Meet Matt Nanda, our Entrepreneur in Residence
Matt Nanda is an operator and senior leader in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He took a month’s leave to join Bridgewest Ventures to gain practical experience in the deep tech incubation ecosystem. He talks about his drive to serve New Zealand by fostering innovation that makes a difference.
From Business Studies to Global Air Operations
After school Matt completed a Bachelor of Business Studies in International Business at Massey University and then a Masters of International Security. Matt joined the Air Force as a Navigator and Air Warfare Officer. He completed his training in Australia and returned to Auckland to work on the C-130 Hercules.
“A big part of my Air Force career has been supporting air transport missions including planning exercises and operations, through to flying people and equipment around the world. I also contributed to airworthiness and capability, ensuring crews were qualified and proficient to fly the aircraft.”
Over his decorated career he has traveled the globe working with allied forces. More recently, Matt has been in leadership roles, including leading the Operations Squadron at Whenuapai for two years. He says, “The unit enables air operations. It includes firefighters, security forces, the people who load the aircraft, refuelers, and the airfield management team. I had 120 people in my team across Auckland and Christchurch.” Memorable challenges included deploying people to support the Kabul evacuation of New Zealand citizens, as well as to managed isolation facilities and operations in the Covid-19 environment in full PPE.
Next, Matt took on the role of supporting the Chief of Defence as a Chief of Staff, making sure the Chief had all the tools to do his role. Matt is currently Director of Air Force Safety and Health, leading a specialist team in charge of aviation medicine, work place safety, occupational and environmental health.
Seeking the next challenge
2025 marks 18 years serving in the Air Force, Matt has started to think about his next steps. He says: “I'm at that stage of my career where I'm looking for something that connects to my values of service to others and I’m interested in organisations making a difference on a large scale. While I’m searching for a work environment connected with aviation, I'm also curious and thirsty for knowledge, and keen to grow my commercial business acumen.”
Matt sees his purpose is to one day lead organisations making a positive difference. He caught up with an ex Air Force colleague Kate de Ridder, Bridgewest Venture’s Investment Director, who suggested deep tech startup incubators as a space where he could meet founders of businesses doing big things.
Matt is currently working with Bridgewest Ventures to explore avenues for innovation in maritime surveillance, drawing on skills from his military background to look at potential solutions with the lens of experience.
“We’re looking at challenges and opportunities for deep tech innovation in monitoring maritime areas, and really understanding the market dynamic. The goal is to identify problem scenarios to match with emerging technologies and capabilities, testing the venture opportunity for whether it’s worth pursuing.”
Design Thinking
One thing Matt finds so stimulating about Bridgewest and the venture creation ecosystem is the global approach and the focus on understanding the market problems.
“One of my big takeaways is if you can connect an innovation with a market problem, and find a path to that market, then you’re away. The Bridgewest team are always thinking about who they can solve problems for and always asking; what is our unfair advantage to solving this from NZ?”
Matt sees commercialisation of NZ research and science as being integral to New Zealand’s long-term success and wants to support the effort. “The innovation ecosystem is such an exciting space because not only are startups developing solutions to our current problems, but people are also developing solutions to problems we haven't even thought of yet. It’s addictive to be part of.”
Creating a pipeline of transformative leaders is integral to New Zealand’s future
A challenge faced by military professionals looking at their next career move is they have many skills, but those skills don’t always easily match a corporate job description. Matt says,
“This project with Bridgewest has proven I’ve a broad set of skills and experiences that can serve startups. I feel empowered to carry on my journey in the early stage innovation ecosystem.”
Matt is keen to continue meeting people with big ideas in the venture creation ecosystem to see what problems he can help solve and where he can add value. If you’d like to talk about your big project, you can connect with Matt on LinkedIn.