Siamak Paulson
President
Siamak is a Principal Geotechnical Engineer with over 20 years professional experience in civil and geotechnical engineering research and practice in the fields of waste management, mine tailings, water management, urban development and transport infrastructure in the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Siamak is a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng MIEAust RPEQ) and has managed multidisciplinary design and construction quality assurance projects on a variety of civil engineering fields including Landfill and waste management projects design and construction supervision, surveillance and inspections; Tailings storage facility planning, design, construction supervision, technical specification, operation management, embankment lifting, closure and rehabilitation; Water storage earth dams and associated structures design, analysis, documentation and dam safety reviews and certifications; Road and transport infrastructure and Urban development ground investigations and slope stability. Siamak’s project management and technical leadership skills extends to planning, design, schedule, conduct and coordinate civil/geotechnical works from concept design through to construction.
Responsibilities:
- Organize, plan and work to ensure the continuation and overall success of the chapter;
- Oversee the planning and work of each portfolio;
- Call meetings of the officers and delegate responsibilities as needed;
- Call meetings of the chapter members;
- Act as chair at all meetings at which he is present;
- Ensure the setting of term goals for the Chapter, the achievement of these goals and periodic review of these goals where necessary;
- Act as primary spokesperson for the Chapter;
- Approve all expenditures for the chapter.
Jonathon Shamrock
Vice-President
Jonathan is a senior civil and environmental engineer with over 20 years’ experience, working exclusively in the field of solid waste engineering. Jonathan’s experience encompasses design and construction supervision of general, industrial and hazardous waste landfill developments and barriers, design and construction supervision of waste facility capping barriers and stormwater management facilities, design incorporating geosynthetic materials including specifications and construction quality assurance and design and construction supervision of landfill gas extraction, conveyance and destruction systems.
Jonathan’s experience up to 2017 has been in South Africa and Africa, where has been involved with numerous landfill projects until he immigrated to New Zealand in 2018. Since joining Tonkin & Taylor’s Auckland office in January 2018 Jonathan has been involved with landfill expansion project designs and Whole of Life reviews on landfills in New Zealand’s North and South Islands and in Fiji.
Jonathan was appointed as Secretary to the International Geosynthetics Society Technical Committee on Barriers in September 2018 and New Zealand representative on the Australasian Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society in March 2019.
Responsibilities:
- Fulfil the duties of the President in his/her absence;
- Assist the President in the completion of his/her duties;
- Oversee the planning and work of any sub-committees formed.
Brendan Swifte
Treasurer
Brendan is currently the Managing Director for TenCate Geosynthetics Asia, starting this role in April 2021. Prior to joining TenCate Geosynthetics in early 2020, he was the Managing Director of Geofabrics Australasia from July 2005 to February 2020, responsible for their operations through Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands.
Starting his career as a civil engineer before heading into more commercial career pursuits, Brendan has spent the last twenty years in the geosynthetic industry. Over this time, he has been involved in various industry associations. In 2018, he was elected as Secretary of the Australian Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society, the second time he has performed this role.
Responsibilities:
- Manage all financial transactions of the chapter and prepare a budget for the chapter;
- Submit an annual financial summary of profitability to the chapter;
- Ensure the preservation of ACIGS financially;
- Prepare invoices to all members and benefactors on an annual basis and collect the proceeds;
- Maintain the bank accounts and optimize interest earning opportunities;
- Review and obtain appropriate authorization for all expenses;
- Oversee the financial structure of the chapter and adjust to maximize efficiency and profitability;
- Assist the Events Portfolio in sponsorship-seeking activities;
- Maintain financial control of special events;
- Custodian of the Chapter membership list.
Ryan Hackney
Secretary
Ryan is the Technical and R&D Laboratory Manager at the Geofabrics centre for Geosynthetic Research Innovation and Development (GRID). He has 13 years of international experience specialising in physical, mechanical, hydraulic and durability analysis of all geosynthetic materials.
Following the completion of a Bachelors degree in Geological Sciences and a Masters in Engineering Geology obtained at the University of Leeds, he became the Laboratory and Quality Manager for an independent geosynthetics test laboratory. There he worked closely with contractors, consultants and government agencies on national and international projects, in addition to supporting a wide range of manufacturers with product qualification and certification. Ryan has written, implemented and maintained efficient ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 17025 quality systems.
He has participated in numerous IGS conferences including EuroGeo4 Edinburgh 2008, EuroGeo5 Valencia 2012 and 10ICG Berlin 2014. Current areas of research and development include chemical compatibility, containment of emerging contaminants, durability and lifetime prediction, and robust coastal geosynthetics.
Responsibilities:
- Transact all chapter correspondence;
- Record and distribute all the minutes of each committee meeting;
- Update IGS ACIGS membership on IGS website;
- Manage the archives;
- Assist other committee members should this become necessary.
Graham Fairhead
Immediate Past President
Graham is a qualified Engineer and has held executive positions in Manufacturing, Design, Engineering, Sales & Marketing and General Management internationally across Europe, America, and Australia. Having join Fabtech as its Managing Director in 2007 Graham has led the development and growth of Fabtech to become Australia’s leading geosynthetics Installation Company. Graham also leads the technical group within Fabtech which is focused on materials, barrier system design and floating cover design. The foundations of the company’s growth have remained consistent being technical leadership, customer retention, safety and quality.
Graham’s previous roles in design and manufacturing on an international basis have been the foundation for
Fabtech’s on-gong focus on geosynthetic material manufacturing quality control and quality assurance strategies. This expertise has been applied to over 30 projects including multiple production audits in Asia, China, USA, Middle East and Australia.
Graham has authored several geosynthetic technical papers and is regularly requested to speak as an industry expert.
Responsibilities:
- Offer support to the newly elected President;
- A source of information for historical matters within the committee.