Staff Profiles
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. Mr Whitcher previously held senior management positions with Tasman Pulp and Paper and Fletcher Challenge Paper both in New Zealand and Chile. Mr Whitcher holds a BSc in Chemistry.
Wayne Spittal - 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 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 - Financial Controller
Jon is responsible for all finance and administration matters across the Derceto group of companies. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant 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 and has quickly become a key part of the team.
Wes Wood - Vice President of Sales (North America)
As Vice-President of Sales Wes Wood is focused on Derceto's growth primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Wes holds a B.E.E.T and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering Technology and has over 23 years technical, project, and business management experience in municipal water and wastewater control systems. Wes has a well-documented history of commitment to, and a track record of, providing only the best products, performance, and services to the owners, consulting engineers, and contractors of this industry. With over 300 control systems projects experience as the responsible person technically and financially in charge, Wes brings a strong understanding of all aspects of a successful automation project to the Derceto client.
The Derceto Team
Derceto staff have degrees in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Science or Computer Science. The Engineering Science degree focuses on mathematical modeling, optimization, operations research and programming. When combined with the hands-on capability of the broader company engineering staff and our in-house programming team this is a potent combination of brains and process know-how.
Sarah Thorstensen - Senior Optimisation 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
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 Derecto 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.
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
Dennis Row - Endeavour Capital
Dennis was the founding partner and CEO of Rebis Inc., a San Francisco-based software company in the plant design CAE and CAD market. He grew the company from start-up in 1984 to become the worldwide leader in plant design applications for AutoCAD. In 1996, Rebis received an Inc. 500 award, as one of the top fastest growing private companies in the US, with 100 employees and annual revenues of US$13 million from 60 countries. Rebis was acquired by Bentley Systems in March 2002.
In 1998 Dennis joined Cyra Technologies, Inc. to begin commercialization of a new 3D laser scanning system for AEC geomatic applications. By 2000, Cyra had a leadership position with over 65% market share in long range 3D laser scanning, with annual sales of US$10 million. In early 2001 Cyra was acquired by Leica Geosystems AG, for US$70 million.
Dennis received a BE and ME from the University of Canterbury in civil engineering and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1978.
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. Mr Whitcher previously held senior management positions with Tasman Pulp and Paper and Fletcher Challenge Paper both in New Zealand and Chile. Mr Whitcher holds a BSc in Chemistry.
Wayne Spittal - 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 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 - Financial Controller
Jon is responsible for all finance and administration matters across the Derceto group of companies. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant 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 and has quickly become a key part of the team.
Wes Wood - Vice President of Sales (North America)
As Vice-President of Sales Wes Wood is focused on Derceto's growth primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Wes holds a B.E.E.T and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering Technology and has over 23 years technical, project, and business management experience in municipal water and wastewater control systems. Wes has a well-documented history of commitment to, and a track record of, providing only the best products, performance, and services to the owners, consulting engineers, and contractors of this industry. With over 300 control systems projects experience as the responsible person technically and financially in charge, Wes brings a strong understanding of all aspects of a successful automation project to the Derceto client.
The Derceto Team
Derceto staff have degrees in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Science or Computer Science. The Engineering Science degree focuses on mathematical modeling, optimization, operations research and programming. When combined with the hands-on capability of the broader company engineering staff and our in-house programming team this is a potent combination of brains and process know-how.
Sarah Thorstensen - Senior Optimisation 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
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 Derecto 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.
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
Dennis Row - Endeavour Capital
Dennis was the founding partner and CEO of Rebis Inc., a San Francisco-based software company in the plant design CAE and CAD market. He grew the company from start-up in 1984 to become the worldwide leader in plant design applications for AutoCAD. In 1996, Rebis received an Inc. 500 award, as one of the top fastest growing private companies in the US, with 100 employees and annual revenues of US$13 million from 60 countries. Rebis was acquired by Bentley Systems in March 2002.
In 1998 Dennis joined Cyra Technologies, Inc. to begin commercialization of a new 3D laser scanning system for AEC geomatic applications. By 2000, Cyra had a leadership position with over 65% market share in long range 3D laser scanning, with annual sales of US$10 million. In early 2001 Cyra was acquired by Leica Geosystems AG, for US$70 million.
Dennis received a BE and ME from the University of Canterbury in civil engineering and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 1978.