The people behind Splashlake

Burkhard Schaefer has worked in laboratory informatics for more than 25 years. He leads the AnIML Task Group at ASTM, where he is the chief designer of the Analytical Information Markup Language, an open standard for analytical and biological data. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the SiLA Consortium, which develops open interfaces for lab automation. The Society of Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) named him a Fellow in recognition of his long-standing contributions to the field.

Burkhard began his career working on instrument control and data standards at Los Alamos National Laboratory, then moved to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He co-founded BSSN Software, the first company to bring a complete AnIML implementation to market, and later served as Head of Core Technologies and Partnering at MilliporeSigma after its acquisition of BSSN.

At Splashlake, Burkhard leads the company and its work on next-generation multimodal scientific data management and laboratory interoperability. He regularly speaks at industry conferences on data standards and AI-readiness.

Dr. Peter Maier has more than 25 years of experience in marketing and selling laboratory hardware and software, as well as direct laboratory experience managing a central lab belonging to two university departments. He has held product management, business development, and marketing and sales leadership roles at leading scientific instrument organizations, with a focus on chromatography data systems (CDS) and LIMS.

Peter later led global marketing and sales of enterprise software at BSSN Software and then as Head of Informatics Sales at Merck. The BSSN solution was built on the AnIML and SiLA open standards, with one goal: make analytical data accessible so it can move between systems, be shared with partners, be analyzed, and be archived for the long term.

Peter’s expertise covers data analysis across techniques such as HPLC, GC, LC/GC-MS, LC/GC-MS/MS, ICP, AA, UV/VIS, fluorescence, and CHNOS analysis, and laboratory applications including CDS, ELN, DMS, LES, LIMS, PCS, and SAP software. As Head of Global Sales at Splashlake, he helps laboratories worldwide connect their instruments and systems, and is known for his strong customer relationships.

Jens Unger has managed laboratory software projects with global scientific software organizations for over 27 years. He is a program and project management professional with a background in IT strategy, biotechnology, business intelligence, and life sciences.

As Head of Customer Projects and Quality at Splashlake, Jens leads the delivery of customer implementations, from scoping and integration design through validation and go-live. His experience helps both regulated and non-regulated laboratories renew their data infrastructure with minimal disruption. Jens also ensures that the platform meets the standards regulated laboratories depend on. He oversees Splashlake’s quality management system, software validation practices, and GxP compliance. This gives customers confidence that data moving between their LIMS, ELN, SAP, and instruments stays accurate, traceable, and audit-ready.

Jens’ expertise spans 21 CFR Part 11, EU Annex 11, GAMP 5, CSV/CSA, ISO 9001. He works hand in hand with customers’ QA and validation teams to simplify qualification, minimize risk, and ensure systems perform dependably.

Nicola Gardner has more than 22 years of experience driving growth for high-technology solutions in scientific applications. She holds a master's degree in analytical chemistry, and her hands-on laboratory experience gives her a practical understanding of the process, data, and connectivity challenges that scientists face every day.

As Head of Marketing and Partnerships at Splashlake, Nicola works with scientific leaders to identify data disconnections and show how Splashlake can bridge them. She also leads Splashlake's network of instrument, equipment, and software partners, running programs and joint customer projects to provide end-to-end integration and data management solutions that help organizations connect their labs and get full value from their scientific data.