Our team is driven by the purpose of delivering the highest quality nature data and digital monitoring systems to reduce risk in, and increase the integrity of, financial mechanisms which must greatly expand funding for forest conservation and restoration.

Founded in 2017, Dr Murray Collins (Co-founder, CEO) and Professor Ed Mitchard (Co-founder, Chief Scientist) established Space Intelligence after meeting while measuring the biomass and carbon stocks of Africa’s tropical forests in 2009. They have spent years developing cutting-edge technologies to use satellite remote sensing data to quantify forest biomass.

Led by Chief Scientist Professor Ed Mitchard, one of the world’s foremost experts in forest mapping, our proprietary algorithms and products have been created by a world-class team of scientists led by Professor Ed Mitchard.

>50 Staff

from over 11 countries

>100 Scientific papers

Published by senior team on Satellite data, ML/AI and forest ecology

11 PhD

qualified staff

Over a billion acres mapped

and work across 35 countries

Our Team

Leadership Team

Dr Murray Collins

Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder

Interdisciplinary PhD from the London School of Economics and the Institute of Zoology, ZSL.

Murray has published peer-reviewed papers on mapping forest biomass, deforestation and forest degradation using satellite radar data, quantifying emissions from protected forests worldwide and REDD policy. He is also an expert in climate legislation, particularly forests; co-authoring on the 3rd and 4th Global Climate Legislation Studies (GLOBE 2013/2015).

Professor Ed Mitchard

Chief Scientist & Co-founder

PhD on using satellite remote sensing to quantify woody cover and biomass across Africa from the University of Edinburgh

Ed is a world expert in Satellite mapping of land cover change and forest properties. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers, won over £4million in research funding and has advised governments including Gabon, Cameroon, Colombia and the UK on land use monitoring methods.

Carol Blackwood

Chief Operating Officer

MA (Hons) in Geography and MSc in GIS from the University of Edinburgh.

Geospatial professional with a background in remote sensing, forestry and GIS. Carol’s career began in Belize, measuring hundreds of trees and has included positions with the Forestry Commission and at EDINA, helping develop products for geospatial web services for education. She joined Space Intelligence in early 2021 and was quickly promoted to the management team.

Operations Team

Simmone Davidson

Executive Assistant

20 years of experience providing senior manager and executive support across diverse business sectors.

Simmone will be providing executive support to Ed Mitchard and Murray Collins. She has a keen interest in environmental and climate issues and is excited to be part of a growing company that is making a difference.

Phoenix Chandler

NBS Insights Platform Lead

MSc in Environmental Sustainability from The University of Edinburgh.

Phoenix's interest lies specifically with how geo-spatial mapping can be the way forward in tackling climate change and help to demonstrate solutions that may make a real difference. She is hoping to gain experience with data cleaning and analysis in her graduate role at Space Intelligence.

Paula McGregor

Project Manager

MA (Hons) in Geography from the University of Edinburgh.

Innovation and commercialisation project manager with 4 years experience delivering major international development and business applications programmes using satellite derived data. Passionate about saving trees and helping to solve the climate crisis.

Helen Scott

Head of People and Culture

BA (Hons) Politics from the University of Portsmouth.

Helen’s mission is building workplaces people love. She has held a number of HR Director positions and supported employees in the UK and internationally. She has a Diploma in HR and has held positions at CIPD Branch and Scotland level. Her career has spanned from the public sector to helicopters (Babcock International), to FinTech (PayPal) and now to helping Earth's habitat.

Finance Team

Deborah Munro

Finance Director

Chartered Accountant - ICAS

Prior to joining Space Intelligence Debbie worked as an accountant in practice, supporting SME clients across a wide range of sectors. She has worked as an auditor with PWC and also has previous experience working within the finance functions of several UK banks.

Tracey McNeill

Finance Officer

25 years of experience working within accounts and finance.

Prior to joining Space Intelligence, Tracey worked for several small to medium sized businesses. She has gained extensive knowledge in payroll and accounts, managing all aspects of financial record keeping. She is looking forward to expanding her skillset and working closely with the Finance Director.

Commercial Team

Dr Alexis Moyer

Head of Business Development

PhD in Glaciology from the University of Edinburgh.

Alexis has expertise in combining remotely-sensed and field-based data to provide solutions to complex environmental sciences research questions. Previously, she worked as a hydrologist for an environmental consultancy in Edinburgh.

Michael Berliner

Head of Account Management and Special Projects

Degree in Experimental Psychology, Philosophy and Physiology from the University of Oxford.

Michael manages our relationships with pre-existing clients, and heads up funding and delivery of major R&D work. Comes from a background as a BAFTA nominated film producer, work includes the comedy Adult Life Skills starring Jodie Whittaker.

Heather Shepherd

Business Development Representative

Hons Degree in Criminology from Edinburgh Napier University.

