Superpower: Dishwasher stacking

Fixations: The Far Side

Adam founded Scarlatti in 2004 and is still very much hands-on and at the wheel. His work for clients spans most of the areas that Scarlatti operates in including extension programme design, market research, workforce research, impact modelling and operations research.

Adam’s idea of a good time consists of interrogating a problem down to its logical roots then working his way back up to find solutions. Much of the time this is useful to Scarlatti’s clients although Adam’s wife and children are less convinced.

Important to Adam, is developing the Scarlatti team by creating opportunities for team members to grow and lead. Scarlatti’s clients also appreciate the strong team culture that Adam has aspired to build.

Adam was previously Chief Operating Officer of Celentis, a commercial science company owned by AgResearch, and before that was a consultant for leading strategy consultancy McKinsey & Company, based in London.

Adam holds a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours) from the University of Auckland and a Doctorate in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Superpower: Finding glitches in the Matrix

Fixation: The red pill

Dana is Scarlatti’s organisational change lead with over 25 years’ experience in the organisational change space. Her work also spans organisational wellbeing, strategy facilitation, and training managers on well-being based leadership.

Her farming background, and wellbeing and corporate experience, brings a comprehensive perspective and depth of knowledge to our projects. She initiated the GoodYarn licensing programme, which has seen over 20,000 people educated in mental health literacy and has served over 500 clients in the wellbeing space.

Dana loves questioning the status quo and discovering new ways to approach old dilemmas. These qualities ensure clients do not get tick box programmes but find the right initiatives and solutions for their organisation.

Dana holds a Bachelor of Psychology, with post-graduate studies in physiology. She is a certified personal trainer, fitness instructor and wellness coach. Dana also speaks at conferences and forums on multiple topics.

Superpower: Eating chocolate

Fixation: Chocolate

Denise leads our extension programme design work area. Her work also spans strategy facilitation, and monitoring and evaluation.

Denise has worked in the primary sector for over 25 years, in many roles, including extension officer, facilitator, extension researcher, extension programme designer and evaluator. Extension, a tool for facilitating change, has been a constant in her work. Denise believes that at the heart of any project is people and understanding their responses to change will help ensure that it will be effective.

Working at Scarlatti allows Denise to combine research, design and evaluation, to support clients to facilitate change. And the team is awesome!

Denise has a Masters in Commerce and Management from Lincoln University and a Bachelor of Agricultural Science from The University of Melbourne. Her Masters work explored the concept of involvement in people’s response to information. She is a long-time member of the Australasia Pacific Extension Network (APEN), an organisation for extension professionals working with people to enable change and innovation in the primary industries, natural resource management and communities.

Superpower: Flat-pack furniture assembly

Fixation: Crochet

Karen leads our monitoring and evaluation service area and manages Scarlatti’s large-scale projects. She has worked as a researcher and evaluator for over fifteen years and has spent the last decade working largely on evaluation projects within the primary industry.

Within her role, Karen undertakes and evaluates complex change-based projects, enjoys developing dynamic monitoring and evaluation frameworks; and supports our clients and stakeholders to grow their monitoring and evaluation capability and confidence.

Karen loves working with our clients to ensure our monitoring and evaluation projects hit the mark, and enjoys thinking up new and interesting ways to present our evaluation findings.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Victoria University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Sector Evaluation Research from Massey University.

Superpower: Rehoming undervalued farm dogs

Fixation: New Zealand Chardonnay selection

Claudia’s work at Scarlatti spans organisational change, strategy facilitation, wellbeing programme design, extension programme design, and social and market research. She has experience in community facilitation and regional development project management for central Government. Claudia moved to Whangārei from Wellington to improve her understanding of regional communities and to positively influence programme development and design to maximise both investment and community returns.

Her background of working on pastoral farming systems and in primary industry innovation development keeps Claudia grounded in the realities of the sector. Claudia loves to bridge the gap between aspirational future-focused thinking and practical realities. Claudia loves bringing people together to create a shared vision and enjoys working to consistently incorporate Te Ao Māori in approaching challenges and project development.

Claudia holds a Bachelor of Science, with a first-class honor, majoring in Behavioural and Biological sciences from Waikato University. She is also a certified project manager practitioner in Prince2, Agile and Change Management.

