To guarantee your success on operations. As veterans, we know how important it is to be prepared for the next fight and how hard it is to predict it. We therefore provide you with technology that is versatile, immersive and allows you to train with all the modern assets available to the warfighter;

giving you access to systems which are too dangerous, too difficult or too expensive to train with normally but are everywhere on the battlefield. We call this the SmartFacility: an instrumented, immersive physical/virtual training environment.

As a veteran owned and operated business why we do what we do is as important to us as what we do. We don’t wait to develop and are constantly conducting IRAD so if you are either a veteran with a technological tilt or a technologist interested in defence get in touch - we are always looking to grow the team with exceptional individuals with great personal ethos.

Robert Taylor

Founder / MD

Robert Taylor

Founder / MD

Robert Taylor founded 4GD in 2016 and currently acts as the Managing Director. Prior to this he started his working life with a 9 year career in the Royal Marines, finishing as a Training Officer of the Royal Marines Reserves (RMR), during this role Rob rewrote the training process for the RMR, wrote a futures paper about Night Vision, and designed the Royal Marines Urban Training facility in London. After leaving the military he spent the next 2 years as a Strategy Consultant with HSBC (during which he helped to manage several £100M+ programmes and projects), during which he spent his spare time creating and developing a number of products for the defence market. It was during this period, and with the aspiration of making it the leading provider of technologically enhanced training infrastructure, Rob founded 4GD. Rob is trained in PRINCE2, APMP and Lean (6 Sigma and standard).

James Crowley

BD Director

James Crowley

BD Director

James has 9 years’ experience as an officer in the Royal Marines, having worked across defence in operational, training and capability development roles. In the early stages of his career, he commanded troops at both 42 Cdo RM and the CLR, gaining experience of the full spectrum of Commando capabilities, as well as an understanding of the wider logistics supply chain. After this, he spent two and a half years as a team leader at the Joint Counter Terrorist Training and Advisory Team, delivering strategic change projects through the training of indigenous forces in East Africa, which was immediately followed by a year in a similar role working for the EU Counter- Piracy operation, centred on Somalia. Most recently, he has been employed as a capability development programme manager in MOD A Block. In this role, he was responsible for the development and delivery of the “Soldier System”: that is, equipment an infantry solider can be expected to use, wear or carry.

Justin Megawarne

CTO

Justin Megawarne

CTO

Justin Megawarne, as CTO, is responsible for the day-to-day running of 4GD’s R+D. He is a multidisciplinary technical executive, including a non-exec director role at FxPro focused on technical strategy, and a serial director of a number of tech start-ups. He focuses on ice-breaking for particularly challenging technical projects and ideas, especially “blank page” projects, with a methodology of eliminating or mitigating early technical risk prior to financial outlay on the development and build of intended software products and associated hardware. He has worked on systems from the architectural level right down to low-level hardware, across multiple sectors including but not limited to medicine, finance, media, cybersecurity, logistics amongst others. He regularly directs teams to deliver but is also capable of getting into the details with deep competence.

Matthew Harrison

CFO

Matthew Harrison

CFO

Matthew is 4GD’s COO. He brings plenty of experience to 4GD, having worked in agriculture, leisure marine, accountancy and economic regulation, in addition to his five years of service as an officer in the Royal Marines. After leaving Oxford University with a degree in Classics, Matthew did two operational tours in Helmand Province, including one as a close combat troop commander in the Upper Sangin Valley. On leaving the Royal Marines, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and worked in an advisory team on a range of projects from business and securities valuation to management of company liquidations. His next role saw him captaining leisure yachts, including crossings of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Returning to land, Matthew next worked in finance and project roles at the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority, then part of a pan-Channel Island regulatory body. Joining 4GD in 2020 he oversees organisational and financial management.

Dominic Charles

Strategic Modelling

Dominic Charles

Strategic Modelling

Dominic Charles is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.  He has many years of operational finance and business experience having worked at PWC, JPMorgan, Barclays GlobalInvestors and BlackRock in consulting, financial management, strategic and operational roles.  More recently he was the CEO of a consultancy business with a focus on Data Analytics in the Oil and Gas and Financial Services industries and has now created his own accountancy practice providing finance and business advice to innovative and growing organisations.  He has joined 4GD to support it in its ongoing development and brings his deep financial knowledge, attention to detail and practical business experience to provide financial oversight, planning and management of 4GD’s business.

Angus McCaffery

Board Member

Angus McCaffery

Board Member

Angus McCaffery has been a member of 4GD’s board, and a shareholder, since 2019. Angus co-founded Maintel (Annual Turnover of £100m+) in 1991 and was the Group Sales and Marketing director until late 2014

John Spencer

Advisory Board Member

John Spencer

Advisory Board Member

John W. Spencer currently serves as the chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute, co-director of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the UWP Podcast. He served over 25 years in the Army as an infantry soldier having held ranks from private to sergeant & lieutenant to major. His assignments as an Army officer included two combat deployments to Iraq as both an infantry platoon leader and company commander, Ranger instructor with the Army’s Ranger School, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Army Staff intern, fellow with the chief of staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group, and strategic planner. He currently serves as a Colonel in the California State Guard as the director of urban warfare training and is an internationally recognized SME in urban warfare that regularly consults for United States Army, DARPA, the UN, and many others military and security organisations.

