Head of Geomatics
Qatar Energy
Total years of experience :49 years, 0 Months
• Leading the operational, tactical use of geospatial technologies (including industrial drones, GIS. remote sensing, Digital Twins, AR/ VR) to improve the planning and execution of onshore and offshore operations, across QatarEnergy and its JV partners. This includes support for the $50Bn North Field Expansion Project (NFXP), which is the largest LNG expansion project in the World. Under my leadership, Digital pipelines have been re-invented and fully optimised. Key metrics have risen by >150%.
• Developing and implementing advanced digital tools that allow stakeholders to see and measure construction progress against design (3d) and also through time (past, present and future) on web-based viewers and portable platforms (including VR and AR headsets).
• Reviewing legacy information systems and constantly improving workflows to integrate GIS with core enterprise systems (CAD, BIM, ERP, MV/ML/AI) in ways that are innovative yet business-driven and highly effective.
• Setting strategy based on business drivers, implementing new technical standards, and re-engineering processes to achieve tangible gains.
• Setting scopes, standards and frameworks to evaluate and adopt new technologies of relevance to company operations. Includes appraisal and vetting of vendors and contractors.
• SME and technical lead for a new Comprehensive Vessel Monitoring & Analysis System, which will monitor all vessel movements and enhance safety across Qatars territorial waters.
• Accountable for project delivery, including strategic projects for the Emirs Office.
• Providing thought leadership to senior management and government stakeholders to challenge assumptions, address business pain points, and instill best practices.
• Managing a small, multi-cultural and diverse team of drone surveyors, geoprocessing technicians and GIS experts, who are all committed to excellence.
• Senior member of QatarEnergys 24/7 on-call Emergency Response Team, with a 30 minute call-out response target.
• Responsible for designing, building and monetizing new solutions that fuse digital tools (particularly GIS and sensors) with data science to form market solutions that were deployed across the Asia-Pacific Regions AEC, Utility, Energy and Defense sectors.
• Actively developed mobile and advanced GIS modelling tools, and integrated these with enterprise systems including BIM, AR/VR, and knowledge management tools.
• Led the business case, implementation plan and Technical Steering Committee for tactical drone utilization across the largest employee-owned engineering consultancy in Australasia (Beca). Setup training programs and support systems for a large group of civil engineers to become very competent inspectors who used drones as tools.
• Pioneered new approaches for performing complex asset inspections using drones, Computer/ Machine Vision, and interactive, online reporting tools.
• Responsible for sales generation, proposal writing, project scoping, project management, software development (programming), web service creation and deployment (ESRI web maps, web apps, dashboards, Storymaps)
• Set technical standards, commercial frameworks and led POCs to evaluate and adopt new technologies of relevance to client operations across AEC, Energy, Utilities Forestry, Government and Defense sectors.
• Ownership and reporting against KPIs at project, team and Branch level.
• Directed enterprise GIS system administration (optimization of ArcSDE and Portal), application performance monitoring, user creation and security monitoring.
• Managed an inclusive, diverse, empowered and highly effective team of technical experts
• Actively mentored and trained peers and delivered presentations to colleagues and clients at all career levels, from graduates to CEOs.
• Setup a private technology incubator to transform ideas and applied R&D into viable commercial products. Highlights included:
• First company outside of USA to import, test, and apply Skydio drones for advanced inspection use-cases,
• Developed cloud-based mobile GIS tools to help New Zealands largest company (Fonterra Limited) to enhance key operations, nationwide,
• Developed a mobile GIS mapping tool to help farmers to document physical assets and improvements made. This lifted compliance with environmental regulations and also improved succession/ hand-over to future farm owners.
• Developed a high-speed transportation asset mapping system (called RAVEN) which was adopted by New Zealands roading and rail authorities,
• Developed a custom sensor that fuses video with edge-computing and onboard Machine Vision / Machine Learning to enhance measurement and counting of people, vehicles and moving objects.
• Business leadership, setting technology strategy roadmaps.
• Architecture and ownership of product delivery and marketing
• Direct management of staff, clients, products and contracts.
• A pro bono role that enabled me to give back to the University that inspired my career.
• Inspiring graduate students to master the science and applied uses of spatial technologies including GIS. remote sensing, LiDAR, drones, AR and VR, and computer vision.
I performed a variety or technical, management and leadership roles. Please refer to my attached resume, and contact me for further details.
• Envisioned, designed, developed and launched many innovative solutions. Some
highlights included:
• Lifeline: provides a real-time view of all offshore operations across the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea, with advanced tracking and reporting tools to monitor vessel safety and helicopter operations. This tool transformed daily operations offshore and elevated emergency preparedness.
• Corporate Emergency Responder Tool (CERT); provides a unified, real-time map view of key operations and environmental factors with custom tools to support fast decision making under pressure.
• Manifa GIS: developed a comprehensive GIS that synthesized land use permits, contractor design plans, with maps, satellite imagery and custom tools to track and streamline development and delivery of the Manifa Field for Saudi ARAMCO.
• Invented and patented a Real Time Oilspill Tracking Tool, which won the prestigious New Horizons Idea (Supreme Innovation) Award at the 2012 World Oil Awards.
• Officially mentored 4 Saudi staff to become IT Professionals, and unofficially helped many dozens of other Saudi colleagues to grow skills and sharpen their professional confidence.
• Member of Saudi ARAMCOs Leadership Alumni.
• Provided advice and presentations to leadership at all levels, including the Board.
• Member of Saudi ARAMCOs Corporate Emergency Response Team, supporting both the Drilling ECC and OSPAS.
• Evaluating business challenges and designing GIS/ IT solutions to improve operations.
• Played a pivotal role in establishing Saudi ARAMCOs GIS entity (e-Map Division).
• Managed 50 full-time staff with 6 direct reports, whilst also leading several strategic, enterprise-scale projects.
• Recruited staff, set strategic direction for GIS, contributed to setting Departmental goals.
• Defined and owned Divisional KPIs, managed budgets and promoted our service offerings across the entire Company.
Initially hired to overhaul and deliver a GIS/ IT project of high importance, which had stalled. Within 6 months, the project was re-scoped, and a custom GIS solution was developed and successfully delivered to Saudi ARAMCOs Gas Operations entity. It quickly expanded to assist Refining, and eventually became a company-wide solution (CERT).
Various other roles: 2001-1994: always pushing the tactical envelope of applied technology.