Superpower: Keeping plants alive

Fixation: Keeping plants alive

Hannah leads Scarlatti’s workforce research area, and her work also spans impact modelling and market research.

Hannah’s field of expertise is predominately in statistical modelling and analysis.

While completing her Master’s degree, Hannah worked at Colmar Brunton supporting the client executives with the day-to-day management of survey projects and scripting of data collection and analysis programs.

Hannah holds a Master of Science, majoring in Statistics from the University of Auckland.

Superpower: Using R (programming language)

Fixation: Learning more R

Kenny primarily works in Scarlatti’s impact modelling area on projects to understand the implications of environmental change and environmental policy for society.

Kenny’s expertise is in economic modelling and data analysis, with a focus on causal inference. He enjoys developing models to understand the impacts of climate change on business and building tools to help clients use those models to make better decisions.

He previously worked as a Research Economist at the Crown Research Institute, Manaaki Whenua, for five years.

Kenny holds a Doctorate in Agricultural and Resource Economics from University of California, Berkeley.

Fixation: His vegetable garden

Superpower: Always stepping on rogue Lego

De Wet's works at Scarlatti spans workforce research and organisational change. He has a strong background in labour market economics and has experience in employee wellbeing research and workforce modelling.

De Wet brings corporate and academic experience, having spent several years working in the telecommunications sector before returning to university to further his research career. As part of his doctoral thesis, De Wet utilised administrative data from Stats NZ’s Integrated Data Infrastructure to examine the impact of minimum wage increases on teenage employment in New Zealand.

He holds a Bachelor of Business with Honours (First Class), Master of Business with Honours (First Class) and Doctorate in Economics from Auckland University of Technology.

Fixation: Breakfast

Superpower: Eating without gaining weight

Florian works mainly in the workforce research area.

He brings experience in working with population statistics, modelling, administrative data, and developing or adjusting methods to suit the specific needs of a project. He is interested in most topics and accordingly his background is varied, spanning the physical and social sciences. As part of his PhD thesis, he developed a new questionnaire to understand the relationships between the gaming behaviour and psychological needs of game-users. In general, his focus is on developing a deep understanding of whatever topic he is currently working on and using that understanding to lead positive change.

He holds a two-subjects bachelor for teaching physics and chemistry and a Master of Education from the Georg-August University of Goettingen, Germany, and a post-graduate certificate in education and professional development as well as a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington.

Superpower: Overthinking

Fixation: Cookies and milk

Julie leads our social and market research service area, and her work also spans evaluation and monitoring, and organisational wellbeing. She is experienced in project management, evaluation and marketing.

She has previously worked in the arts and culture, tourism, health and sport and recreation sectors.

Julie holds a Bachelor in Commerce (International Business) from NEOMA Business School in France, an Honours Bachelor in Commerce (Global Management) from the University of Ottawa in Canada, and a Master of Tourism Management, First Class Honours, from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. During her studies, Julie researched social marketing, attitudes and behaviour change.

Superpower: Google stalking

Fixations: Cheese

Kate’s work at Scarlatti spans organisational change, strategy facilitation, wellbeing programme design, monitoring and evaluation, and social and market research.

She brings her background in diversity and inclusion into her work to raise awareness of different groups’ unique features, to ensure that all perspectives are considered. Kate loves the creativity within her job, and how varied her work and clients are.

As part of Kate’s Masters, she interned at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for Immigration New Zealand.

Kate holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Cultural Anthropology and Asian Studies, and a Masters in Migration Studies (with Distinction), both from Victoria University of Wellington. Her research at university focused on critically analysing a wide variety of disparities faced by people around the world, why they may occur, and how they can be alleviated.

Superpower: Hiding sweets in the house

Fixations: Knitting - mostly to donate

Kelly’s work within Scarlatti focuses mostly on monitoring and evaluation, and also includes social and market research. Her experience spans evaluation of services and programmes using mixed-method approaches, survey design and dashboard implementation, workshop facilitation and training. Kelly loves bringing evaluation and data together with a thorough understanding of operational context to provide useful insights and recommendations.

Kelly has previous experience in the field of youth justice, and with research and evaluation in academic, non-profit, and government settings. She has also worked for several years in New Zealand’s public sector. Kelly enjoys the variety of projects at Scarlatti, and the opportunity to work with organisations and companies across New Zealand.

