The person behind it
From IBM hardware as a teenager to building AI for Kiwi businesses today.
True North IT is one person with a twenty-five-year track record of keeping serious systems running — and a clear view of where AI fits, and where it doesn't.
Why most AI projects fail — and why this one won't.
Most AI implementations don't fail because the technology is wrong. They fail because they're bolted onto systems that can't support them. You can't automate a business whose foundations are shaky and expect it to hold.
That's the one thing twenty-five years in production IT teaches you that no amount of AI hype can: the difference between a clever demo and something that still works on a wet Tuesday in six months' time. Finding where AI helps, building it properly, and making sure the ground underneath it is sound — that's the whole job.
[ real photo of Dave, on-site — replaces all stock imagery ]
The track record
Twenty-five years keeping real systems running.
The short version: from hardware engineering at IBM, to running IT for a national transport operator, to rebuilding systems for healthcare, banking and not-for-profits, to building AI for Northland businesses today. The long version:
1998–2002
IBM Modern Apprenticeship, IT Engineering
Started at the bottom, in the hardware. A four-year apprenticeship that built the ground-up understanding everything since has stood on.
2003–2013
Scottish Citylink — IT Junior to sole IT Manager
Started as the junior, ended up running the lot — the systems, the security, the email, the network and the IT budget for a national coach operator. At the same time, a Stagecoach field engineer covering half of Scotland.
2013–2015
NZ Red Cross
Modernised the charity's IT nationwide — moved a room full of ageing servers into the cloud, rolled out wireless at sites across the country, and shifted the whole organisation onto Office 365.
2015–2017
Contract engagements — Westpac, Steel & Tube
Designed and deployed remote-desktop infrastructure for one of New Zealand's largest banks, and delivered systems support for a recognisable NZ manufacturer.
2017–present
True North IT
An independent Northland consultancy. Sole IT consultant and de facto outsourced IT manager to Whangaroa Health Services Trust for eight years — a full network rebuild, cloud migration and ongoing management of a 24/7 aged-care environment. Plus Kainui, Stewart's Buses, and WOW Hub.
2026–present
Technical Director, AI Developments NZ
A part-time role alongside True North IT, building AI products with a business partner — proof the AI work is real, not a rebrand.
Want the full technical version — every system, every project? It's all on LinkedIn→
Why this matters when you're choosing who to trust with AI.
Plenty of people can write you an AI strategy. Very few have actually rebuilt the kind of systems that AI has to run on. That experience is the reason True North IT can put AI into your business without breaking it — and the reason we can also just run your Microsoft 365 and your network properly, if that's what you need first.
One body of experience, doing two jobs: it proves the AI promise, and it earns the everyday IT trust that leads there.
Why "True North"?
A true north is a fixed point you navigate by — direction you can rely on. It fits both halves of what we do: dependable IT foundations, and clear-headed guidance through the noise and hype of AI. And the Far North is home.
Twenty-five years of groundwork.
Let's put it to use in your business.
One structured session. A clear, written roadmap. No hype, no jargon — just where the wins are and what they're worth.
Prefer to talk first? Get in touch→