Brian M Maskell

BRIAN MASKELL – A BRIEF BACKGROUND

Brian began his career studying and working in areas of electrical engineering, electronics and automation. He was one of the early pupils selected to study at a post WWII College of Advanced Technology at Fort Horsted, Chatham in England.

At the tender age of 20 years he was offered an executive management position as Assistant to the Managing Director of a leading manufacturer of magnetic controls and advanced systems.

That experience soon led to his involvement with advanced weapon systems and advanced nuclear measurement systems. That work primarily involved analyses and documentation of those systems to NATO and related standards as well as lecturing to senior military personnel about those systems.

His skills in unravelling and communicating complexity then led to his involvement with advanced aircraft simulation systems at the time of those control systems making a transition from analogue to digital domains.

From a former weapons development company that he worked for, he was offered a head office role in government relations – primarily on weapons programmes.

That work brought him to the attention of a publishing giant – the International Publishing Corporation (IPC) – that offered him a position as Technical Editor of a new journal (Design Electronics) that specialised in advanced systems and materials sciences.

Having a lot of freedom and being well-funded enabled Brian to pursue his interests in discovering, visiting and documenting advances in both materials physics and biophysics research – his particular interests at that time.

At the same time another international publisher used Brian's skills to edit in English translations that had been made from original Russian-language texts covering nuclear engineering matters.

Brian also began to undertake part-time work drafting technology material for a communications section of the British Foreign Office; that included work for BBC overseas broadcasting.

Those involvements led to an offer to work with a small communications team linked to the Board of the largest British-based electronics, electrical engineering and automation conglomerate that comprised of Elliott-Automation, English Electric, AEI and the Marconi group of companies.

There he played an initiating role in setting up what became one of Europe's largest military and space think-tanks – EASAMS. But his main role was strategic communications at political and government levels across the world. That led to Brian developing a strong interest in inter-disciplinary military strategic thinking, intelligence analyses and ethical principles of government.

Then, developing ‘efficiency doctrines’ in the UK Government, forced further mergers and leadership changes on his conglomerate employer which in Brian’s view threatened the combined companies’ leading world position in electro-technologies and automation - and their likely ability to survive. That led to Brian deciding to leave and to establish his own consulting practice specialising in strategy formulation and organisational trouble-shooting.

One of his major clients was the BP think-tank SCICON that needed re-structuring and re-positioning following many senior people in one key discipline deciding to leave and to operate a new global (and very successful) communications entity – LOGICA.

From his various professional connections and military contacts, Brian had met many New Zealanders and had consequently accumulated several invitations to visit NZ. He made that visit early in 1972.

While on his visit to NZ he was offered a position to help lead a major government systems project – the Wanganui Computer System - a high-security and complex system that would combine and integrate data into 'one justice system for NZ'. Although Brian accepted that position, a political decision shortly after he arrived in NZ cancelled the project (although it was re-established years later).

Consequently, Brian was asked to undertake trouble-shooting engagements throughout the NZ machinery-of-government as well as directing training in machinery-of-government audit work related to principles of government, management and public law.

In 1978 he was invited to join Price Waterhouse where as Consulting Manager he had a role in development of that firm's consulting operations that included many leading international companies.

From 1981 to 2018 he again operated his own consulting company – Strategic Development Focus Limited – undertaking a kaleidoscope of engagements ranging from representing NZ in trade development matters overseas; re-shaping defence logistics in the NZ and Australia area; shaping new strategies for basic science in the NZ primary industries; and many projects involving aspects of public law.

Broader interests

Brian's broader interests include:-

Classical music (former pianist and organist).

Acoustics and sound reproduction (keen designer)

Writing

Current and international affairs: particularly government integrity and ethics, competence and compliance with rule-of-law principles; issues of adaptation to climate change; and machinery-of-government failure and breach of trust as a prime strategic 'driver' of instability and human conflicts and associated disruption of international trade.

Scientific integrity and 'closing the gap' between sound science and delivery of its prospective benefits – and particularly in the field of the biological sciences and medicine.

Advancement of individual human learning, reasoning, ethics and adaptation skills as alternative tools to 'process-driven education' based on dogma, doctrine and the dead weight of encyclopaedic knowledge as conventionally propounded by unquestioning and ossified institutions.

Advancement of mechanisms for cooperation (not competition) in human endeavour.

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