Kelly holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts (English) from the University of Colorado, and a Master of Arts (Criminal Justice) from the University of Illinois Chicago in the United States. During her Masters’ studies, Kelly completed a graduate concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies and had a focus on youth justice.

Superpower: ‘clean-as-you-go’ cooking

Fixation: assess tissue paper quality

Lucia works predominantly in monitoring and evaluation, as well as social research and extension programme design. She enjoys the diversity of projects Scarlatti has to offer, particularly the ones that facilitate positive changes through different research approaches.

Lucia has a passion for both qualitative and quantitative analysis. She loves creative storytelling with data and producing insights that are practical and actionable. She is organised and detail-focused – some might consider her obsession with creating perfectly formatted documents somewhat unhealthy, but not Lucia.

Lucia has a Master of Education from the University of Auckland, where she studied the academic, social, and emotional outcomes of students with high academic abilities and how to better meet their needs.

Superpower: Headstands

Fixations: Feijoas

Currently on Parental Leave, returning end of 2025

Mel's work spans our social and market research, and programme design work areas. She loves all aspects of the project life cycle - from the initial gathering of information to scope and design projects, right through to monitoring and evaluating the success of the project after its implementation.

Mel has been working as a researcher for over 10 years and has experience across a range of industries, her work in recent years has honed her skills in the primary industries and tertiary education sector.

Prior to joining the team at Scarlatti, Mel lived in Singapore for two years working as a senior consultant for a large global research consultancy.

Mel holds a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing, and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Statistics and Psychology from the University of Auckland.

Superpower: Romance languages

Fixations: Sunday drives

Phoebe works predominantly in social and market research, as well as wellbeing programme design, and monitoring and evaluation.

She began her journey to research and evaluation in Brazil in 2020, supporting projects on social services, gender violence and education, for NGOS, governments and intergovernmental agencies. Prior to this, she worked as an English language teacher for adults.

Outside of work, Phoebe is building an organisation that supports Latin American migrants in New Zealand – by providing Spanish-speaker specific English classes; hosting guest speakers and debates to build migrant confidence; and providing a space to build a ‘family away from home’.

Phoebe has a Conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Commerce in Marketing (Market Research), International Business and Spanish.

Superpower: Ice-cream making

Fixation: XKCD

Sam leads Scarlatti’s operations research area, and his work also spans workforce research and impact modelling.

Sam’s experience is in mathematical modelling and data analysis. He enjoys making models of the world and building tools to let clients use those models to better understand their problems and improve the way they do things.

Sam holds a Doctorate in Physics from Dartmouth College, NH, USA, and a Master of Science in Physics (First Class Honours) from the University of Otago.

During his physics research Sam built models of systems ranging from ultra-cold gases to galaxies.

Superpower: Throwing a frisbee

Fixations: Excel

Vaughan leads our impact modelling work area. His work also spans workforce research, extension programme design, and oragnisational change. He’s frequently involved in projects involving both quantitative and qualitative analyses.

His experience involves working with clients across a range of primary industries including horticulture, dairy, and sheep and beef, where he enjoys developing tools and resources that are interactive and intuitive for a range of uses.

Vaughan holds a Master of Agribusiness (with Distinction) and a Bachelor of AgriCommerce in Agricultural Economics, both from Massey University. During his Masters, he worked with Zespri to conduct a situational analysis of the economic impact of sooty mould in New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry.

Superpower: Kids' birthday extravangazas

Fixations: Brewing the perfect coffee

Deirdre is Scarlatti's Business Administrator and Accountant. She works closely with the team in all aspects of the business, most importantly making sure the coffee is brewed, the team is paid and the invoices are sent!

In her many years at Scarlatti, she has never missed a team member's birthday and makes sure the office pets have had their daily pats, cuddles and treats.

Deirdre has been living in New Zealand since 1998 working in a variety of industries, from pharmaceuticals and clinical research to tug and barge operations.

Deirdre holds a Bachelor of Management, majoring in Accounting and Finance from the University of Lethbridge in Canada.

Superpower: Taking on roundabouts

Fixation: Sewing hexagons

Diane provides part-time administrative support to the Hamilton office.

She has spent many years in the corporate space, working in a variety of industries, with the latest role being in a global technology company where she has honed her administrative background including HR, payroll, etc. She is excited to be part of a company going places.

