Our Experts

Expertise from leading experts in science, regulation and business.

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Science, Regulation & Business

Expertise you can rely on

At Oritain, we're proud to deliver data and insights of the highest quality. Our expertise is backed by some of the leading experts in the fields of science, regulation and business.

Prof. Russell Frew

Oritain Co-founder and Chief Scientist

Russell is an analytical chemist who started his career applying trace metal and stable isotope analyses to trace ocean processes. As a Professor at the University of Otago, Russell established the Forensic Analytical Science Major and provided forensic evidence to the courts.

Russell founded Isotrace in 2003 and then co-founded Oritain in 2008. From 2012 to 2016 he was seconded to the IAEA/ FAO to establish a food traceability programme. Russell retired from his academic position in 2021 and has since been full-time with Oritain as Chief Scientist.

Ana Hinojosa

Advisor

Ana Hinojosa joined Oritain as an Adviser in June 2022. Before joining Oritain she was the Executive Director at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection where she was responsible for directing CBP’s trade threat assessment units, special investigations and enforcement programs focused on detecting, deterring and disrupting illicit trade, with a special emphasis on forced labor violations, evasion of special tariff cases and modernizing the use of civil penalties to ensure appropriate consequence delivery for non-compliance.

Ana has had an illustrious career with over 34 years of experience in law enforcement, international trade, international policy development and standard setting both with U.S. federal government and with the World Customs Organization (WCO) in Brussels Belgium.

Dr. Helen Darling

Oritain Co-founder and Senior Advisor

Dr. Helen Darling, with a Ph.D. in Public Health, is a pioneering leader in the field of food integrity. In 2007, alongside Professor Russell Frew and Mike Darling, she co-founded Oritain Global Limited, serving as its CEO until August 2013. For nearly two decades, Helen has been at the forefront of advancing food system intelligence, driving innovation through consumer insights, price monitoring, and social listening. In 2022, she founded InstatData to further expand these efforts.

Helen has extensive governance experience across local and international bodies, including roles with the Crown Research Institute ESR, Export NZ's advisory committee, and the United States Pharmacopeial Convention. Additionally, as a food producer, she played a key role in developing a novel cherry variety, securing plant varietal rights.

Today, Helen serves as Chair of the Board for Zestt Wellness and Viropin Pharmaceutical and sits on the Board of Thistle Finder, a data science startup based in Spain and New Zealand.

Dr. Kiri McComb

Technical Product Owner

Dr. Kiri McComb is Technical Product Owner, based in Oritain's Dunedin office. He completed his PhD in Chemistry, with a specialization in Chemical Food Traceability, through the University of Otago in 2011.

Since completion of his studies, Kiri has focused on applications using analytical chemistry and statistical data analysis for natural product authentication and verification. As a technical expert in this area, he has contributed to IAEA/FAO regional projects on food traceability, collaborating with scientists across the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific.

Kiri's work during his PhD was undertaken in collaboration with Oritain in its early stages, informing Oritain's early science process. Kiri officially joined Oritain in 2013, where he has continued to develop origin verification systems and is currently responsible for the Technical Product area.

Dr. Kate Jones

Senior Science Advisor

Dr. Kate Jones is the Senior Science Advisor for Oritain. Over the last eight years at Oritain, Kate has driven the development of the Oritain product and science delivery of cotton, wool, mohair, and cashmere verification programs.

Kate completed her undergraduate degree in environmental sciences and chemistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill before working as an Environmental Engineer for a construction and dewatering firm based in Singapore. Kate went on to obtain her PhD at the University of Otago in New Zealand, modelling the interaction of the marine environment and drivers on carbon dioxide fluxes along the coastal New Zealand shelf.

After a postdoctoral stint at the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of Tasmania, Kate shifted back to New Zealand and joined Oritain in 2015.

Dr. Olya Shatova

Product Manager

Dr. Olya Shatova joined Oritain New Zealand as a scientist in 2016, after she completed her PhD in Marine Biochemistry at the University of Otago in Dunedin. At Oritain, Olya has progressed through several roles including Global Science Director and now Product Manager.

As part of this role, Olya applies her strong knowledge of Oritain’s product to extend Oritain’s offering by building novel solutions to the client’s problems. She also oversees the work of Research & Development, Software Technology and Data & Analytics teams.

Dr. Sam Lind

Solutions Architect

Dr. Sam Lind is a Solutions Architect at Oritain based in Dunedin, Otago.

Sam completed his PhD in Chemistry at the University of Otago in 2012, after which he worked at Thermo Fisher Scientific as an Account Manager, responsible for the areas of life sciences, environmental monitoring, food testing, biopharma, and healthcare.

Joining Oritain in June 2014 as a Business Development Manager, while having various roles in the business since that time, Sam has spent the last 8 years leading the development of both scientific and commercial opportunities, focusing on customer-centric programs and early stage commercialization of new markets.