1986

This photo was taken on the day I left home at age 12 to attend boarding school at John McGlashan College in Dunedin on the South Island – the first shift to town for this country kid. This was also around the time I remember having a burning desire to become a farm accountant.

1993

Pursuing this desire led me to Lincoln University where I completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture) and I studied an extra year to meet my CA requirements, earning me a Postgraduate Diploma in Commerce. I completed my first year of study in 1991. (At that stage the degree had a practical year which I finished in 1992.) This photo was taken before I departed to Christchurch in February 1993. The car is the first one I owned – a 1971 purple Austin Maxi that I bought for NZ$500.

1999

I’m grateful to a kind lecturer who helped arrange my first job at KPMG Christchurch in February 1997. I started on a $22,500 salary – half that of my peers who had studied a year less than me. I learned that sacrifice is often where hope is born. In 1998 the meeting of two significant people caused my life to take a surprising turn: Alison (who became my wife in December 1999) and Jesus (who turns out was way more interested in me than I was in Him). A year later I moved south to Gore to be near Alison and began working for a great chartered accounting fi rm named Ward Wilson. I soon realised that one of the biggest barriers between our business and our customers was the time sheet.

2006

Despite only being 32, I was privileged to become Ward Wilson’s chairperson that set me up for the honour of being named New Zealand’s Young Chartered Accountant of the Year in 2006. I realised public practice accountancy wasn’t just a career for me but an avenue to help people discover their brilliance and achieve their goals. This photo was taken at Bluff signpost at the end of State Highway 1 after winning the award and it also appeared on the front page of the CA Journal (as it was then called).

2021

In 2007 I founded an accounting firm in Invercargill. Our purpose at Harrex Group is re-humanising leadership in business. My hope is that all who interact with our business are challenged and encouraged to risk sharing a little more of themselves with their workmates, friends and family than they otherwise would have. This photo was taken on Waitangi Day near the summit of Mount Anglem/Hananui, the highest point on Stewart Island. The outdoors has always been a great place of refreshment for me and I enjoy the challenge of overcoming di cult terrain. All are equal in the wilderness.