Superpower: Finding lost items

Fixation: Menu stalking

Molly is a part-time administrator based at the Wellington office.

She is excited about expanding her knowledge and getting involved in the variety of work Scarlatti offers. She has a particular interest in strategy facilitation and works closely with this team.

Being new to the role, Molly hopes that her experience at the Wellington office won't be like pulling teeth, something she is familiar with from her other part-time job as a dental assistant.

Superpower: Lengthy rants about anything

Fixations: Rubik's cube

Alex's work is mostly in impact modelling, and workforce research. He particularly enjoys coming up with creative coding solutions to idiosyncratic problems and finding ways to optimise runtime for large data processing tasks. In his Honours work he invented a new protocol for secure-against-all-parties anonymous secret sharing.

Outside of work he is a passionate skier with hopes to take a tour of Europe’s sickest slopes, a big fan of the Black Caps, and dabbles in independent content creation.

Alex has a BSc in Maths and Physics, BSc hons (first class) in Maths, from The University of Auckland.

Superpower: Understanding Calculus

Fixation: Reading long fantasy series

Finn’s work is mainly in workforce research.

Finn’s experience is in mathematical modelling and data analysis. He particularly enjoys solving difficult conceptual and mathematical problems.

Outside of work, Finn is a board game connoisseur and has been playing the piano and trumpet for most of his life.

Finn has a MSc in Physics, and a BSc Honours (First Class) in Mathematical Physics. His research focussed on how light is bent by the largest structures in the universe, such as cosmic voids and galaxy superclusters.

Superpower: Decluttering

Fixation: Crafting the perfect dumpling

Hadleigh is a qualitative research associate who works predominantly in monitoring and evaluation, extension programme design, workforce research, and organisational change.

He grew up milking cows in the mighty Waikato, spent a number of years in Wellington, and now calls Christchurch home. Hadleigh has worn many hats throughout his career, and enjoys the range and variety of work that Scarlatti projects provide. He’s happiest when wrapping his head around concepts that are complex and unfamiliar, and writing about the process.

Hadleigh holds a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in Religious Studies and English Literature from Victoria University of Wellington, and a Masters of Applied Data Science with Distinction from University of Canterbury. His undergraduate thesis explored the migration patterns of Buddhism in the 1970s, and his Masters work focused on various modes of Natural Language Processing.

Superpower: Finding any excuse for coffee

Fixation: Trail running

Hannah’s work spans organisational change, organisational wellbeing, strategy facilitation, monitoring and evaluation, and social and market research.

Hannah loves the range of work that Scarlatti offers; she is always keen to venture out of her comfort zone and learn about new service areas.

With an appreciation of complexity and approaching a problem from multiple angles, Hannah enjoys looking at the bigger picture to develop sustainable solutions while keeping people and their wellbeing at the centre.

She holds a first-class honours degree in Psychology and a major in Education from the University of Otago, Dunedin.

Superpower: Choosing the perfect size Tupperware

Fixation: Shoes

Hannah is a dedicated data enthusiast and enjoys the variety of work Scarlatti offers.

As a professional triathlete training for the 70.3 World Championships, she seamlessly blends her passion for data with a drive for high performance in all areas of her life.

Hannah contributes a unique skill set to diverse challenges and opportunities.

Hannah has a Master of Health, Sport, and Human Performance, along with a Bachelor of Science in Data Analytics.

Superpower: Finding the best discounts online

Fixation: Animal videos

Kayla’s work spans monitoring and evaluation, social and market research, and impact modelling.

She has a passion for problem-solving and loves discovering innovative ways to communicate findings to different audiences. Kayla enjoys how she can incorporate all her favourite parts of research into her work; from problem-solving to data analysis and that her work includes a mix of qualitative and quantitative research.

Kayla recently submitted her PhD thesis in Psychology at the University of Waikato. She holds a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Statistics from the University of Waikato. Her research at university focused on decision-making and cognitive biases.

Superpower: Sudoku

Fixation: Travelling

Ren is an associate developer working in the organisational change, social research and insights and customer experience service areas.

He loves the variety of project work at Scarlatti because it facilitates professional development, collaboration with different people, and provides the freedom to work with new technologies like statistical modelling. Ren enjoys dabbling in various projects to discover the work he wants to specialise in.

