Our people

Bryce Whitcher – Chairman of the Board

Bryce Whitcher is Group Director, Industrial, of Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner Ltd and the former CEO of Electronic Data Holdings Ltd. He is also a Director of several other companies in the Beca Group. Bryce previously held senior management positions with Tasman Pulp and Paper and Fletcher Challenge Paper both in New Zealand and Chile. Bryce holds a BSc in Chemistry.

Wayne Spittal – CEO & General Manager

As part of the management team, Wayne is primarily responsible for operations of the Derceto business. Since 2002 he has managed the commercialization of Beca Group's business ideas and since 2005 focused solely on the Derceto success story. Wayne has some 30 years of industry experience in electricity supply, control systems and energy management. An electrical engineer, he has developed and implemented internationally successful energy management systems now used on five continents. During this time Wayne has held senior management responsibilities in Australia, New Zealand, Finland, North America and Switzerland.

Simon Bunn – Chief Technical Officer

The man behind the product, Simon was instrumental in developing both the Aquadapt product and the company. His vision has seen the company expand beyond its Beca roots and along with his vast experience of control systems and water treatment processes, he understands both the operational requirements of our clients as well as the complex software at the heart of the Aquadapt product. It's this in-depth knowledge and experience that's seen Simon leading the sales charge and in the process clocking up more air miles than a commercial pilot.

Jon Kershaw – Chief Financial Officer

Jon is responsible for all finance and administration matters across the Derceto group of companies as well as the development of international business operations and new investment activity. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC in the UK in 1996 and since then his career has encompassed a variety of challenging finance roles both in the UK and New Zealand. Jon joined Derceto in 2005 following a role in the lead team for the corporate venturing unit for one of New Zealand's largest companies.

Iyad Darcazallie – Senior Vice President
& General Manager, North America

Iyad has over twenty years of experience in executive and general management, corporate development, corporate finance, business development, management consulting, and engineering. Prior to joining Derceto, Iyad was EVP and COO at Energy & Power Solutions, Inc., a venture backed energy management software solutions company. Previously, Iyad held senior roles in HP’s strategy and corporate development (M&A), and outsourcing groups, as well as in Ernst & Young’s corporate development and ventures group, their consulting and corporate finance practices, and in their workforce solutions subsidiary where he was CFO and then COO. Earlier in his career, he held various engineering positions at engineering consulting firms Ove Arup & Partners, Bechtel Corporation and Degenkolb Associates. He is a licensed California Professional Engineer (PE), and he holds a BS with honors in Architectural Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, an MS in Structural Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley.

Evan Atkinson – Operations Manager

Evan lead the Derceto team in completing the successful installation of Aquadapt at WaterOne in Kansas. He is a graduate of the University of Auckland’s Engineering Science department, with experience In Operations Research and Bio Engineering. He has been with Derceto since 2004 and has experience in all aspects of the Aquadapt Installation process. Mixing work with a passion for skiing hard and playing competitive cricket, he represents the vibrant team at Derceto, who work and play hard.

Peter Martin – Vice President Sales, North America

Having worked with major water utilities and engineering consultants throughout the US and Canada, Peter brings more than twelve years of sales and marketing experience in the water utility industry. Prior to joining Derceto, Peter managed the implementation services group at MWH’s hydraulic modeling software subsidiary, Innovyze. Earlier in his career Peter held senior business development and client service management positions at Elster AMCO Water, one of the world’s largest metering and smart metering system solutions company, and at Haestad Methods, a water, sewer, and stormwater modeling software firm. Peter holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Rhode Island.

Mike Espejo – Support Manager (North America)

Mike Espejo brings over 20 years' experience in the Water/Waste Water Industry to his role at Derceto, with 18 years of that spent in the Operations Department of the 5th largest Water Company in California. Based in Riverside County CA, Mike utilizes his operations expertise to manage and provide in-country support to existing Derceto Aquadapt installations in North America. He also strengthens the delivery process for new Aquadapt installation projects with a particular focus on managing the essential operator input to project design and then deliver appropriate training during and after the installation. Mike has previously supervised the Control Room at Eastern Municipal Water District. There he managed the Potable and Recycled systems along with System Control Operators, Dispatch Team and Planner/Scheduler staff in a 24/7 operation. Mike is certified by the California Department of Public Health and maintains T-3 Treatment Operators’ certificate and a D-5 Water Distribution System Operators’ certificate.

Sarah Thorstensen – Senior Optimization Engineer

As the optimization team leader Sarah has worked on all the Derceto implementations world wide and currently oversees the development of the Derceto product optimization process. She has been instrumental in the Derceto solution design, engineering, software development, installation and client training and support work. Sarah has a BE (Engineering Science) degree from the University of Auckland which focuses on mathematical modeling, optimization, operations research, simulation and programming. She is currently based in the UK working with our partner company, Mouchel, implementing a number of installations.

Duncan Turnbull – Project Consultant

Duncan is a Project Consultant for Derceto and has input into all project and support related activities for the Derceto group. He has over 10 years' experience in managing and participating in projects in the water and defense industries. The majority of these projects have required him to be involved in the entire software development life cycle. He has been responsible for managing four successful Derceto Aquadapt projects in the USA to date. Duncan also brings 10 years of experience in delivering theory and practical-based instruction to his role at Derceto.

The Derceto Team

Derceto staff have degrees in Engineering Science, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. The Engineering Science degree focuses on mathematical modelng, optimization, operations research and programming. When combined with the hands-on capability of the automation and electrical engineering staff and our in-house software development team, this is a potent combination of brains and process know-how.