get to know us
Glynn Rigby
FOUNDER/DIRECTOR
Glynn founded Zavést in 2005 and has since grown the business into a leading independent investigation company in New Zealand.
A former member of the New Zealand police, Glynn worked as an investigator before starting Zavést. He is a long-term member of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Investigators.
Glynn has a broad client base, but is particularly interested in environmental crimes, and has led investigations on behalf of Crown entities, including the Department of Conservation.
He regularly lectures and runs training workshops for the legal profession including the Criminal Bar Association, as well as family law and commercial law groups.
As the country’s preeminent independent expert witness on firearms, Glynn has worked on a large number of high-profile criminal cases.
Glynn is a keen environmentalist. He leads Zavést’s support of a number of environmental charities including Forest and Bird.
Tim McKinnel
DIRECTOR
Tim is a leading New Zealand investigator specialising in complex and sensitive investigations.
He joined Glynn as a Director at Zavést in 2008.
A former New Zealand police detective, Tim has a particular interest in criminal and human rights investigations.
In New Zealand, he’s led a number of successful and high-profile investigations into wrongful convictions, including Teina Pora, wrongfully convicted of rape and murder and released in 2015, and Alan Hall, wrongfully convicted of murder and released in 2022 and Gail Maney and Stephen Stone, both acquitted of murder following more than 40 years of wrongful imprisonment between them. His work on the Teina Pora case saw him chosen as a finalist in the 2015 New Zealander of the Year awards.
Tim has also worked across the globe, managing criminal, human rights and environmental investigations in Asia, West Africa and throughout the Pacific.
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Katya Paquin
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR
Katya brings a strong commitment to fairness and sustainability and believes in our work for justice as a meaningful contribution to the wider community.
Since joining Zavést in 2018, Katya has worked on a wide range of cases, including homicides and complex historic miscarriage of justice investigations, in particular the Alan Hall, Gail Maney and Stephen Stone wrongful convictions.
With qualifications in law and politics and nearly a decade working at New Zealand’s parliament, Katya has a strong foundation for investigative work.
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Darren Folau
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR
Darren is a former Police Detective with 28 years’ service in the New Zealand Police, serving primarily in Counties-Manukau, Canterbury, and later with the Australian Federal Police.
As both a frontline supervisor and Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) leader, he specialized across multiple investigative disciplines, with a particular focus on child protection, gender-based violence, national security, and organised crime. His experience also includes leading complex, high-risk criminal investigations in international jurisdictions.
Darren holds a degree in health science and has worked with organisations supporting communities facing structural and social inequities, particularly Māori, Pacific, and other groups who encounter barriers to accessing services, justice, or development opportunities.
He is strongly guided by principles of fairness, equity, and accountability, with a commitment to challenging bias and prejudice in systems, institutions, and communities.
Darren was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal in recognition of his leadership and contribution to policing in New Zealand.
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Giselle Hayward
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR
Giselle is a Senior Investigator based in Waikato.
Giselle specialises in criminal and miscarriage of justice investigations.
Originally from New Zealand, Giselle first worked in the finance and banking sector in Australia, before training as a police officer in the New South Wales Police Service. She spent several years specialising in sexual assault cases, as well as working as a Police negotiator.
Giselle left the NSW Police as detective and returned to New Zealand in 2020, working in an investigation role at a Crown entity. From 2022-2024 Giselle lived in the south of Germany, where she worked as a freelance investigator.
Giselle holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration (International Business), as well as an advanced Diploma of Public Safety (Police Negotiations).
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Michael Phillips
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR
Former NZ Police Detective Michael Phillips has worked as a Consultant with Zavést in Christchurch since 2020.
Michael has forged a successful career with Zavést investigating criminal justice matters at the highest level, as well as investigating cases in the corporate sector.
Michael was a member of the New Zealand Police Force from 2001 to 2019, where he was a qualified Detective and a Sergeant in the Police Prosecution Service.
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Alan Aitken
SENIOR INVESTIGATOR
Alan has worked at Zavést since 2010.
Prior, he spent over twenty-seven years in the police as both in uniform and in the CIB, working his way up the ranks from trainee Detective to Inspector in both Hastings and Wellington.
Having owned his own investigation business as well as working with Zavést, Alan has an outstanding reputation and network in the Hawkes Bay region.
Alan is highly personable and professional. He is renowned throughout New Zealand for the thoroughness of his investigative work.
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Donna C
ANALYST
Donna is a security and risk specialist who has been working with Zavést since 2015.
She specialises in open-source analysis and investigations including security behaviour profiling.
Over the years she has worked in enforcement (NZ Customs), New Zealand Intelligence community and as a Security Advisor (public/private sector).
Donna has specialist knowledge of terrorism and extremism. For her Masters in Defence and Security (Merit) at Massey University, Donna researched women and extremism in New Zealand.
She is a current PhD candidate researching anti-government extremism in NZ.
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Mario R
ANALYST
Mario is an Analyst/Investigator at Zavest. He has more than two decades of investigative experience, consulting for some of the worlds largest companies, international NGOs and organisations.
His work has taken him to every continent, barring Antarctica.
Mario is vastly experienced at analysing supply chains and has spent years examining environmental and human right issues.
He has also worked on claimed miscarriage of justice cases in Aotearoa.
Mario holds a master’s degree in journalism.
He is fluent in German, French and English.
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Hamish W
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Hamish is an experienced tactical operator who works on special projects for Zavest.