Board and Management
Dr. Rod Bryant - Director, Founder & CEO
Rod Bryant has 40 years experience in GPS R&D and electronics in positions ranging from trainee technician to CEO. He was the CEO of Sigtec Navigation prior to its spin out from the Sigtec Group in 1994 and was the CEO of SigNav until 2005 and again from July 2009 until the present.
From its formation in 1994 until he was appointed CEO in 2000, Rod was the Managing Director of Sigtec Navigation, reporting to the CEO of the Sigtec Group. In 1999 Rod initiated and negotiated the deal with Mitel Semiconductor (later Zarlink Semiconductor) whereby Sigtec Navigation became the global software partner, hardware reference designer and supplier of development kits for the world leading GP4020 integrated baseband chip.
From 1998 until 2000 Rod was also Product Development Director of the parent company, Sigtec Pty Ltd. In that role he successfully applied for a R&D START Grant from the Australian Government and led the first half of the 3-year AU$6M project.
During Rod’s time as CEO of Sigtec Navigation the company emerged as a leader in Assisted GPS, being engaged by uNav Micro-electronics and, separately, by SiGe Semiconductor to develop Assisted GPS solutions for deployment in cellular phone handsets. Through the Mitel/Zarlink relationship, the company also became involved in a wide range of other GPS applications including GPS timing, precision agriculture, attitude sensing, aviation navigation and asset tracking.
From January 1986 until June 1994 Rod held a range of engineering, management and business development roles at Auspace - an aerospace engineering company. He commenced as Electronics System Engineer and was General Manager of the Satnav Products Division until shortly before its assets and business were acquired by the newly formed Sigtec Navigation in 1994.
The unique GPS receiver signal processing scheme that is the core of SigNav’s IP was conceived by Rod at Auspace. He has numerous patents, awards, and papers associated with GPS. In 2008 he was listed as one of 50 Leaders to Watch in GPS World magazine.
Prior to joining Auspace in 1986, Rod was a Research Engineer at the University of Adelaide where he completed his PhD in 1985. He was awarded the William Culross Prize for Scientific Research by the University of Adelaide for his PhD research on the topic of Optimal Systems for Echo-Location.
Before joining the University in 1981, Rod worked at Telecom Australia (now Telstra) firstly as a Telecommunications Technical Officer and later as a Telecommunications Engineer.
Niall Cairns - Director
Niall Cairns has over 15 years of direct private equity experience and another 7 years of relevant financial and investment experience. During this time Niall has invested in over 30 unlisted companies and many more listed developing companies in Australia, New Zealand, US, UK and China.
Niall Cairns co-founded Kestrel Capital (formerly Nanyang Ventures) in 1993, became managing director and 50% shareholder in 2005. From late 2005 through 2006 Niall has led the transformation of Nanyang Ventures into Kestrel Capital as an executive owned company, reducing his shareholding and bringing on 4 new partners.
Kestrel Capital raised its first institutional fund Nanyang Australia I Limited ($20m) in 1996, the second, Nanyang Australia II Ltd ($70m) in 1999 and the third Nanyang Innovation Fund (NIF - $50m) in 2001. In August 2006 Kestrel Capital raised its first Kestrel fund “Kestrel Secondaries Fund I” of $60m. Nanyang’s institutional investors include ARIA, IFM, Macquarie, QIC, SunSuper, STA, Quay Partners and the Commonwealth Government of Australia. FUM is now $200m.
Currently Niall is on the boards of five Kestrel Capital companies and previously served on the boards of seven other Kestrel/Nanyang investees. His private equity experience outside of Nanyang and Kestrel includes:
- Primary Healthcare, where Niall acted as corporate finance advisor to CEO/Founder
- Rainbow Rewards (US), Waggamma (A), Distinctive Holiday Homes (Int)
- A range of other equity capital raisings and M&A with over $100m of capital.
- Strong 22 year track record of investing in public equity markets.
- Establishment of Seven Oaks Management with Philip Mathews, David Paradice and Ivor Findlay in 1991. Initial investment of under $1m has grown exponentially with minimal new capital raised. Niall is chairman and 40% shareholder.
Niall’s academic background includes a Bachelor of Economics degree from Sydney University. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. In mid 1985 Niall moved to London to develop his professional career with Arthur Young and Moore Stephens, working in corporate advisory and entrepreneurial services. Niall returned to Sydney in 1989 and in 1991 established Carnethy Investments, ACS Corporate Finance (a boutique corporate finance firm) and then Nanyang Ventures.
Phillip Carter - Director
Phillip’s direct private equity experience spans early stage through buyout and secondary transactions, many of these cross border, and across a broad range of industries.
Phillip spent 10 years in Europe and the US as a fund manager and management consultant, most recently with Generics Group assisting growth companies and blue chips in business development, M&A and strategy, as well as providing equity funding. During this time Phillip managed the InterTechnology Fund, recognised by the EVCA as one of the most active development capital funds in Europe.
