New NZ Director on CRCSI Board

The Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information, a government, industry and research joint venture which uses spatial technologies to make a significant contribution to the economies of Australia and New Zealand, announced today that Colin MacDonald has joined its board of directors.

“Colin brings deep expertise in IT management and corporate strategy. He will also strengthen the very important relationship between Australia and New Zealand”said Mary O’Kane, the CRCSI Board Chair. “He has a great understanding of the spatial information industry within which we work”.

Colin has 30 years of experience in Information Technology (IT) and general management in both New Zealand and UK and was previously Chief Operating Officer for the ANZ Banking Group (NZ).

Colin took up his position as Chief Executive and Secretary for Internal Affairs and Government Chief Information Officer in April 2012. From 2008 Colin was Chief Executive of Land Information New Zealand.

Prior to joining the ANZ in 1995, Colin was an Associate Director in the KPMG IT consulting team. From 1980 to 1994, Colin, who is Scottish-born, held IT management roles in the oil industry and in the legal and retail sectors.

ABOUT CRCSI

The Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) is a research organisation funded by Australia's Cooperative Research Centre Program (CRC) and by participant contributions. CRCSI was founded in 2003 and, with the successful rebid announced in August 2009, will continue to 2018. It conducts research and development projects that involve collaboration between government, corporate and academic resources.

The purpose of CRCSI is to create new wealth for its participants and the nation through innovative research, application and commercialisation of spatial information technologies; through education; and through building collaborative partnerships.

New Zealand CRCSI partners include Land Information New Zealand (LINZ); University of Canterbury (UC); and a consortium of companies including Critchlow; e-Spatial; GeoSmart; SKM; Trimble; we-do-IT; ZNO

Spatial Information describes the physical location of objects and the metric relationships between objects – information fundamental to the lives of every citizen. Satellite images bring daily weather reports and provide farmers with information for precision agriculture; airborne infra-red scanners track bushfires; global positioning systems monitor the location of thousands of trucks and taxis; real estate sales use geographic information systems; and maps of all kinds are produced, displayed and analysed using the technology that the wider spatial information industry provides.

For more information, contact:

Mike Ridout, Communications Director CRCSI, 0417 908 180 (Perth based) mridout@crcsi.com.au

Mary Sue Severn, Director CRCSI New Zealand, +64 20 711 863 (Wellington based) msevern@crcsi.co.nz

(High resolution photo of Colin available on request.)