Nick | Russill

Nick Russill is qualified as an Exploration and Mining Geologist (Cardiff University in 1992) and began a career working in Queensland, Australia exploring for Gold and Copper for Mount Isa Mines. A downturn in base metals prices and a subsequent reduction in mineral exploration left him with a choice:  a job sorting tomatoes (amid an inherent dislike for them) or return to the UK and do something useful. He chose the latter.

Using skills learned in the minerals industry and taking advantage of increased awareness in the environment and contaminated land (large parts of Wales were eligible for Objective One European Funding at the time), he set up TerraDat Geophyiscs with fellow Cardiff postgrad Robert McDonald, assisted by a grant from The Princes Trust. The aim was to provide innovative subsurface mapping services using state of the art non invasive techniques to locate anything from unexploded ordnance, water through to archaeology and bridge foundations.

In 1993 Nick was the finalist for Wales in the Worldcom New Business Achievement Awards and in 1998 was awarded ” Young Welsh Entrepreneur of the Year” and has also won several business awards for outward export of knowledge from Wales to the rest of the World. In 2008, TerraDat was awarded an Innovation Award for long term collaboration with Cardiff University.

With business roots still firmly set in geosciences and mapping, he co-founded Terralogic - a company providing ruggedized computing solutions initially for field surveyors, but now primarily for military and emergency services use.

Using their expertise of making maps, In 1996 Nick and his colleagues looked to the skies and launched the internet’s most popular specialised weather forecasting website: Snow-Forecast.com. This provides the most comprehensive mountain-specific forecasts and information for snow sports enthusiasts (over 3 million people per month during the winter) and has branched out into other brands of online weather product under the offshore company Meteo365.com Ltd. Snow-Forecast.com was among the first successful companies to emerge from the @Wales Digital Media incubator.

In 2008, TerraDat became affiliated with Topcon - a leading manufacturer and innovator of survey and positioning hardware. This has resulting in Nick leading an offshot to the core survey business in the form of TerraDat Geomatics which provides 3D model creation using stereo photography. This is particularly applicable to producing low-cost aerial maps and a published example of this work in Alaska can be found here.

Nick is an Honorary Lecturer at Cardiff University Department of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences and also a Vice President of Cardiff Business Club. He also promotes entrepreneurship in local schools under the National Assembly for Wales’ Dynamo Project.

In the hours outside work, Nick can be found snowboarding, surfing, sea kayaking or taking photographs for his growing portfolio of work, some of which can be viewed here. He is also training to become a South Wales “White Collar”  Boxing champion. (read his boxing blog)

In 2005 and 2007 he provided photographic leadership and field tuition to groups of American Entrepreneurs from the World President’s Organisation (WPO), the latter date being aboard the MS National Geographic Endeavour in Antarctica.