Heather supports the team with their communication and business administration as well as having a keen interest in climate finance and the innovative application of satellite imagery to ESG performance.

Hamish Stewart

Business Development Assistant

BA (Hons) in Philosophy from the University of Glasgow.

Hamish assists the company with business development and marketing. He’s excited to work on building links with clients and partners as well as to learn more about nature tech and sustainability solutions.

Coleen Caiña

Marketing Officer

BA (Hons) in International Business from Robert Gordon University.

Coleen assists the team in the development of marketing strategies. She is eager to expand her understanding and experience in the industry.

Cameron Nicol

Head of Marketing

BA (Hons) in Marketing Management from Edinburgh Napier University

Cameron is an experienced B2B marketing leader, with over 10 years of experience building marketing programs and teams. Prior to joining Space Intelligence he was a Senior Marketing Director within Nasdaq where he led marketing for the company's asset management analytics business unit.

Engineering Team

Ben Ritchie

Head of Engineering

MA in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge.

Ben is passionate about creating software that delights users, and empowering development teams to innovate. He has a background in high scale software systems for telecoms and cloud, having held leadership roles in the Microsoft Azure for Operators team. He's excited to learn more about forests, and to help build and grow Space Intelligence's software platform.

Susheel Gajulapalle

Graduate Apprentice, Software Developer

Current graduate apprentice in Software Development at Heriot-Watt University.

He has a keen interest in python programming and is eager to gain knowledge and experience in the industry.

Nikolaus Huber

Senior Engineer

MInf (Hons) from the University of Edinburgh.

Passionate about well architected and designed software, Niko enjoys delivering products that enable customers. With a history in high-scale telecommunications backends and engineering management, Niko brings his expertise in high-grade software that works and effective teams.

Henry Speir

Junior Software Engineer

BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Computing Science from the University of Glasgow.

Henry is an enthusiastic and fast-learning member of the team. With his solid foundation in mathematics and computer science, a career in software development has always called to him. Having specialised in python development and machine learning technologies, he is thrilled to be in an environment where he will be able to use this understanding while also being supported to learn and develop further.

Alex Mackie

Software Engineer and Data Manager

MSc in GIS from the University of Edinburgh.

Alex is a geospatial data expert with a background in designing and producing environmental information and indicators across several domains. He believes that geography and finance play a key role in solving some of our most urgent problems and is delighted to be helping Space Intelligence's team and customers generate the evidence they need for this.

Luke Coursey

Senior Front End Engineer

MSc in GIS from University of Edinburgh.

Luke is a front-end engineer and React expert with a strong GIS background and extensive experience building web mapping and analytics tools across multiple industries. With a passion for data visualisation, he enjoys writing and architecting components that facilitate seamless and minimalist user experiences for exploring and analysing geospatial data.

Mapping Science Team

Dr Paula Nieto Quintano

Head of Mapping and Carbon Science

PhD in Forest Carbon from the University of Edinburgh.

For her PhD she set up a long-term fire experiment in the Republic of Congo to understand the floristic composition, carbon storage and woody cover and their association with fire. Previously, she has worked as an environmental consultant, as a researcher, and as a GIS and remote sensing analyst at Ecometrica.

Wietze Suijker

Product Architect

MSc in Geographical Information Science from Wageningen, Utrecht, Twente and Delft University.

Wietze enjoys creating innovative IT solutions to provide the best earth observation data at scale. As a product architect, he is in charge of developing the ML workflows for our products. Previously, he worked at a Water and IT company as the technical lead for a range of satellite-data-driven projects.

Dr Thom Brade

Senior Mapping Scientist

PhD in tropical woodland ecology from the University of Edinburgh.

For his PhD he analysed long-term woodland measurement data to assess the constraints on trees and woodland structure in southern Africa. He also established a plot network for the observation of tropical cyclone damage in Mozambique and assessed the impacts of community forestry on land cover change in Tanzania. Previously he has worked as a GIS analyst at Ecological Australia.

Aisling Hurley

Analyst

MPhys in Astrophysics from the University of Edinburgh.

Aisling's research has covered a wide range of topics in physics including, atmospheric physics, and computer simulation in Python. She aims to apply and build upon the knowledge and skills she developed through her degree.

Will Briggs

Junior Data Analyst

MMath in Mathematics from Durham University.

Will is excited about applying mathematical and statistical concepts in real life situations to solve complex problems. He is passionate about data analytics and data science and keen to get up to speed with the space and remote sensing industry having had experience in data architecture and analytics in financial contexts.

Kinjal Desai

Junior Developer

MSc in Software Systems from Heriot-Watt University.

Kinjal aims to develop and apply her in-depth knowledge of software systems whilst gaining new experiences working with Python, SQL, and data analysis alongside our diverse team.

Dr Euan Mitchell

Junior Developer

MSc in Earth Observation from the University of Edinburgh.