Tim Otter

Advisory Board Member

Tim Otter

Advisory Board Member

Tim Otter is the Chief Executive of Lutra Associates Limited, formed in October 2012 to provide a different form of consultancy and advice service. After a successful career in the British Army (The Royal Anglian Regiment) where he had experience of operational command, working with the civil emergency services, financial management, administration including running a major HQ, requirement setting, programme management, operational analysis and procurement Tim moved to industry (Graseby Ionics, Graseby Dynamics, Smiths Detection and Marshall Land Systems) and became involved in sales, marketing & product development and then Business Development on a worldwide basis. Mr Otter headed the UK CBRN trade association for 13 years working with UK and overseas governments and has been the leader of major industry trade associations and led several trade missions (Japan x 3, The Middle East x 5, Australia x 2, Singapore, Malaysia, The US x 3 and Brazil).

Andrew Hunter

UK Sales and Delivery

Andrew Hunter

UK Sales and Delivery

Andrew comes from a background of over 20+ years’ service in the British Army within the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers, finishing his career as a WO2. He served his entire career working with both 5 Airborne & 16 Air Assault Brigade, deploying on operations to Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Iraq & Afghanistan, including overseas exercises to the USA, Canada, Kenya, Botswana, Belize, Brunei, Australia and Europe. From the start of his career, he has worked within small teams overseeing and maintaining the operational effectiveness of technical equipment. He was part of the team on Operation Herrick 8 installing the new turbines into the Kajaki Dam, providing upgraded power supply to the whole of Helmand province. He brings a wealth of technical knowledge and project management experience to the team. Since joining 4GD in 2019 he has worked within the core team to generate new business, as well as overseeing the delivery of major projects.

Lucy Day

CAO

Lucy Day

CAO

Lucy Day started working for 4GD in 2019, her primary role is looking after the leadership team as their Executive Assistant. Lucy's other jobs within the company include Accounts Manager, ISO Compliancy Manager, HR Compliancy Manager and SIP Compliancy Manager. Previously, Lucy ran her own car bodyshop business having gained experience in another similar business where she completely computerised the businesses’ entire processes including their accounting system, customer database, stock levels, quotations and invoicing. Lucy has also worked in a car showroom, garages, and an MOT centre where she taught staff and streamlined the operational process. Lucy has studied to degree level [LL B].

Robert Sullivan

Hardware Technical Manager

Robert Sullivan

Hardware Technical Manager

Robert ”Sully” Sullivan has had a varied career in electronic engineering, construction, finance and, more recently, bespoke carpentry.

In addition to his professional career he undertook, and completed, Royal Marines Reserve training and went on to serve in 3 Commando Brigade for a number of years, having specialised as a Landing Craft Operator.

He has been working alongside 4GD from the very start and has been instrumental in the development of SimWall. Now a permanent member of the team he is bringing his varied experience into the development, and productisation, of new hardware products.

Duncan Stewart

Academic Lead

Duncan Stewart

Academic Lead

Duncan has 13+ years experience in Defence S&T. Most recently he has been focussed on strategic force development for the British Army as the Army Futures Senior Science Advisor. Previously he worked at the forefront of UK soldier systems research during which time he was the OR lead analyst for the 2020 British Army redesign, the technical lead for Army brigade level analysis and the lead for light forces lethality T&E. During this time he served on several 5EYES and NATO technical panels including being the UK Deputy National Rep for the 5EYES S&T collaboration agreement (TTCP). This experience is complemented by 20 years as a Royal Marines Commando (Reservist) with deployments to both Iraq & Afghanistan. Extensively published with a focus on soldier systems a highlight is his 2016 piece around the failings of current small arms capability “So How Well Can We Shoot?“.

Martin Wood

Product Assurance

Martin Wood

Product Assurance

Martin Wood, as a former member of a MoD specialist unit, assures that 4GD products have maximum benefit to the end users and oversees the rigorous testing and evaluation process. On leaving the military after a 24-year career, of which he spent 18 years serving in the United Kingdom Special Forces (he still serves in the Army Reserve), Martin set up Lelantos Solutions with the aim of providing a boutique, bespoke service to private and corporate clients, basing his core values around Training, Protecting and Investigating. Its training division delivers specialist training to several police forces in the UK, with the aim of providing subject-matter-expert advice in firearms, defence technology, and tactics. He also provides a consultancy service for one of the world’s largest and most established international firearms manufacturers, interacting with military and Law Enforcement end users globally, including the UK.

