Douglas Myers

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For the British film editor, see Douglas Myers (film editor).

Sir Arthur Douglas Myers KNZM CBE (29 October 1938 – 8 April 2017)[1] was a New Zealand businessman and one of the country's richest men (#35 on the Forbes New Zealand and Australian Rich list, 2006, with net worth estimated at AU$350 million, and assessed as worth $950m and New Zealand's ninth richest man according to the National Business Review.[2][3]

Early life and education[edit]

Born in Auckland on 29 October 1938, Myers was educated at King's College, Auckland.[4] He studied at the University of Cambridge, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, and at Harvard University, and completed the PMD course at Harvard Business School.[4]

Business career[edit]

Myers began his involvement with what would become Lion Nathan in 1965, being appointed CEO of Campbell & Ehrenfried, following in the footsteps of his father Sir Kenneth Myers and grandfather Sir Arthur Myers. A series of mergers and cross shareholdings led to the creation of Lion Breweries and then Lion Nathan. Myers played a leading role in Lion for over 15 years as MD, CEO, and ultimately as chairman in 1997. In 1998, Myers sold most of his 16% share holding to Kirin Brewery Company (creating the fourth-largest brewing firm in the world) for $312 million.[5][6]

Later life and death[edit]

He moved to London in semi-retirement retaining some business and philanthropic interests, including a stake in Cameron O'Reilly's private-equity group Bayard Capital and regularly donating to the Myers Scholarship.[7] He remained active in two family businesses, Chiltern International and Downtown Music Publishing.[8]

In late 2015, Myers was fighting cancer with aggressive new treatments, including the latest immunotherapy medicines.[8] He died in London on 8 April 2017.[9]

Honours and awards[edit]

In the 1991 New Year Honours, Myers was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to business management.[10] In 2003, he was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.[11] In the 2010 New Year Honours, Myers was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to business and the community.[12][13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Arthur Douglas Myers death notice". The New Zealand Herald. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Forbes List Directory". Forbes. Archived from the original on 27 June 2017.
  3. ^ "MYERS Sir Douglas". The National Business Review. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). "New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001". New Zealand Who's Who, Aotearoa. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers: 654. ISSN 1172-9813.
  5. ^ "Our history". Lion Nathan. Archived from the original on 5 September 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  6. ^ Gaynor, Brian (2 May 2009). "Cheers, say Lion's minority shareholders". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  7. ^ "About Sir Douglas Myers". myersscholarship.ac.nz. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  8. ^ a b Phare, Jane (12 December 2015). "Rich-lister turns to unfunded Keytruda". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Sir Douglas Myers death notice". The Dominion Post. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  10. ^ "No. 52383". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 31 December 1990. p. 30.
  11. ^ "Past laureates". Business Hall of Fame. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  12. ^ "New Year honours list 2010". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  13. ^ "New Year Honours: New knight fixed on making NZ competitive". The New Zealand Herald. 31 December 2009.
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