The World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC) is pleased to welcome four senior leaders from its member companies AAM, Bentley Systems, e-GEOS, and Rieglto the executive board. The resolution came at the virtual annual general meeting held on May 19, 2020. The new members joining the WGIC executive board are:
Brian Nicholls, executive director at AAM Pty Ltd, replacing Mark Freeburn, the outgoing CEO of AAM. Brian has over twenty-five years of experience in the geospatial industry. Over the past 15 years, he has been at the forefront of AAM’s technology leadership, as well as the expansion of AAM internationally. Brian has a passion for promoting geospatial technology as a fundamental ‘enabler’ for business, government, and society in general.
Robert Mankowski, P.E., sr. vice president digital cities, Bentley Systems in place of Ted Lamboo, the outgoing senior vice president. Robert leads Bentley’s Digital Cities organization, which provides infrastructure engineering, digital twin software, and services to help cities with going digital, enabling more efficient city and regional operations for more connected and resilient infrastructure. Bob has over 20 years’ experience in software development and is a co-inventor of seven patented technologies.
Paolo Minciacchi, CEO, e-GEOS, replacing Massimo C Comparini, the outgoing CEO. Paolo Minciacchi joined Telespazio in 1990, where he managed several critical space missions. In 2002 he entered the Earth Observation business, holding several roles in the Programs & Application domain.
In 2009 he was promoted as Head of Operational Planning, Industrial Management, and Value-Added Production at e-GEOS. In 2011 joined Spaceopal as technical director. At the end of 2016, he won the Galileo Service Operator Contract in the Spaceopal team, and in 2018 he became CEO of the Spaceopal. In 2020, he is appointed CEO of e-GEOS.
James Van Rens, senior vice president, Riegl International in place of Johannes Riegl Jr., president, Riegl International. James Van Rens is the senior vice president of RIEGL USA. He has been with the organization since 1997. With his total experience of over 18 years with LiDAR and other various forms of scanning technologies, Mr. Van Rens has been key to the seamless leadership transition and the huge growth in the company’s US operations over the past five years.
Considered one of the best experts in the applications of airborne LiDAR, mobile laser systems, and ground LiDAR’s in the world, he holds a combination of BA and BS degree from Marquette University.
