Who We Are
We're the data company making sustainable travel universally attainable. Without the pie charts, jargon or 200 page reports.
When it comes to travelling, offsets seem off-putting. Reducing feels restrictive. And good intentions give way to a guilty conscience. So most of us don't do anything. But inaction doesn't mean indifference. It means we need to change how we talk about impact. Rather than producing bar graphs to tell us that flights are bad for our footprint — we need to know what we can do once we've landed.
Equator gives destinations and travel companies the insights they need to talk to their customers, build more sustainable experiences, or get the certifications they need. We'll help you celebrate what you get right. And give you honest feedback on what still needs work.
There are no spreadsheets to fill in. We don't use Excel. And we will never, ever, ever give you a pie chart.
Meet the Equator Team
Edmund Morris
Founder & CEO
Former speechwriter turned data story-teller whose specializes in building and designing impact models and stunning data visualisations, Edmund has worked in 20 countries worldwide, from travel and tourism, to refugee crises and extreme poverty. He's a regular keynote speaker who's spoken at global summits in travel and tourism, including USTOA, ATTA, PATA, and Pure. His work has been featured in Forbes & Travel Weekly. Prior to founding Equator, Edmund was the Deputy-Chief of Party for a $65m aid project in Jordan, designing and leading multi-million dollar investments to alleviate extreme poverty. He's written ESG reports for Fortune 500 companies, worked as speechwriter in the Royal Court of Jordan, and served on the Committee for Syrian Livelihoods at the UNHCR.
MAYA HUNEIDI
Marketing Lead
Maya's been building brands & marketing strategies around impact for over a decade. She's an entrepreneur who built a studio that sold company and personal brand identities to high-end antiquarian book-dealers, artists and impact consulting firms. Her publication on the ‘impacts of social signalling' produced for NEOM under her studio has been instrumental in the design of AI-generated behavioural messaging and the training of Equator's current model. Prior to founding Equator, she was the Communications Director of an international aid program that focused on strengthening small businesses and women's economic development in rural Jordan. She developed a documentary exploring the culinary heritage of Jordan with Chef José Andres, and designed and managed one of the Middle East's largest ever food festivals focused on promoting local cuisine and artisanal food.
RAFAEL PILLIARD HELLWIG
Lead Data Scientist
Rafael has dedicated his career to using statistics, data science and impact models to help others. He's developed monitoring and evaluation software for humanitarian initiatives such as Action Against Hunger and USAID, and statistical sustainability models for the Abu Dhabi Investment Bank. He has advised the US government on M&E systems for extreme poverty, designed, built and managed major surveys (of over 100,000 individuals) and advised the World Bank on microeconomic dynamics. He is the architect of Equator's AI-powered carbon calculator, and has pioneered the use of microsimulations and nowcasting to help destinations manage overtourism. He speaks five languages, including English, Dutch, French, Indonesian and Arabic.
JIANZHEN TOH
Lead Engineer
Jianzhen has a BA in engineering & computer science, and as a former AISEC fellow he joined Equator in 2022 straight out of university. Within months he was developing Equator's vector-based search system, embedding over 500,000 academic articles and initiated our early training models. He has been critical in the design and development of the Tawazun system at NEOM, working closely with the data science team and Edmund to convert data from complex statistical models into consumer-friendly insights. He's a graduate of University of Western Australia, and speaks fluent English, Malay and conversational Mandarin.