Outside of work, Ren likes to go to the gym, pick up new hobbies, and travel with friends and family.

Ren has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Statistics and Computer Science from The University of Auckland.

Superpower: Poaching eggs

Fixation: Friend playlist blends on Spotify

Ruby’s work at Scarlatti primarily spans monitoring and evaluation and social research.

Ruby enjoys finding solutions in an inclusive way, and has experience in providing strategic advice, developing and maintaining organisational systems and processes, and championing effective communications to a wide audience. She has a strong background in governance, risk management, and strategic planning.

She worked for several years in the public sector, driving improvements, refining governance principles and practices, and creating and maintaining education and capability development. This included facilitating workshops, contributing to self-reviews, and advising paper authors to ensure papers were fit for purpose.

Ruby is passionate about supporting innovation and working in a collaborative environment. She has a strong desire to be at the forefront of research and change projects that create continuous improvements.

Ruby holds a Bachelor of Criminal Justice from the University of Canterbury, with post-graduate studies in Strategy Development and Risk and Compliance from the Chartered Governance Institute New Zealand.

Superpower: Taking naps

Fixation: Seafood

Currently on Parental Leave, returning in March 2025

Yuxing's work is mostly in workforce research. Her passion is for both qualitative and quantitative research.

Her experience working as an equity research analyst focusing on the animal farming industry has equipped her with solid research skills. She is also experienced in the education sector.

Yuxing enjoys the process of collecting data and turning seemingly chaotic data into valuable insights and helping clients to make positive changes and improve decision-making.

Yuxing holds a Bachelor of Financial Management from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and a Graduate Diploma in Teaching from the University of Auckland.

Superpower: Overthinking

Fixations: Learning random things

Andrew works in workforce research and impact modelling.

Andrew appreciates the opportunity at Scarlatti to learn about different areas such as data analysis and modelling, collaborate with others, and apply his skills and knowledge to make a positive impact. He is particularly interested in seeing how different fields such as programming, public policy / politics, and biology can intersect.

He was born in windy Wellington, but now calls Hamilton home. Outside of work, Andrew enjoys video gaming, reading, travel, and trying new things.

Andrew is studying towards a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Computer Science at the University of Waikato. He previously completed a Summer Research Project focused on analysing and comparing Cybersecurity postures across Australia and New Zealand.

Superpower: Cracking coconut shells

Fixations: Music

Jinru works mainly in workforce research. She enjoys the inclusive working environment at Scarlatti and is excited to utilise her skills in data analysis to contribute to diverse research projects.

Jinru enjoys actively giving ideas during team discussions and believes in the value of understanding what matters the most to clients. She enjoys the analytical process and dissecting raw data into neat statistics, designing visualisations, and uncovering meaningful insights. Her favourite programming language is R, and she expects it will remain so for years.

Jinru holds a Bachelor of Science in Data Analytics from the University of Waikato. She received a summer research scholarship for helping the School of Health improve data accuracy and create statistical models used for hypothesis tests. She also performed cluster analysis on housing data using machine learning algorithms.

Superpower: Finding op shop trinkets

Fixations: Dumplings

Stella’s work spans organisational wellbeing, and monitoring and evaluation.

She is passionate about creating equitable and inclusive solutions with a focus on uplifting historically disadvantaged groups. Within her internship, Stella is excited to explore how innovative research and real-world analysis can drive meaningful change for communities.

Stella holds a Bachelor's in History and Political Science, and a Master’s in Policy and Governance from the University of Canterbury. Her Master’s dissertation looked at how Te Tiriti o Waitangi has been applied to Aotearoa’s health system and how this has differed from the aspirations of the Waitangi Tribunal in the WAI2575 Report.

Superpower: Lover of people

Fixation: Bountiful kisses

Maisie has a masters degree in people greeting and has been known to perform a trick or two. Maisie manages the Auckland team’s wellbeing and acts in a consultancy role regularly advising the Scarlatti organisational wellbeing team.

When she is not at the Auckland office keeping the humans distracted, her favourite place to be is at the beach. She loves going on long walks and is always up for a road trip or flight to the family’s bach on Great Barrier Island. Her best party trick is diving into the pool.

Maisie is definitely top dog in Scarlatti’s books.