Durgesh Sinh

4GAV Product Lead

Durgesh Sinh

4GAV Product Lead

Durgesh Sinh has managed our existing 4GAV product since its conception and has overseen all the installations to date. He has also been instrumental in the development and productisation of Ecfect_OS. He founded Nucleus AV in 2015 to focus on systems integration, smart home design and installation. His focus is on home technology for ultra-high-end residences and special commercial projects (4GD). Durgesh steps in early in the design process to successfully bridge the gap between project requirements and technical design and deliver exceptional hardware and software solutions. His meticulous attention to detail, and passion for delivering unique user experiences, have resulted in many award-winning projects (including the 4GD installation at Colchester). Durgesh has garnered a reputation within the industry for his highly competent expertise within security systems and mixed platform hardware integration.

Neil Silver

4GAV Software

Neil Silver

4GAV Software

Chris Moore

4GAV Programme Lead

Chris Moore

4GAV Programme Lead

Chris served for 8 years with the Royal Marines. Specialising initially in Maritime Boarding Operations before moving into Heavy Weapons, he deployed on Operations to the North Arabian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan as well as exercises across the globe. After leaving the Royal Marines in 2014 he moved into the construction industry and more specifically Smart Home and Audio Visual technology sector. For 8 years he oversaw multiple high net worth private residential projects with roles in Business Development, Project Management, Client Management and installation. He moved to 4GD in October 2022 where he brings to bear his experiences from Defence and smart technology to further enhance 4GDs expertise with project planning and delivery.

Bart Stasik

SimStriker lead

Bart Stasik

SimStriker lead

Bart Stasik is an inventor by day and musician by night, with a background in computer science. He grew up on electronics and programming, and has always had an interest in inventions. He exceeds his comfort zone on every project and is one of the core inventors of SimStriker. He is a Senior Technologist at Megaslice.

Andrei Vasilica

Ecfect_OS Lead

Andrei Vasilica

Ecfect_OS Lead

Andrei, a graduate in Mathematics from King's College London pivoted his career towards solving complex challenges in the technology industry. Testament to his diverse range of abilities, Andrei uniquely intertwines his proficiency in programming with an eclectic mix of interests spanning music, consultancy, neuroscience, design, and project management. This fusion of interests across disparate fields allows him to approach problems from a multifaceted perspective, enhancing both his performance and his journey of continuous learning.

Hasher Marouf

Ecfect_OS UX

Hasher Marouf

Ecfect_OS UX

Hasher Marouf is the Senior UX/UI Designer at 4GD, backed by over 10 years of industry experience. He has honed his expertise working with industry titans like Jaguar Land Rover, Netflix, and WHSmith, and has also been instrumental in the success of multiple startups, which now have a combined valuation exceeding $100 million. Hasher's unique blend of creativity, strategic thinking, and understanding of user needs enables him to deliver superior design solutions.

Richard Enright

ACIES Operations Lead

Richard Enright

ACIES Operations Lead

Richard is a 3D Generalist with over 17 years experience modelling in Solidworks, Rhino, 3DSmax. Also has experience in Animation, Simulation, and Unreal Engine. He has worked in the manufacturing sector (assisting with product design and marketing) as well as in the financial field. Richard holds an MBA from Boston University.

Rene Repija

ACIES Software

Rene Repija

ACIES Software

Rene is an Unreal Engine 4 game developer with over 7 years of experience, and has provided turnkey game solutions, including interactive multiplayer cross-platform games (mobile and windows based) applications for both VR and non-VR applications. He works on both ACIES and the virtual elements of our data capture.

Baljeet Singh

CTO Operations Lead

Baljeet Singh

CTO Operations Lead

Baljeet has been working in small business finance for 10 years and business operations for the tech sector since he was 16. Managing projects and delivering first in the proptech and RFID space, and later in business operations for innovative technological transformation projects as a Business Operations Manager. Baljeet also has a keen interest in the real estate market, and since an early age has built and now jointly manages a property portfolio in London in his spare time.

Mark Little

Industrial Design

Mark Little

Industrial Design

Mark Little, the founder of LumaID, fulfils the role of product designer for bespoke hardware for 4GD. Having been a key partner of 4GD for now 5 years, Mark is a very experienced product developer, having been working in the industry since 2006. He is used to handling the project management, engineering development and testing of the hardware side of product development.
Mark has worked on tiny medical prototypes less than a centimetre, through to full-size audio-visual enclosures over two meters in height (a 4GD Product), and has experience in defence, sports goods, retail and virtual reality spaces.

D3A

Synthetics Partner

D3A

Synthetics Partner

D3A and 4GD have been working closely since 2019 and are critical to the breadth of the ACIES, synthetic, capability. Founded in 2018, D3A is also veteran owned and operated and shares all the same values as 4GD. As well as virtual simulation expertise they provide support across defence in the development and delivery of training solutions.

OUR PARTNERS