Meet The Team

Meet the talented team behind the the worlds best animatronic creatures.

Sonny Tilders

Design Director & CEO

Sonny’s career has spanned nearly 30 years in which he has designed and built creatures and contraptions, models and special effects for film, theatre, exhibitions, major events and theme parks.

In 2006 Sonny led the creature design and build team for Walking with Dinosaurs – the Arena Spectacular. Sixteen life-size animated dinosaurs were created to a level of realism and sophistication of movement never before seen in live theatre. Following the international success of the show, Creature Technology Co. was formed, of which Sonny became CEO and Design Director.

Awarded a Special Tony Award™ as Creature Designer for the Kong Puppet for King Kong: Alive on Broadway, this creation epitomised Sonny's passion for combining compelling audience experiences with the technical design knowhow developed over a lifetime spent in workshops making 'stuff'. Working with teams of talented people with disparate disciplines to make the seemingly impossible possible is what gets him out of bed each day.

Executive

Sonny Tilders
Sonny Tilders
Design Director & CEO
Awarded a Special Tony Award™ as Creature Designer for the Kong Puppet for King Kong: Alive on Broadway, Sonny’s career has spanned nearly 30 years in which he has designed and built creatures and contraptions, models and special effects for the film and theatrical industries. In 2006 Sonny led the creature design and build team for Walking with Dinosaurs – the Arena Spectacular. Sixteen life-size animated dinosaurs were created to a level of realism and sophistication of movement never before seen in live theatre. Following the international success of the show, Creature Technology Co. was formed, of which Sonny is CEO and Design Director. Working with strategic partner Global Creatures, Sonny’s team produced creatures for the arena spectacular of How to Train Your Dragon and King Kong: Alive on Broadway.

The awe-inspiring 1.1 tonne, 20-foot-tall King Kong animatronic puppet was designed and built by Sonny and his team at Creature Technology Co. in their Melbourne, Australia workshop. In Australia, the creation of the King Kong puppet was recognized with a prestigious Helpmann award for Outstanding Theatrical Achievement, and in New York a 2019 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Puppet Design and a 2019 Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award to add to the Special Tony Award presented to Sonny and Creature Technology Co.

From its theatrical roots, Creature Technology Co. has evolved and expanded over its first 13 years, bringing its technologically advanced animatronic creature and puppet design to a variety of entertainment fields across the globe. Highlights include the company successfully designing and building 3 giant animatronic mascots for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games, witnessed by billions, as well as creating stunning dinosaurs for blockbuster international touring phenomenon Jurassic World: The Exhibition. More recently the company has commenced a significant collaboration with Universal Studios to bring their remarkable creations to a whole new sector of live entertainment.
Dean Flynn
Dean Flynn
General Manager
Richard Mckenna
Chief Engineer
Richard is Chief Engineer at Creature Technology Co. He joined CTC in 2010 and has worked on all of the major projects since that time, including How to Train Your Dragon; King Kong and the Sochi Olympic Mascots. He has a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Mechatronics, Robotics and Automation Engineering from Swinburne University and is certified as a “Chartered Professional Engineer” by Engineers Australia, as well as being registered on the National Professional Engineers Register (NPER). Prior to joining CTC, the majority of Richard’s time was spent in the defence industry, and he has also worked in special effects for film and television.
Malcolm Place
Production Manager
Malcom is Production Manager at Creature Technology Co. and oversees the integrated project management process we employ on our productions, such as King Kong, Jurassic World Exhibitions, How to Train Your Dragon, Lady Liberty and more recently creatures for various attractions at Universal Beijing and Orlando Resorts. Part of the CTC team since the company’s inception in 2006, he continues to marvel at all the different skill sets working under the one roof that come together to meet the unique challenges presented with each project. Having previously worked in the professional music theatre industry for more than 15 years as a freelance Stage Manager, one of Malcolm’s most memorable CTC highlights was attending the opening night of King Kong: Alive on Broadway.
Marc Warshall
Chief Financial Officer
Marc joined Creature Technology Co. in 2006, bringing his double Bachelor degree of Business in Accounting and Banking & Finance from Monash University as a a Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA). As Chief Financial Officer he is responsible for overseeing the finance department; making sure the cogs turn so that the rest of our team can keep producing amazing work. Marc has been involved in all of CTC’s projects from the start and loves the creative aspect it brings to the tasks of budgeting, forecasting and managing the balance sheet. He is also responsible for CTC’s Information & Technology. His experience before joining CTC revolved around the photographic and printing industry where his father runs several successful companies.
Damian Guiney
Director, Partnerships & Development
Damian is Director, Partnerships & Development, bringing his decades of experience in the digital industry to guide the evolution of Creature Technology Co. into a modern, high-performance business.

Prior to joining us, Damian spent many years as General Manager in Digital Agencies and brings his knowledge from this fast-paced, highly competitive environment of pixels to our world of real life dinosaurs, dragons and apes.

