Our
People

Biography

Peter Davison

Peter is a senior executive leader with a track record of success across a number of international and domestic roles.  Having served in leadership positions at several blue-chip companies over the last 30 years, Peter’s career has traversed several industry sectors including technology banking and dairy.  His most recent role was at AirSuite Limited, where he was CEO.  Prior to this Peter held several senior leadership positions at Fonterra during his 17 year tenure at the company, with time also spent in management roles within the finance and banking sector.  Peter brings a wealth of cross functional experience to DEC, having worked across multiple disciplines, including finance, sales, operations, marketing and innovation.

Biography

Nick Gaddum

Nick Gaddum obtained a BE(Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from Canterbury in 2004, and a PhD in Medical Engineering in Brisbane, Australia, in 2009.  There he developed novel artificial heart technology, focusing on pump design and physiological controllers to respond to physical activity.
Moving to London, he established new MRI and ultrasound-based strategies to measure arterial disease to better diagnose Hypertension.  He then took on the Lead Scientist role at Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, working with start-up bio-pharmaceutical companies.  This involved developing scalable, cost-driven manufacturing processes for novel cell-based therapies. Finally, as Director of Waiflow Ltd., he provided contract technical and IP support for medical device companies.
Returned to New Zealand in 2019, he took up the CSO role at DEC International NZ Ltd. establishing an R&D program to expand their medical devices portfolio.  This role will drive both proprietary technology development, as well as collaborative and contract manufacturing projects.

Biography

Jane McLaren

Jane joined DEC in 2023, having previously held key leadership roles at Sealed Air, Fletcher Steel and most recently Silver Fern Farms.  Throughout her career Jane has displayed a proven track record of delivering results and managing complex businesses.  In additional to leading a number of transformational projects, Jane has demonstrated strong capabilities in leading operational excellence, growing and developing large teams, and formulating and implementing strategic thinking.  Jane’s unique blend of industry experience and commercial acumen will enable DEC to continue to build our operational capabilities.
As our COO, Jane plays a pivotal role in overseeing and optimizing our day-to-day operations, enhancing efficiency, and ensuring seamless execution of our business strategies.  As a key member of our Executive Team, she works closely with all parts of our business to align operations with our long-term goals, whilst fostering innovation and maintaining our commitment to delivering exceptional products to our valued customers.  In addition, Jane holds accountabilities for managing the overall financial performance of DEC Plastics.

Biography

Natasha Harvey

Natasha Harvey is an experienced financial leader with a diverse background in accounting, finance, and governance. As a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, she has developed a strong focus on delivering commercially driven outcomes.

Her career spans various sectors, including SMEs and non-profits, where she has consistently provided visionary financial leadership.

Natasha’s expertise includes strategic thinking, business transformation, and IT strategy. She has a proven track record of guiding organisations through complex challenges, always with a commitment to transparency and collaboration.

As the CFO of DEC Pharmaceutical, Natasha leverages her financial acumen to drive the company’s growth and long-term success.

Biography

Nigel Kapoor

Nigel has been with DEC for 30 years in various roles over that time. He has held management positions spanning Engineering, Manufacturing and Quality Assurance.  As part of the Executive Team, he has responsibility for all quality assurance and regulatory compliance for DEC International NZ Ltd, DEC Pharmaceutical Ltd, DEC Healthcare Ltd and DEC Plastics Ltd. Since 2001, he has lead the company QA strategies including engagement with regulators, suppliers and customers; while implementing and maintaining quality systems including pharmaceutical cGMP, and ISO 13485 at DEC Healthcare Ltd. His knowledge has ensured our growth into more than 50 global markets, meeting the diverse quality and regulatory requirements for each market.

