The Team
Meet the Team
Terry Southern
CEO
Qualification: B.Eng Hons (Mechatronics)
Key areas of expertise:
- Business management and strategy
- New sales
- Electronic design for manufacturing
- Product development
- Project management
Co-founder and CEO, Terry oversees Beta Solutions as a whole. He has always had a passion for learning and understanding how things work and enjoys sharing this information with staff & clients. Outside of work, Terry enjoys the outdoors, aviation and table tennis - while his life-long interest in space-exploration makes for exciting bedtime stories for his 3 young kids.
Matthew van der Werff
CTO and Senior Engineer
Qualification: PHD.Eng (Mechatronics)
Key areas of expertise:
- Research and development
- Product ideation and innovation
- Project management
- Electronics and FPGA design
- Embedded firmware design and programming
Co-founder and CTO of Beta Solutions, Matt is a natural problem solver and enjoys the challenges that product design brings. He is a Palmerston North native and spends his free time out and about with his four children or mountain biking around the Manawatu.
Jason Cleland
Senior Hardware Engineer and Project Manager
Qualification: B.Eng Hons (Mechatronics)
Key areas of expertise:
- Project management
- Advanced electronic circuit design
- High speed digital and analogue design
- Circuit simulation & analysis
- Design for EMC compliance
- Electronics production and quality control
When he’s not designing electronic products, Jason enjoys skiing, indoor netball, and mountain biking. Palmy born and bred, Jason is also very active with his church's young adults group.
Morten Kirs
Senior Firmware Engineer and Project Manager
Qualification: B.Eng Hons (Electrical & Electronic)
Key areas of expertise:
- Embedded firmware design and programming
- Software design and programming
- Mathematical algorithm architecture & development
- Electronic circuit design
- Diagnostics and product testing
Born in Estonia, raised in America and educated in New Zealand, Morten has found his place at Beta Solutions mastering embedded firmware and hardware. His chess and (excellent) baking interests are bound to rub off on his young boy soon.
Geoff Hunter
Senior Embedded Engineer
Qualification: B.Eng Hons (Mechatronics)
Key areas of expertise:
- Electronic circuit design
- Embedded firmware design and programming
- Software tools
- Data processing/analysis
Outside of the office, Geoff enjoys hanging with his family, making music and staying active with sport. Known for his engineering blogs, what started out with a homegrown website on how to make fireworks, rockets and brew beer, has now become quite a well known source of information on electronics and software - he clearly loves what he does!
Jonathan Kapene
Firmware Engineer
Qualification: B.Eng Hons (Electrical & Electronic)
Key areas of expertise:
- Embedded firmware design and programming
- Software design and programming
- Electronic circuit design
- Electronics production
He loves to hike and explore the great outdoors, often fly fishing or golfing, proving that his patience isn't limited to just debugging code!
Nathan Geddes
Electronics Engineer
Qualification: B.Eng Hons (Electronics & Computer)
Key areas of expertise:
- Electronic circuit design
- CAD modelling
- Embedded firmware design and programming
- Software design and programming
Originally from Rotorua, Nathan is a keen mountain biker, and when not riding he frequents the local skate park trying new tricks. He also enjoys keeping fit at the gym and playing the drums (which his neighbours don’t mind about).
Daniel de Waal
Electronics Engineer
Qualification: B.Eng Hons (Electronics & Computer)
Key areas of expertise:
- Electronic circuit design
- Embedded firmware design and programming
- Software design and programming
- CAD modelling
Outside of the office Geoff enjoys making music and stays active with his love for various sports and recreational activities. He is also a fan of putting together engineering blogs and online tools - it's hard to take the engineer out of the man after hours!
Richard Cowley
Office Manager
Key areas of expertise:
- Accounts Payable & Receivable
- Financial Reporting
- Office Administration
Richard brings over 20 years experience in banking, finance and accounts. Outside of work, he loves to read (a wide variety of genres) and indulge in his passion for Lego. He and his wife also volunteer their time sharing in Bible education.
Peter Allen
Business Torque Systems Ltd
Qualification: BCom (in Accounting and Management Studies), MEd (Master of Education, in Board Learning and Development)
Key areas of expertise:
- Governance
- Board learning and development
- Accounting
- Organisational development
Peter is an independent advisor, facilitator, and educator in governance, and an industry leader in the application of governance principles to New Zealand organisations. He has a passion for ongoing learning and continuous development that empowers good Board decision-making. In his spare time, Peter and his wife enjoy sailing on Lake Taupo, fishing and getting into the great outdoors.