About
We connect the voices that herald change
Our Mission
We believe that everyone should feel connected to the organisations that make decisions that affect them, and have full confidence that their voices are being listened to and not just heard and ignored. Horizon State has been built to bridge the trust gap that exists between modern organisations and everyday people. Our leading role in developing a tamper-resistant digital ballot box and engagement platform that is transparent, verifiable, and most of all, trusted has earned Horizon State a position among the World Economic Forum’s list of ‘Technology Pioneers’, joining alumni including Google, Airbnb, Kickstarter, Mozilla and Spotify.
Our Team
Tim Goggin
Chief Executive Officer
Tim has spent 10 years working in tech startups and first started working in blockchain in early 2014, learning from top business mentors and early computing pioneers. Specialising in business strategy, economics and technology, Tim has advised leaders of five government departments about the future of blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies and their public policy implications.
Dan Crane
Chief Operating Officer
Dan’s life has revolved around technology and innovation since he got his first computer. With over 20 years experience in roles ranging from highly technical to the c-level managing a team of 80, to burgeoning start-ups, Dan ensures we stay on the cutting edge of new technology.
Patrick Goggin
Chief Compliance Officer
Former CFO at the New Zealand tax department, and current tax and compliance consultant to the International Monetary Fund, Patrick is one of the world’s most sought after accounting and compliance experts with experience in regulatory compliance, business performance, strategy, and large company transformation and capacity building throughout the OECD.
David Fuller
Head Of Transformation And Growth
With more than 20 years management consulting experience, David has led transformation teams or provided senior management expertise in some of New Zealand’s largest private and government organisations, including Treasury, the NZ Transport Agency, Transpower and WEL Networks. David is the Managing Director of HSE Global’s NZ division, a large Health & Safety consulting group operating internationally
Sam Kourbeis
Head Of Customer Delivery
Sam is responsible for both overseeing the successful delivery of our products to customers, and fostering a high level ongoing relationship. Drawing on years of experience in customer experience and business project delivery roles, Sam is the perfect fit for ensuring our customers derive positive outcomes from our suite of engagement products.
Ehsan Mirzaei
Head of Devops
Ehsan has more than 10 years experience as both an Infrastructure Engineer and as a Software Engineer in financial services companies and other large transactional enterprises. His passion is working on cloud technologies and high scalability networks, and helping customers migrate their application to cloud.
Matt Du Rieu
Full-Stack Developer
Beginning with a career in law enforcement and a Bachelor in Biotechnology, Matt utilises a broad range of interdisciplinary skills and perspectives to enhance his software development. With a keen interest in world history and anthropology, he is driven towards involvement in projects which have a positive social impact.
Andrew wood
media and content
Andrew holds a PhD in art history, is an expert in politics and the philosophy of visual communication and language, and holds an interest in power hierarchies and communication. His published books range from translations of German poetry to the social history of the Pavlova. He has written for the New Zealand Listener, Art News New Zealand, Architecture New Zealand, Art Monthly Australasia, Australian Art Collector, and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany.
Advisors
Richard Hames
Advisor
Dr Richard Hames is Chairman of the Asian Foresight Institute, an elected Fellow of the World Academy of Art & Science, and personal mentor to Heads of State, CEOs and entrepreneurs. Described by Forbes Asia as “one of the smartest people on the planet”, Richard is highly sought after by governments and business leaders as one of the world’s most influential thinkers and strategists. Richard’s work as founder of Centre for the Future was influential in the formation of Horizon State.
Uddhav Kirtikar
Advisor
Uddhav has a background in strategic policy, trans-national organised crime and intelligence. He has worked at New Zealand’s ACC, Commerce Commision and the Financial Markets Authority. Uddhav was the lead writer for New Zealand’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism laws and now operates his own AML advisory group.
Recognition & Awards
AcceliCITY Semi-Finalist 2021
Horizon State was one of 50 Smart and Resilient City Companies from over 500 applicants in 44 countries chosen to be a QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge Semi-Finalist! AcceliCITY powered by Leading Cities, is a global competition seeking companies that utilize smart city solutions to address risk, equity and sustainability in our urban environments.
Blockchain Australia finalist | Government project of the year
Blockchain Australia is the largest officially recognised blockchain association in the country, and Horizon State was one of three finalists in the Government project category.
World Economic Forum | Technology Pioneer 2018
Horizon State was selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, joining the ranks of Airbnb, Google, Kickstarter and Spotify.
Wellington Gold Awards finalist - Cyber category
Horizon State was selected as one of five finalists in the Wellington Gold Awards - Cyber Category.