Prior to leading Elevating Studio in Australia, Rex worked as an independent consultant based in Sydney, and has over 30 years of service in the vertical transportation industry with work experience in installations, service and modernisations. He has worked in various overseas countries across four continents for leading global companies, including the Schindler Group. On behalf of investors, Rex has taken the lead role in several start-up companies and divisions, with strong focus on developing/implementing process and quality management systems.

Rex moved to Australia in 2008 where he has worked on major modernisation projects, including the first-time introduction of destination control traffic management systems to several iconic commercial high-rise buildings in Australia. In addition to technical roles, Rex has held various director and regional management positions both in Australia and overseas.

Rex is a Chartered Engineer, Member of the Institution of Engineers of Australia (MIEAust CEngA) and registered on the National Engineers Register (NER) for Mechanical and Construction Engineering.

Geoff has 20 years of experience in the Vertical Transportation industry and has work at all levels of the industry. Graduating as an electrical apprentice for the Schindler Group in 2004, Geoff was awarded the prestigious “Australian Elevator Associations National Apprentice of the Year”. Since then, Geoff has taken on roles of increasing responsibility, including preventative maintenance of lifts and escalators, new installations, modernisations, safety and risk management. Before joining Elevating Studio, Geoff’s significant technical experience, together with his Masters in Business Management, enabled him to take on various senior management roles in the Australian VT industry.

In addition to the operational roles mentioned above, Geoff has specialised in project management, running several of Sydney’s largest VT projects, including the modernisation and conversion of conventional controlled elevators to modern, destination control systems on several of Australia’s most iconic commercial office towers.

Prior to founding Elevating Studio, Michiel has been active in the elevator industry for more than 15 years, in various global and local roles, in one of the largest elevator and escalator companies globally. During his time in the elevator and escalator industry, Michiel has been active in several senior roles, such as: New Equipment Installation Manager, New Equipment Director, Service Business Director, Vice President for Global Spare Parts Supply Operations, Senior Vice President for Global Automatic Doors business, Regional Managing Director South East Asia, Area Director Service Business Asia Pacific and Middle East, and Area Director Major Projects, Quality and Codes – Asia Pacific and Middle East.

During the earlier phase of his career, from 1990 to 2000, Michiel was active in various roles in the MEP Building Services industry and in the Energy/Power Generation Industry. He has been involved in several roles, from sales, design/engineering, project management, commissioning and maintenance, working on large projects in Netherlands and in Saudi Arabia.

Michiel has also been working as a Senior Consultant in MEP Building Services in The Hague, The Netherlands, for several years – responsible for the Mechanical / HVAC and Vertical Transportation design, of various large buildings in The Netherlands.

Johannes has had more than 39 years of experience in the elevator industry, before the founding of Elevating Studio. His last role was Chief Technology Officer for Major Project Division. Johannes has been involved in the design and execution of many of the highest buildings in the world, and he is considered one of the top experts globally in this field.

In the past, Johannes has worked in several workgroups of the European EN81 code committee. He is also a very active member of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), where he has been a member of the Steering Group from 2001-2007, and since 2008 he has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Council. In addition, Johannes is a member of the Height-committee, which is responsible to establish the official building heights of all tall buildings globally. In 2014, Johannes was nominated a Fellow of the CTBUH, for his work and contributions at the Council, during the last 15 years.

Johannes has also received many awards and mentions for his work in the Elevator Industry, over the last 39 years. Most recently, in 2013 he picked-up the Innovation Award from the CTBUH, on behalf of KONE Corporation. In the same year, he was also nominated as one of the 25 Engineering News Record’s top newsmakers of the year, by McGraw Hill construction magazine. In 2014 Johannes was the winner of the Prestigious Nova award for Innovation from the Construction Innovation Forum.

Kane McDonald completed his electrical apprenticeship with Thyssen Krupp Elevators, winning the apprentice of the year award in his final year. Kane then moved on to a sub-contracting role working with KONE Cranes where he serviced overhead cranes and learnt the administration side of business. Kane then took an opportunity at KONE elevators and worked his way from a service technician into supervisor roles, senior management and then into upper management all within the service business division. Throughout his time working in service, he has worked and excelled in the commercial, retail, residential and infrastructure sectors.

By focusing on customer service and leadership, Kane has been able to put the skills learnt over 24 years in the vertical transport industry to good use. Over the years, Kane has achieved numerous record results with the teams he has managed and led the way forward for those that have followed. One thing he enjoyed the most was mentoring inexperienced managers and technicians throughout their careers and will continue to do so into the future.

When Kane is not working, he is an avid Cronulla Sharks supporter and loves spending time playing Golf or hanging out with his family.

Todd has more than a decade in the Vertical Transportation industry and has considerable practical and supervisory experience. He completed his Electrical Trade with a prominent Sydney based lift company where he was exposed to all aspects of the business, including installation, testing, tuning, quality control, maintenance, and repairs. In 2016, Todd joined a Tier 1 lift company where he gained further technical, administrative and management experience.

Having a keen eye for technical quality and a customer centric focus, Todd was soon promoted from technician level to customer portfolio management, service operations and then to project management. Todd was responsible for some of the largest projects in the greater Sydney area, working with prominent Australian developers. Todd’s professionalism and client relationships developed during his time in the industry has been exemplary.

Todd grew up heavily involved in Surf Life Saving on Sydney’s northern beaches and is a dual national medalist in the water.

John is an industry leader with over 40 years experience within the service, construction, general management and modernisation businesses. John started his career as an apprentice and progressively took on more technical and managerial appointments. John’s has extensive project management experience across multiple project types and sizes. John has works on large commercial and residential developments, public transport and infrastructure and health.

As the General Manager of the Northern Region, John is focused on the development of Elevating Studio’s successful and sustainable growth in the region which includes QLD and the Northern Territory. Currently John is leading the development of a number of very large high-rise residential projects in QLD to ensure the successful deliver of the vertical transport.

Away from work, John is a motorsports enthusiast and enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Nima joined Elevating Studio in October 2024 and brings over 17 years experience within the elevator industry. Nima has successfully held a number of roles within the industry across a number of areas including Digital Business, Marketing, Service Management, Customer Experience, Regional Management and Account Management. Nima has worked in Australia, Germany, Switzerland and across South East Asia with a four year assignment in Singapore as Service Director and Head of Digital Business.

Nima has also lead a number of change management initiatives and has a keen interest in the people impact of organisational change in addition to process and other technical aspects. 

Elevating the level of safety awareness amongst passengers is one of Nima’s passions, having been involved with many investigations and public awareness campaigns over the last decade.

Outside of work, Nima is a passionate basketball player, even though many have advised him to quit due to many injuries.

Sophie is responsible for the day to day administration of Elevating Studio ANZ with an extensive resume of customer service roles. Sophie is focused on ensuring that Elevating Studio’s customers receive accurate and timely communications and feedback on all elements of administration.

Away from work Sophie is keen netballer and loving mum to two gorgeous boys.