Meet the Team
Meet the faces behind the names and find out who is who at Geobear.
We value our employees and recognise everyone has a role to play in the company’s success.
Otso Lahtinen – Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Otso Lahtinen is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Geobear. He is responsible for leading the development and execution of the Company’s long term strategy.
The Lahtinen family founded Uretek (now Geobear) in the 1970s. Fast forward to today and the company has completed over 200, 000 projects worldwide.
Richard Holmes – Managing Director UK
Richard is the Managing Director for Geobear UK. He holds ultimate responsibility for the day to day running of the company and its strategic direction.
Richard is a Chartered Engineer with over 30 years experience in Geotechnical Contracting, and has worked in Senior Management positions for over 20 years.
Alex Finch – Commercial Director UK
Alex is Commercial Director at Geobear. He is responsible for the residential division in the UK.
Alex has over 20 years of experience in dealing with subsidence problems. He has wide and varied experience in the insurance and loss adjusting market, across operational, technical and business development sectors.
Aleister Willis – Marketing Director UK
Aleister Willis is Marketing Manager at Geobear and is responsible for ensuring that our customer base understands our solutions and the benefits they bring.
Since the early ’00s, Aleister has held a number of senior marketing roles encompassing some of the biggest sectors, including oil and gas, nuclear and power.
Daniel Hadfield – Engineering Director UK
Daniel Hadfield has been with Geobear since 2010 and has helped shape some of our most testing projects.
In 2014 he went from Senior Engineer to Engineering Director providing even more of his expert insights to even more projects.
Freya Chapman – Customer Service Manager UK
Freya Chapman manages the Customer Service team at Geobear. As the first point of contact for customers, Freya has to ensure that satisfaction is the first thing that is on her mind when it comes to making decisions.
Her knowledge of our solutions and ability to liaise with often anxious customers are two of her biggest strengths.
Emma Talbot Baker – Commercial Southern Area Manager UK
Emma joined Geobear in 2016 working with the residential team. In 2017 Emma moved into the commercial team, dealing with highly engineered and complex projects.
Emma manages all commercial projects in the South of the UK. She will determine the requirements of a project and then liaise with our in-house engineering department to ensure that the customer receives a solution that is fit for purpose.
Kevin Doyle – Head of Infrastructure
Kevin has over 20 years experience within the construction industry.
He has a strong client liaison background, and has a clear understanding of how to work with a client in order to give best practice and best service.
Ksenia Tarasenko – Vice President of Marketing
Ksenia is the Vice President of Marketing for Geobear. She is responsible for the design and implementation of the company marketing strategy and oversees the marketing departments across the group.
Ksenia has over 10 years experience in executive positions, supported by a high level of education including a Masters in International Business and Administration and a PHD in Business Psychology.
Ashley Gierth – UK Rail Director
Ashley is the UK Rail Director. He has a career spanning more than 20 years in the rail industry, working in track renewals, design/ project and contract management, before holding Director positions.
Ashley is responsible for growing the UK rail business with Geobear, including achieving product acceptance from Network Rail.
Norman Saint – Commercial Northern Area Manager, UK
Norman is a long standing member of the Geobear team, he has been with the company for 17 years, and is a big part of the future growth plans.
He has worked in the Operations, Residential and now Commercial Team.
Jeff Gaucher – Director of Commercial Sales UK & Ireland
Jeff is the Director of Commercial Sales UK & Ireland. He has over 20 years of experience in senior management and directorship roles in the Civil Engineering industry.
Jeff is responsible for the Commercial UK sector, including overall ownership/ responsibility for the sectors budget, turnover, marketing and staff development.
