Our Board
Alex Black
Chief Executive Officer
Alex is passionate about making science easier for researchers and educators around the world by providing easy to use, high-quality software, and hardware. Fascinated by science and technology from a young age, Alex holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Otago. Alex started his career as a web developer working on large eCommerce projects but later returned to university to study Marketing Management. Alex ran his own successful digital marketing agency before joining ADInstruments in 2014. Alex was previously the Head of Marketing, before taking on the CEO role in 2020.
Alex is an industry advisor and guest lecturer at the University of Otago School of Business and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. Originally from the UK, Alex has traveled extensively around the world and is now proud to call Dunedin, New Zealand home.
Michael Macknight
Co-founder, Director
Michael first developed his concept for a computer-based data acquisition system in 1985, as part of his Bachelor of Science degree. Over the past 30 years, Michael has been integral to the development of ADInstruments products and to the international expansion of the company. Today, Michael continues be involved in innovation and new product releases from the company's office in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Michael holds a BSc (Physics) and an MSc (Computer Science) from Otago University. In 2015, Michael was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to science.
Professor Tony Macknight
Co-founder, Former Director of Education
Professor Tony Macknight co-founded ADInstruments alongside his son Michael. As a physiology researcher, Tony was aware of the need for an improved method of recording and analyzing physiological signals and was integral to the development of PowerLab data acquisition and analysis systems.
Tony’s distinguished career included postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School and appointment as Professor of Physiology at the University of Otago. After retiring from full-time teaching and research, Tony continued to travel and consult with leading life science researchers, educators, and ADInstruments staff about our products.
Tony passed away in 2022. While he may no longer be with us, Tony’s influence touches every aspect of our work; his kindness, generosity of spirit, and passion for physiology continue to inspire us to do our best to support current and future generations of scientists.
Stuart McLauchlan
Chairman
Stuart is a highly respected director and chairman, serving on the boards of numerous companies. A chartered accountant, he is a senior partner and director at GS McLauchlan & Co, and a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants. He is also a Chartered Fellow and Past President of the Institute of Directors.
Stuart currently chairs the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, Otago Community Hospice, Woodworks Southern, Skyline Healthcare Group, and NZ Formulary. In addition, he is a director of Scott Technology, Argosy Property, EBOS Group, and several other companies.
He has previously served as Pro-Chancellor of the University of Otago and as Governor of the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, further reflecting his long-standing commitment to governance and leadership across diverse sectors.
BCOM, FCA (PP), AFInstD.
John Judge
Director
John brings extensive Australasian business experience and strong financial and analytical expertise to the Board. Over his career with Ernst & Young, he held a range of senior roles before being appointed Chief Executive of Ernst & Young New Zealand.
He currently serves as Chairman of Biotelliga, Hobeca Group, and Hydraulink in both New Zealand and Australia, and also serves on several other boards and trusts.
BCom, FCA, MPP, FInstD.
Amanda Armstrong
Director
Amanda is an experienced executive leader with over 20 years in revenue leadership roles across global organisations. She has held senior executive positions at high-growth New Zealand–founded companies including Xero, Vend, and Crimson Education, where she led international teams spanning Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Australasia.
Amanda brings extensive expertise in scaling global SaaS businesses, with a strong focus on sales and marketing effectiveness, technology, people, and strategy. She is the founder of RevenueLab and currently consults, advises, and serves on a number of boards.
BPh.Ed, Diploma of Teaching