Euan has worked with lidar data from NASA’s GEDI mission, and followed this up with a six month spell as a researcher at the university working on a potential future spaceborne lidar mission. Euan is excited to apply his knowledge of remote sensing and experience with Python programming and machine learning to help the Space Intelligence team in their important NBS work.

Joy Christine Nduta Kimani

Junior Developer

BSc in Geomatic Engineering and Geospatial Information Systems from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Joy embraces tasks that stretch her in new directions and motivate her to discover new things. After earning her degree, she refined her Python skills through a software engineering course at Moringa School and is excited to apply the knowledge and skills she has developed at Space Intelligence. Joy seeks technological advancements so that she may address obstacles with the appropriate tools.

Nived Rajeev Saritha

Junior Product Developer

MSc Computational Applied Mathematics from the University of Edinburgh.

Nived is very passionate about mathematical and statistical modelling, and has academic research experience in machine learning. He is greatly interested in data science and hopes to put his theoretical expertise to practical use working with remote sensing IT solutions.

Laura Patterson

Junior Product Developer

MPhys Astrophysics from the University of Edinburgh.

Laura is keen to improve her programming skills in her role and has an interest in how geospatial data can be used to help the environment. Her research has covered topics such as Active Galactic Nuclei and Post Star-burst Galaxy Formation.

Anna Fumagalli

Data Scientist

MSc in Physics and Astronomy from The University of Glasgow.

Anna is a data scientist with a keen interest in data analytics and machine learning solutions. Having previously worked in software development for the entertainment industry, she's excited to dive into the world of remote sensing and nature-based solutions monitoring.

Dr Magdalena Navarro Torres Arpi

Senior Mapping Scientist

PhD in Computational Biology and Machine Learning from the University of Edinburgh.

Magda enjoys using mathematical and statistical models to solve real world problems and is particularly interested in projects with a positive environmental impact. She works in the production of mapping products to support forest conservation and restoration.

David McLeish

Data Scientist

MSc in Applied Meteorology from the University of Reading.

David has a keen interest in weather and climate, where data has been at the core of his research. In his most recent project, David used high-resolution climate data to investigate how climate change might impact agriculture in the Peruvian Andes. He is excited to develop his programming skills and learn more about the world of remote sensing while perhaps offering a unique weather and climate-based approach to problems.

Dr Sarah Appleby

Data Scientist

PhD in Data Intensive Astronomy from the University of Edinburgh.

Sarah's PhD research focused on galaxy evolution using large scale numerical simulations of the universe. She is excited to learn more about conservation and nature-based solutions, and to apply her data skills to problems closer to home.

Ben Laverick

Graduate Ecologist

MSc in Environmental Protection and Management from the University of Edinburgh.

Ben has a strong interest in the use of nature-based solutions to assist with climate change mitigation and ecological restoration. His recent masters dissertation focussed on native woodland restoration within the Cairngorms National Park. Having previously worked on a project at Leicester University verifying CLMS High Resolution Layer’s, he is looking forward to applying and developing his geospatial skills at Space Intelligence.

Elish Reid

Graduate Ecologist

MRes in Ecology and Environmental Biology from the University of Glasgow.

Elish’s research has focussed on collaborative habitat management and ecological restoration within different Scottish landscapes. Elish is passionate about applying forward thinking, nature-based solutions to mitigate against climate change.

Jocelyne Wardley

Graduate Ecologist

MSc in Conservation and Ecosystem Management from Newcastle University.

Jocelyne has a very keen interest in conservation, especially within the tropics. He recently worked on developing an application to help farmers in Rwanda reforest their local areas using indigenous trees that can benefit them. Jocelyne wants to apply his interest in conservation to climate change and sustainability around the world.

Lucy Parker

Junior Analyst

MSc Quantitative Methods in Biodiversity, Conservation, and Epidemiology from the University of Glasgow.

Lucy has a background in quantitative ecology with a special interest in geospatial data. She has previously worked on a project for National Geographic Society where she created a high resolution wetland map of the greater Amazon basin using satellite data and was also part of a fieldwork team in the wetlands collecting terrestrial LiDAR data. Lucy hopes to use her statistics and coding skills to assist with nature-based solutions.

Dr Sophie Flack-Prain

Senior Mapping Scientist

PhD in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Edinburgh.

Sophie is an ecosystem modeller with an interest in quantifying human impacts on forest dynamics. Her academic research utilised process-based models to understand carbon and water dynamics across tropical and subtropical forests and crops. More recently, she has focused on using machine-learning to generate carbon baselines and opportunity maps as part of wider natural capital assessments.

Driven by Purpose. Led by Experts

>50 Staff

>100 Scientific papers

11 PhD

Over a billion acres mapped

Our Team

Leadership Team

Operations Team

Finance Team

Commercial Team

Engineering Team

Mapping Science Team