Prior to investment management, Phillip held engineering, operational and business development roles with ANI and ALCAN as well as several years as a research fellow and commercialisation program manager for Rolls-Royce’s Research Centre at the University of Cambridge.
Philip’s current Kestrel directorships include AKI - Kitchen Connection, IAG, Prism, Sigtec and Tru-Test.
Philip is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts which supports charitable, educational and environmental endeavors.
Marc Woodward - Director
Marc joined Neo Technology Ventures as a general partner in 2004 and has more than a decade of commercial experience with top-tier firms in the venture capital, investment banking, and consulting industries in the US and Australia. Throughout his career, Marc has been involved in early-stage investment transactions and as a Director and Board Observer, he has helped guide numerous start-up and emerging technology companies.
Marc led Neo’s investment in RPO and is an observer on the company’s Board of Directors. Marc also led Neo’s investments in and is a Director of SigNav and Genbook. Prior to Neo, Marc was an Associate Director with the Australasian Media & Communications Fund (AMCF), a $120M venture capital fund in Sydney. While at AMCF, Marc led the firm’s investment in Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. and subsequently served on the company’s Board of Directors. Previously, Marc was a Senior Associate at Battery Ventures, a US$2B venture capital fund in Silicon Valley, where he helped direct investments in the communications industry. Marc co-led Battery’s wireless industry investment strategy and helped direct the firm’s investment in Airespace, a leading provider of wireless LAN systems. Airespace was acquired by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) for approximately US$450 million in 2005. Marc also led Battery’s investment in E*Offering, which was acquired by Wit Capital Group for approximately US$330 million in 2000. Previously, he was a Research Analyst with Wells Fargo Van Kasper, an investment banking firm in San Francisco, where he analyzed public and private companies in the communications industry.
Prior to that, he was a Consultant in the Telecommunications Group of Accenture. Marc graduated from Georgetown University (Washington DC) with a Bachelor of Science degree with major concentrations in Finance and International Business.
Neil Docherty - Advisory Board Member
Neil C Docherty has more than 40 years of leadership experience in Business Management and Information Technology, of which the last 15 have been spent as an Owner, Board Member and CEO in the Business Consulting, Information Technology & Telecommunications and Professional Services Industries.
Neil has extensive experience in successful commercial transactions and social and business interactions in Australasia, Europe, USA, India, Japan and Korea.
Neil has proven, extensive experience in the acquisition and sale of companies having driven the outcomes from both sides of the negotiation table. He has extensive experience in leading entrepreneurial and innovative developments through heavily corporatised organisations.
Since retiring from DMR Consulting in July 2004 Neil has been engaged as a Company Director and Board Member of Avand Pty Limited (retired October 2007), an Australian manufacturer and supplier of software and services in Enterprise Content Management and Asset Management applications. In 2007 Neil managed the successful sale of Avand on behalf of the shareholders; Hyro Limited (retired May 2008), an ASX Public company in the on-line Media and Digital Services market and Avolution Limited, a product development company which commercialised and grew from the University of Technology Sydney and provides a leading edge enterprise management tool and consulting services in change management. Neil also provides strategic consulting assistance in marketing, distribution channel structuring and go-to-market strategies for emerging companies in the information and services industries. Neil has been involved as an Advisory Board Member of SigNav Pty Limited since February 2009.
Neil retired as Managing Director and CEO of DMR Consulting Asia Pacific in July 2004. He was in this position from April 2001 under a three-year contract. Neil was a member of the Global, Executive Management Committee. Neil also carried the leadership responsibility for the strategy for Global Development Centres, including establishing centres in Australia, India and the Philippines.
Neil began his career as a computer programmer with NCR in London, England in 1967 and in 1971 he transferred to Australia where he worked in Sales and Management with NCR and Sperry Univac (later became Unisys) becoming Queensland State Manager of Unisys in 1979. In 1981 he was appointed as Queensland State Manager of Fujitsu Australia Limited.
Neil progressed through various management roles in Fujitsu culminating in his appointment as Executive General Manager Information Systems Solutions. During his time at Fujitsu he is credited with building the customer facing sales and professional services growth engine, producing record Customer Satisfaction, Sales, Revenue and Profit results, during a period when Fujitsu revenues grew from $30 million to $450 million. Neil served on the Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand five person Executive Committee and on the Board of several Fujitsu companies locally and internationally.
In December 1995 after achieving 13 consecutive years of targets, Neil left Fujitsu to form his own start up company. In June 1996 he became a founding member of RHO Transformation Technologies, a company formed with start up capital investment from Lend Lease and a strategic partnership with IBM. RHO TT grew to become a major supplier in Australia in the then niche market of legacy transformation and application reengineering. In July 1998 RHO Transformation Technologies was acquired by a $250 million USA IT & T company and Neil was appointed as Managing Director of the Australian subsidiary.
Neil was born in Greenock Scotland and was educated at Glasgow University.
Neil is a member of The Executive Program of the Graduate School Of Business Administration, University Of California, Berkeley.