Biography

Deborah Lee

Deborah joined DEC in 2021 with significant experience in the Public and Healthcare Sectors and progressed from being a Senior Advisor to being appointed to the Executive team as People and Capability Manager.  She offers a unique blend of strategic and operational skills and is known for her practical and grounded approach in delivering people solutions. She is able to relate to staff at all levels and her problem solving abilities enable her to effectively navigate complex HR challenges.  She has a proven track record of streamlining HR processes and fostering a positive work culture that promotes employee wellbeing and growth. Deborah is a natural leader and sees her role as the head of People and Capability as maximising the human potential within DEC and aligning performance with DEC strategic objectives and contribute to long term success for all.

Biography

Kate Flynn

Kate has refined a unique skillset, honed across more than 15 years spent in pharmaceutical CDMO, biotech start-up and manufacturing organizations. Her expertise is in ensuring strategic alignment across highly complex programs of work, having overseen the successful delivery of many new products, processes and capability establishment at a senior leadership level.

Her Agribusiness background, and technical experience have given her the ability to blend regulatory, quality, risk mitigation, and continuous improvement with strong commercial acumen. Kate’s aim is to always ensure that what’s being done ‘today’, adds value to ‘tomorrow’.

Biography

Cara-Lee Davey

Technical Manager since 2021, Cara has been with DEC Pharmaceutical since leaving university in 2008. Her team ensures that good scientific rigor is applied to all validation and investigation projects. The technical team holds the memory of the company in detailed and comprehensive technical reports stretching back to the original product inceptions while still looking forward to apply the newest learnings or regulations effectively and efficiently to the process. This leads to robust confidence in the quality of the product and controls for both regulators and the customer.

Biography

Jitendra Kumar

With his 20 years of experience at DEC Jitendra has gained a deep understanding of the pharmaceutical industry and has honed his skills in various areas of analytical chemistry.
Jitendra is an experienced Quality Control Manager at DEC Pharmaceuticals. His role is vital for maintaining the quality and safety of the company’s pharmaceutical products.
One of Jitendra’s key responsibilities is managing the quality control team. He oversees their daily activities, assigns tasks and ensures that all laboratory operations are carried out efficiently and accurately, adhering to current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) within the laboratory.
Jitendra is also skilled at Analytical method development and validation, analytical equipment qualification and setting up methods for High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and UV spectrophotometers and various other analytical equipment.

Biography

Harley van Walraven

Harley manages the Production Team at DEC Plastics, leading a dedicated team of production, drilling, and assembly operators. His responsibilities encompass overseeing and ensuring a seamless manufacturing process and production activities. Harley’s key objectives include ensuring regulatory compliance, driving DIFOT, and minimizing both waste and downtime. Throughout these processes, he is committed to the consistent delivery of high-quality plastic moulded products.

Biography

Jenny La Roche

Jenny has 20 years of experience in quality assurance systems and has been the QA Manager since 2013. She is responsible for maintaining a pharmaceutical cGMP compliant quality system and regularly engages with suppliers, customers and regulators.
Jenny leads an experienced team overseeing document control, change control, deviation management, batch release, supplier management, artwork, training and internal auditing.
Maintaining effective and compliant QA systems ensures that customer and regulatory requirements are met and supports our ongoing growth strategy.

Biography

Ajith Kapadi

Ajith joined the company in 2014 as a Technical Officer and progressed to his current role.
With a master’s degree in Materials and Process Engineering from the University of Waikato in 2006, Ajith brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the team. He specializes in leading the R&D Analytical program, driving method development, verification/validation studies, and ensuring adherence to GMP QC standards.
Ajith’s subject matter expertise in silicone formulation and moulding further enhances his contributions to the R&D team.
With a strong focus on research and development, Ajith plays a key role in advancing the fields of human and animal healthcare, consistently striving for scientific excellence and embracing technological advancements.

