Dr Kat Salm.

Dr Kat Salm was welcomed as the new president of Survey and Spatial New Zealand at the annual general meeting held in Wellington on 7 November.

Kat said she was delighted to take over the role from outgoing president Rebecca Strang. Kat sees it as “an exciting opportunity to lead Survey and Spatial NZ into the next chapter – connecting with members, stakeholders and the wider community to ensure we provide a recognised and valued home for all of our diverse community”.

Kat has been a council member leading the Spatial Professional Stream since 2017. Christchurch-based, she is an associate and NZ Spatial Service Line Lead for Aurecon and NZ business development manager for FrontierSI. Kat has a PhD and a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science from the University of Canterbury, and brings a wealth of experience to the S+S NZ Council that spans geospatial across government, industry and education/research. Kat’s strengths are in strategy and roadmap development, research and review, business case development, and collaborative project /program leadership.

S+SNZ Board chairman Daniel Williams said he was delighted to have someone with Kat’s depth of experience and ability on the council: “She will contribute the strong skills needed to grow and advance our spatial strategy in a rapidly evolving sector,” Mr Williams said.

In 2018, Kat received the NZ Spatial Excellence Awards (NZSEA) Women’s Leadership Award and went on to win the Asia Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards (APSEA) Women’s Leadership Award in Australia. This year, Kat was a judge for the 2019 NZSEA awards that were announced in October 2019. Kat has also been on the committees for WIS (Women in Spatial/Survey) and the National Geospatial Capability Committee, and has been NZ rep for FIG Commission 3.