ARCH NZ User Conference 2026

Dr Kate (Kat) Salm is a leading New Zealand geospatial scientist with a PhD from the University of Canterbury. She has served as President of Survey and Spatial New Zealand and is widely recognised for her industry impact, earning major honours including the Women’s Leadership Award at both the New Zealand and Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards, as well as the Outstanding Achievement in Design Award from the National Association of Women in Construction.

Fax McKernan is a highly experienced Survey Manager with nearly 20 years in civil, tunnelling and underground infrastructure projects.

Currently with Ghella, he brings deep expertise in statutory mine surveying and leads high-performance survey teams on some of New Zealand’s most complex infrastructure builds.

With 19 years of experience in the industry across New Zealand and overseas, Gisela Ripoll brings deep technical expertise and a strong track record of excellence to every project she leads.

Originally from Argentina, she has contributed to engineering projects of all scales, including major infrastructure developments. Her work across diverse and complex environments has shaped her into a highly skilled and adaptable spatial professional.

Matas Barakauskas holds a Bachelor of Surveying from the University of Otago and has built broad experience across cadastral, engineering and infrastructure projects through roles with Patersons, Paterson Pitts Group, and Woods.

His recent work includes high‑accuracy control networks and laser scanning projects, including support for mobile laser scanning at Dunedin International Airport.

Franco Grobler is an Associate and Geospatial Specialist at Woods, with experience across opencast mining, engineering surveying, and advanced UAV operations.

He has worked internationally, including at Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolmela Mine, and now supports Woods’ geospatial and UAV initiatives throughout New Zealand.

Ben Jolly is a remote sensing scientist at Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, specialising in land cover mapping and Antarctic cryosphere research. His work combines satellite, aerial, drone and terrestrial LiDAR data, supported by high‑performance computing.

He holds a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the University of Canterbury and a BE(Hons) in Electronics and Computer Systems from Massey University.

Kurt Larsen is a geospatial specialist with deep expertise in UAV and terrestrial laser scanning, delivering high-accuracy spatial data for mapping, surveying and 3D modelling applications.

He has over 20 years industry experience, 8 years in his Geospatial role at Cheal. He has a strong track record in applying advanced remote sensing technologies to complex field and infrastructure projects, driving quality and precision in geospatial data capture.

Andrew McMillan is a Senior Remote Sensing Scientist at Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research and a Research Fellow at Victoria University of Wellington, specialising in GIS, spatial analytics and advanced remote sensing.

He has an extensive publication record across earth observation and environmental modelling and is widely recognised for his contributions to applied geospatial science in New Zealand. 

Andy Pavletich specialises in the intersection of robotics, AI, and spatial data. Having worked with industry pillars like Beca and Trimble, he is now a product leader at DroneDeploy, where he focuses on accelerating reality capture technology.

From managing the integration of autonomous ground robotics to launching the next generation of AI-driven progress tracking, Andy’s work is centered on transforming data collection into real insights. 

Andy Burrell is a seasoned Geospatial and Remote Sensing professional with over two decades of experience across the Asia–Pacific region.

He specialises in LiDAR, orthophoto production, surveying and geospatial data analytics, helping clients achieve successful, data‑driven outcomes. With a rare blend of technical depth and commercial acumen

Louisa Bloomer is Director of Digital Technology for Stantec across Australia, New Zealand, and the Asia–Pacific region.

She leads digital strategy, data and AI initiatives for a large digital community and specialist team spanning geospatial, data analytics, BIM, visualisation, and advisory disciplines.

Known for turning emerging technology into practical, industry-ready solutions, Louisa focuses on modernising how infrastructure is planned and delivered.

Jacques Jordaan is a Senior Principal Civil Engineering Technologist and Digital Engineering Team Leader at Stantec.

As a digital advisory specialist, he leads innovation across infrastructure delivery, with a focus on transforming design workflows and unlocking value through data driven engineering.

Jacques is known for championing practical, scalable digital solutions across complex projects.