Biography

Velram Mohan

Velram Mohan holds a PhD in Polymer Composites and has significant experience working with a range of polymers and developing functional composites for various applications. Velram leads the R&D polymer processing and testing lab at DEC. He also looks after polymer structure and property relationship studies.
In his previous role, Velram worked as a Research Fellow at the Plastics Centre of Excellence at the University of Auckland, where he managed industry-based projects and served as the programme convenor for post-graduate courses in Polymer Engineering.
Velram is a chartered scientist and a member of several engineering professional bodies and institutions, such as the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), Engineering New Zealand (EngNZ), Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and Professional Management Institute (PMI). He is a reviewer for several materials science/engineering-based scientific journals and served as a consultant for the Royal Society of New Zealand’s ‘Plastics: Rethinking’ initiative. Velram is an avid fitness enthusiast who enjoys cross-fit training and archery, while photography and carpentry are his main hobbies.

Biography

Richard Gallantree

Richard is the Operations Manager at DEC, where he leverages extensive experience in operations management, logistics, supply chain and process optimisation. Joining DEC in 2024, he brings a wealth of operational knowledge across Cosmeceuticals, Dietary supplements and Healthcare from Australia and New Zealand. Known for his analytical mindset and strong leadership skills, Richard is dedicated to fostering a collaborative and innovative workplace culture. Having led previous improvement processes, Richard will optimise our operations and enhance efficiencies.

With a robust background that includes leadership roles in various industries and an MBA in Digital Transformation, Richard is well-equipped to make strategic decisions that align with DEC’s long-term goals.

Dacey Ryan is a seasoned product development professional with over 20 years of experience, particularly in the medical device industry. He holds a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Otago and has led various projects from concept to commercialisation.

Dacey has held key roles, including Senior Manager of New Developments at Fresenius Medical Care R&D in Shanghai. In this role, he contributed to the design and development of medical devices, co-inventing several patents. His expertise includes concept development, project management, regulatory compliance, and design control.

Throughout his career, Dacey has worked in R&D, marketing, and academic research, showcasing his broad skill set and leadership in both corporate and scientific settings.

Biography

Prabhat Bhusal

Prabhat is a pharmaceutical scientist. He obtained his Bachelor of Pharmacy in Nepal and his Master of Pharmacy in South Korea. In 2017, he completed his PhD in Pharmacy at the University of Auckland, where he developed a local anaesthetic-loaded implant for postoperative pain following abdominal surgery.

Following his doctorate, Prabhat joined the University of Otago for postdoctoral training, collaborating with Bayer and Elanco to develop various controlled release drug delivery systems, including the long acting parenteral for veterinary use. Subsequently, he returned to Hamilton to work for a biotech company, where he led the product development of an intraruminal bolus aimed at reducing methane emissions in livestock.

In 2023, Prabhat took up the role as a Lead R&D Scientist at DEC Healthcare. Prabhat leads the formulation development at DEC. He is the inventor of over six issued and pending patents worldwide and has authored/co-authored more than ten journal publications. Additionally, Prabhat contributes to the scientific community as a reviewer for various journals in pharmaceutical science.

Biography

Amit Garg

Amit has over 25 years of experience in IT spanning multiple industries including, but not limited to, Construction, Manufacturing, Retail, Local Government & Custodial. Well versed in the ITIL methodology he applies the core strengths of the ITIL framework to day to day business operations, striving for efficiency and availability while catering to the unique needs and challenges of the business. A firm believer that IT within a business is the means to an end, his key focus is working with the business to understand all of their objectives and challenges and finding intelligent technology solutions to address those needs.

Biography

Matt Sarjeant

With nearly a decade of experience in the accounting industry, Matt is a Chartered Accountant responsible for managing the daily accounting functions across the DEC International NZ Group. His role includes delivering timely and accurate financial reporting, leading system and process improvement initiatives, developing budgets, managing cash flow and forecasts, and providing ad-hoc analysis and support to the CFO and operational teams.

Before joining DEC, Matt participated in audits for a variety of public sector entities, such as councils, universities, district health boards, crown entities, and several for-profit organisations.