Our Story

An astrophysicist and a farmer walk into a bar...

That was the
beginning of Aspia.

A chance “What If?” conversation in a Cornish pub between astrophysics professor Jim Geach, and his lifelong friend, a farmer from their home village of Duloe, sparked an idea.

Jim had spent his career studying deep space, detecting and interpreting the faintest signals from the furthest reaches of the universe – the ultimate remote sensing challenge! He wondered: what if the same techniques used to observe distant galaxies could help us understand what was happening here on Earth?

From that conversation, Aspia was born.

We’ve evolved into a company with one goal: to help organisations see what’s happening on the ground, when it matters most, and why it matters to their business.

The name Aspia comes from the Cornish word for “observe,” reflecting both our roots and our mission to see beyond the obvious and reveal the truth hidden in Earth’s signals.

Our team blends scientific innovation and rigour with commercial urgency. We believe the future of land intelligence isn’t about collecting more images, but about turning hidden signals into insights that people can trust and use. That’s

Land Intelligence. Simplified.

James Palmer

Chief Executive Officer

A strategic leader with over 25 years in finance and global investment. Jim steers Aspia’s growth and stakeholder engagement.

Professor Jim Geach

Chief Scientific Officer

A professor of astrophysics with over two decades of experience in observational science. Jim drives Aspia’s scientific vision and ensures technical rigour.

Jon Rhymes

Chief Revenue Officer

With deep experience across sales, finance, technology, business operations and agriculture. Jon leads Aspia’s commercial strategy and customer engagement.

Chris Roberts

Chief Technology Officer

A veteran technologist with a background in HPC infrastructure solutions. Chris delivers scalable systems, drives efficiency, and leads our strategic partnerships.

Ian Greentree

Chief Operating Officer

Ian draws on significant experience that began with a  military career, where he specialised in Remote Sensing and Geospatial intelligence. Over the last 15 years, he has led major digital transformation programs across global corporations with a focus on lean operations and Agile development, Ian is committed to building high-performing teams that drive sustainable business services.

Dr Freddie Kalaitzis

Product Technology Lead

With expertise spanning statistics, machine learning and remote sensing, Freddie bridges deep tech and product delivery, ensuring that robust science flows into scalable products.

Dr Freddie Kalaitzis

Product Technology Lead

With expertise spanning statistics, machine learning and remote sensing, Freddie bridges deep tech and product delivery, ensuring that robust science flows into scalable products.

Luke Fleming

Head of Data Engineering

With a Masters in Astrophysics and an expert in data warehousing, services and geospatial analytics, Luke heads up our architecture and engineering capability that delivers customer insights at speed and scale.

Danie Swart

Africa Sales Director

Dr Matt Allen

Applied Scientist

Matt has a first degree in Information & Computer Engineering, a Master’s in Environmental Data Science and a PhD in Remote Sensing and Machine Learning from the University of Cambridge. Matt has deep expertise in bringing to bear state-of-the-art deep learning approaches to Earth Observation, with a passion for extracting actionable insights from complex datasets to solve real-world problems.

Dr Jamie Banister

Applied Scientist

With a PhD in Astrophysics, Jamie has a strong skillset in data analysis and computational physics – Jamie’s doctoral work focused on developing sophisticated optical and near-infrared spectral analysis techniques in stellar systems. He has a wealth of experience in handling large datasets, creating data automation pipelines, and interpreting high-dimensional observational data.

Laura Botha

Business Manager

Laura is a business manager with a track record of making complex projects run smoothly across the finance, technology, and space sectors. At Aspia Space, she keeps strategy, budgets, and partnerships aligned to deliver results on ambitious in-house and consortium projects.

Every insight we deliver begins with a conversation. Tell us about your land challenges and we’ll show you how Aspia can help.