Production

Kathy Fox
Senior Producer
Jo Banks
Senior Designer
John Hempel
Senior Project Manager
Navin Thanumurthy
Project Manager
Graeme Haddon
Graeme Haddon
Producer
Robert McNaught
Creative Producer
Alex McNeilly
Alex McNeilly
Software Delivery Lead

Digital

Paul Fleer
Head of Digital Design
Ben Forster
Senior Animator/Designer
Claire Harrison
Technical Artist
Brent King
Digital Manufacturing Coordinator
Isabella Cutri
Isabella Cutri
Industrial Designer
Lawrence Mercieca
Lawrence Mercieca
3D Artist
Logan Lindsay
Technical Artist

Engineering

Brendan Butcher
Brendan Butcher
Head of Engineering Department
Stephen Wilkie
Service & Support Manager / Senior Mechanical Engineer
Josh Gallo
Josh Gallo
Senior Mechanical Engineer
Michael Bais
Senior Mechanical Engineer
Leon Wong
Mechanical Engineer
Diego Leiva
Diego Leiva
Mechanical Engineer
Sandrine Cameron
Mechanical Engineer
Steve Handscombe
Mechanical Engineer
Matt Soundias
Mechanical Engineer
Lucas Casey
Mechanical Engineer
Louis Pilgrim
Louis Pilgrim
Mechanical Engineer
Eddy Fathi
CAD Drafter
Zoe Van Vegten
Graduate Mechanical Engineer
Michael Larratt
Electrical Engineering Team Lead
Martin Sell
Martin Sell
Senior Electrical Engineer
Elijah Phillips
Electrical Engineer
Olivia Zhou
Olivia (Qiaoqin) Zhou
Electrical Engineer
Karen Souter
Control Systems Engineering Team Lead & Principal Engineer
Rob Crittenden
Control Systems Engineering Team Lead
Jacob Gillies
Senior Control Systems Engineer
Nick Aronnax
Nick Aronnax
Control Systems Engineer
Julian Long
Julian Long
Control Systems Engineer
Sam Weston
Control Systems Engineer
Will Norcott
Will Norcott
Control Systems Engineer
Andrei Gaastra
Andrei Gaastra
Control Systems Engineer
Noel Basten
Control Systems Engineer
Jordan Commins
Jordan Commins
Control Systems Engineer
James Howell
Control Systems Engineer
Brad Corbett
Control Systems Engineer

Engineering Fabrication

Chip Wardale
Head Of Engineering Fabrication
Alex Toa
Leading Hand - Engineering Fabrication
Tim Collard
Senior Mechanical Fabricator
Lorne Denis
Senior Mechanical Fabricator
Jarrad Brayford
Jarrad Brayford
Mechanical Fabricator
Matt Cooper
Matt Cooper
Electrician
Peter Lindsey
Peter Lindsey
Electrician
Andrew Thilby
Senior Model Maker
Thomas Wilkinson
General Hand
Andrew Hustwaite
Andrew Hustwaite
Mechanical Fabricator

Sculptural Fabrication

Nerissa Box
Head of Sculptural Fabrication
Jenny O'Keefe
Team Leader - Sculptural Fabrication
Jody Overhill
Team Leader - Sculptural Fabrication
Lisa Calwell
Sculptor/Mould Maker
Torie Nimmervoll
Mould Maker, Colour & Figure Finish
Courtney Clarke
Sculptural Fabricator
Peri Jenkins
Sculptural Fabricator
Joanna Gust
Sculptural Fabricator
Bridie Wilkinson
Sculptural Fabricator

Business Support

Carly Davey
Carly Davey
Office Manager
Vanessa Doake
Vanessa Doake
Head of People & Culture
Sam Harding
Purchasing Manager
Gavin Faull
Gavin Faull
Workshop, Facilities & Safety Coordinator
Matt Zwarts
Continuous Improvement Lead
Christophe Dubillon
Quality Coordinator
Danielle Fernandez
Assistant Accountant

Vale

Paul Smits
Paul was our sculptor and silicon skin artist at Creature Technology Co. for more than 6 years. On the evening of 16th February 2021, Paul suddenly and unexpectedly passed away at his home. He left behind his loving wife and long term partner Holly, and their beautiful, yet to be born, baby girl. Paul was 34 years old.

At CTC Paul leaves behind a team of colleagues and friends who adored his beautiful, gentle, funny nature, and his enormous talent for sculpture and colour. We’ll miss his classic movie quotes, his impersonations, the way he sang and talked to himself while he worked. We’ll miss the laughs and we’ll miss the quirky soul who made our workplace and the world a better place just by being in it.

Paul’s profile will remain here to honour the beautiful work he performed at CTC and the amazing contribution he made to our lives.
Peter Luscombe
Pete was Head of Engineering Fabrication at Creature Technology Company for 10 years. Pete was one of the first people that Sonny Tilders got in touch with in 2006 after having been charged by Gerry Ryan with the gargantuan task of building - in 12 months - a complete set of hyper-realistic, life-size, walking, roaring, ‘living' dinosaurs for the inaugural tour of Walking with Dinosaurs – The Arena Spectacular. The ingenuity and relentless drive that Pete brought to this task was a key reason that show got up and was the legendary success that it was. Pete has been a significant part of the CTC family for every one of the 10 years hence. With a first to clock on last to clock off work ethic and no task too hard/no problem too big attitude: it is fair to say that Pete’s blood, sweat and (famously) a single tear flowed through all of our creatures. Succumbing to cancer a few days short of his 54th birthday in January 2016, we plan to leave his profile here to acknowledge the immense contribution he made to CTC.