Darren Thomas, co-Founder and CEO of Double Helix Tracking Technologies (DoubleHelix), the Singapore company which pioneered the use of DNA analysis to verify timber species and origin, relocates back to the United Kingdom this month from where he will continue to manage the global business.
He and fellow Englishman Kevin Hill established DoubleHelix in Singapore in June 2008, building on the CertiSource timber legality service launched a year earlier to verify and secure tropical timber supply chains in developing countries.
Mr Thomas arrived in Singapore in 2003 to take up the position of Regional Marketing Manager Asia Pacific for Genesys Conferencing, a company he worked for in the United Kingdom since 1998.
An expert in timber legality and traceability, Mr Thomas has personally managed projects and clients across Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, and the United States, overcoming challenges facing local producers and multinational brands in managing their timber supply chains and marketing their products.
He will continue to do that as CEO of DoubleHelix when based in the United Kingdom, where he will also be intent on expanding business partnerships and projects, particularly in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa).
DoubleHelix headquarters in Singapore will be overseen by Jomaine Tang, who is promoted to Regional Manager Asia Pacific this month, after serving the company for four years, most recently as Quality Assurance Manager. An NUS graduate in Southeast Asian studies, Ms Tang worked with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017.
Three other DoubleHelix personnel based in Singapore are: Alex Sim (PEFC Chain of Custody Auditor), Patricia Long (Finance and Data Specialist) and Pamela Wong (Data and Verification Specialist).
The Chief Scientific Advisor to DoubleHelix, Professor Andrew Lowe – who pioneered DNA timber testing – continues to oversee projects from his laboratory at the University of Adelaide (Australia), where DoubleHelix retains another contractor to carry out assignments.
From this month (July), DoubleHelix will have a total of 23 staff and contractors based in 13 locations, including Singapore, United Kingdom, Australia, North America, Central Africa, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
About DoubleHelix
Double Helix Tracking Technologies (DoubleHelix), headquartered in Singapore with operations throughout Asia Pacific, as well as the Americas, Africa and Europe, has in-country teams in place to collect, verify, and analyze timber supply chain data with user-friendly software platforms that enable clear and concise communication to management, investors, consumers, and other key stakeholders. In 2020, a new Timber Traceability Platform was established by DoubleHelix by partnering with Sourcemap and Bluenumber, enabling a fuller suite of services, including traceability, verification, and presentation. Also in 2020, DoubleHelix became the first company to be accredited to a timber certification scheme by the Singapore Accreditation Council (part of Enterprise Singapore), enabling it to offer PEFC Chain of Custody (CoC) certification to companies here, and also across the Asia-Pacific region. In April 2021, DoubleHelix announced it was joining forces with 11Foundry of the United States to offer timber companies all over the world a global supply chain risk and regulatory compliance software platform. www.doublehelixtracking.com
