Ian is a highly experienced organisational leader and diplomat who is highly regarded for his organisational change management work. He has led organisations as diverse as the GCSB, the UK Patent Office (including establishing and operating an incubator), the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (the equivalent to MBIE), the UN Customs Service in Kosovo, and chaired a G8 committee on innovation and intellectual property.

He was born in Pahiatua, and has a degree from the University of Canterbury. He now lives in the Wairarapa while running a cybersecurity consultancy, and also grows peonies commercially with the largest operation in the North Island.