Richi Cleland
Richi, having worked with Ian on transmission lines projects since the 1990s, joined Groundline in its early days, becoming a director in 2006.
As Managing Director, Richi's focus is on business leadership and execution to enable the Groundline group to deliver services and products globally.
Richi possesses a unique mix of people and technical skills. His strong background in transmission line engineering, including field engineering and managing network construction projects, underlines his success.
He puts people first, investing heavily in staff and the team’s culture to ensure that Groundline continues to deliver outstanding service and outcomes for customers.
Richi enjoys spending time with his family and boating and has a passion for American classic cars.
Ian Flatley
Ian founded Groundline Engineering in 2004 after recognising that the industry needed independent, specialist transmission lines engineering services. He also saw an opportunity to use his specialist skills to develop products and services that deliver lasting improvements for the industry and broader society.
Ian’s extensive expertise has been developed over many years developing asset management strategies, developing policies and standards for design work, carrying out condition assessments and failure analyses and in providing technical support to field engineers and contractors. His work has taken him to Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom,Ireland and the Caribbean.
Ian is a family man, a rugby league fan and enjoys a good New Zealand craft beer.
Christian Nolden
Christian joined Groundline in 2023 to set up and run the US office. Christian spent the first 18 years of his career working for utilities in the US and Australia, and more recently has worked as an Executive of a company providing power line inspection services to utilities globally. He combines business acumen, technical expertise, and a positive attitude to solve complex customer problems. During Christian’s career he has driven change and innovation across global teams through stable leadership, empowerment, and transparency.
Christian brings a wealth of transmission and distribution expertise in design and project management, asset management, and corporate strategy. He specializes in developing asset strategies and condition monitoring methodologies for transmission lines to sustainably improve utility Total Cost of Ownership. Christian has a bachelor’s of engineering from the University of Central Florida and an MBA from Melbourne Business School.
Christian enjoys spending time with his family, golfing, and traveling. He loves being around the water and is looking forward to getting back into scuba diving
Kyle James
Kyle discovered a passion for engineering while in the military. After spending sometime in the civilian world fitting out dairy factories and fishing vessels, he ventured into transmission and distribution lines engineering when his interest was piqued by a job advert that mentioned climbing and the opportunity to be outdoors.
Kyle then honed his lines design skills while working for some of the country’s largest engineering consultancies in New Zealand, Australia and Canada before joining Groundline in 2014.
As General Manager - New Zealand, Kyle brings his practical and technical transmission and distribution lines experience to lead and develop staff. He enjoys technical challenges and encourages his diverse team to think outside the square.
Kyle loves cars, particularly old Volkswagens, and spends many nights in his work shed.
Adam Yates
Adam, having spent his whole career in transmission and distribution, joined Groundline in 2015 to set up the UK office.
Under Adam’s watch, Groundline quickly established itself as a key player in the market. His commitment to customer satisfaction and building a great team of people has resulted in Groundline providing services to some of the United Kingdom’s largest companies.
Adam attributes Groundline’s UK success to its team members. He enjoys creating an environment that encourages people to come up with ideas and innovations while showing customers that Groundline’s ability to problem solve is unrivaled.
Adam enjoys motorsport, attempting DIY and walking his dog in the sun and the rain, mainly the rain.
Craig Cox
Craig joined Groundline in February 2022 as the Group Financial Controller.
Craig is a Chartered Accountant and brings a breadth and depth of financial experience and business acumen to the business.
With experience across all areas of business, he really enjoys the operational side of a company and the personal interaction with the people, be it the storeman or the CEO. Being part of a successful team and contributing to a strong culture is an important part of success in any role.
Craig enjoys the outdoors, partaking in numerous sporting adventures, kayaking, riding, running and tramping through the wilderness of Aotearoa. When time allows, he enjoys a good DIY project and spending time with the family.
Our team is made up of experts who’ve worked around the globe.