4 Earth Intelligence Appoints Board to Drive Innovation in Satellite Services

4 Earth Intelligence (4EI), the newly formed international Earth observation company, has announced the board of directors that will drive innovation in satellite intelligence products and data services for applications such as air quality, asset management, ecology and climate change.

David Critchley heads up the team as CEO and will be supported by Richard Flemmings in the role of partner and technical director, and Chris Burnett as operations director. Donna Lyndsay joins as Commercial Director whilst Angela Ashdown takes on the role of chief finance officer. The newly announced board has more than 90 years' combined experience in geospatial technology and earth observation, having held senior positions with organizations such as Bluesky, Blom Aerofilms and Simmons, as well as EarthSense, Landmark Information Group and the European Space Agency.

“This is an exciting yet challenging time to be beginning a new journey in Earth observation,” commented David Critchley, CEO of 4 Earth Intelligence. “New techniques in machine learning and Artificial Intelligence combined with increasingly sophisticated satellite sensors mean that there is more data available than ever before and more scope to turn this data into usable information.

Evidence base

“However, with the planet facing unprecedented environmental challenges there is also a risk that Earth observation could become a critical part of the evidence base. It is our mission to ensure that everyone can access high quality data that is proven, consistent and repeatable, and that the tools and understanding to derive smart monitoring and analysis are also readily available.” 

The 4EI senior management team has already completed a number of flagship projects around the world, including a new global air quality index, the creation of multiple iterations of the satellite environmental inventory of Abu Dhabi, innovative data fusion techniques in detecting soil quality and climate resilience analysis for local authorities in the UK.

The 4EI directors will also be supported by Steve Keohane in the role of Board Advisor. A skilled operator in financial services, Keohane helps start-ups and growth businesses, such as 4EI, to shape their product and service portfolios into mainstream services solutions.