending his skills to a number of major infrastructure projects including the Clyde dam.
Al became involved in ECOED, a local kiwi conservation project in the Hawkes Bay region, after frequent trips into the bush made him very aware of the challenged state of our native biodiversity.
He then teamed up with John Wilks, and the two began to focus their engineering and management skills on developing a transmitter that monitored kiwi activity. Following this they developed ‘Sky Ranger’, a system designed to gather information about kiwi nesting behavior from the air. After the development of Sky Ranger, Al and John developed tracking and monitoring devices for other threatened species including kakapo, takahe and kea.
Al later served as Technical Development Manager at the Department of Conservation for three years, developing his own understanding of New Zealand’s national conservation needs, and leading a research and development team to address some of the biggest technical hurdles.
In his spare time, Al enjoys spending time outdoors – tramping, rock climbing, caving and white water kayaking.
