Nigel Lester is the Founder and CEO of The Spatial Distillery Co. and a geospatial technology leader with more than 25 years’ experience delivering spatial technology, location intelligence and data solutions across Australia and Southeast Asia.

Nigel has built his career at the intersection of GIS, spatial data, software development and business transformation. His experience spans both technology providers and major organisations using spatial technology to solve real-world problems. His previous roles include Country Manager and Managing Director – ANZ at Pitney Bowes Software, Sales Director for MapInfo SE Asia, Pre-sales Engineer at MapInfo Australia, GIS Specialist at Intergraph, Systems Analyst at BHP and Asset Management Specialist at Melbourne Water.

As CEO of The Spatial Distillery Co., Nigel leads the company's strategy, technology partnerships and delivery of innovative GIS, spatial data, location intelligence and geospatial solutions. He works closely with organisations to understand how spatial technology can improve decision-making, operational efficiency and the way they manage assets, networks, customers and places.

His project experience includes developing GIS strategic roadmaps for local government, implementing spatial solutions for telecommunications operators, delivering spatial analytics across telecommunications, government, insurance and retail, and developing bespoke spatial applications and integrations. His technical expertise includes MapInfo, ArcGIS, QGIS, FME, SQL Spatial, Google Maps Platform, Python, API integration, spatial data processing and open-source technologies.

Nigel is particularly experienced in enterprise GIS strategy, spatial analytics, spatial data integration and custom geospatial application development. His background in both software development and land information gives him a practical understanding of how spatial data, technology and business requirements need to come together to deliver solutions that organisations can actually use.

He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) in Land Information and a Graduate Diploma in Software Development from RMIT University.

Over more than two decades in the industry, Nigel has been involved in numerous innovations and implementations of location intelligence solutions throughout Australia and Southeast Asia.

At The Spatial Distillery Co., Nigel's focus is on making spatial technology practical, accessible and valuable—bringing together GIS, spatial data, cloud technology, mapping platforms, automation and emerging GeoAI capabilities to help organisations better understand location and make smarter decisions.