Finlay is Director Data Science at Dragonfly. As a mathematician, he brings an insightful rigour to solving analytical and technical problems.
Finlay has extensive experience as a database and software developer. He leads the technical direction of Dragonfly’s work, with a strong focus on open source technologies. He enjoys the challenge of making analytical and statistical solutions work in practice.
Finlay is experienced in Bayesian analysis and has carried out statistical modelling in diverse projects including estimates of the number of leaky homes in the country and marine mammal bycatch in New Zealand’s fisheries. He believes that automated approaches can massively increase the quality, reproducibility and productivity of analytical systems – and bring significant savings to clients.
Finlay researched four-dimensional algebra and geometry for his PhD in mathematics at SISSA, Italy. He completed post-docs at CIMAT in Mexico and Victoria University of Wellington, then worked in Wellington’s IT industry before joining Dragonfly in 2008.
I think decision making should be supported with the best available information. Data collection can be an expensive investment for any organisation, so getting the most from that data is essential. In the long run, robust analysis will produce a better return on investment. It’s gratifying to see our work being used to inform key commercial and government decisions.