Congratulations Barry Brown & Barry Clevely, our 2020 Business Alumni Inductees.

It was a special afternoon for both Barry Brown and Barry Clevely who were both inducted into the PNBHS Business Alumni. This function was hosted at College House with close friends, family members, and former school contemporaries of both Barry Brown and Barry Clevely. 

The Business Alumni was developed by the School and the Old Boys’ Association in 2010 to recognise Old Boys who have made a significant contribution to business creation and development.

The Business Alumni has developed an area in E Block, where commerce subjects are taught, that honours Old Boys who have been or are:

• Business leaders who have acted as a role model for others in the industry
• Contributing, or have contributed, to the economy and society through business enterprise
• Demonstrating community responsibility and involvement

Inductee Profiles: 

Full Name: Raymond Barry Clevely

Date of Birth: 26 April 1938

Years at PNBHS: 1954-56

Club: Albion

Notable Achievements while at PNBHS

• 1st XV 1956
• Senior A Tennis team 1956
• School Cadets - 'B' Coy Platoon Sergeant
• In the opera chorus for "HMS Pinafore", the school production
• 3rd in the 33 & one-third yards Backstroke Open Championship
• 3rd in the 66 and two-third yards Backstroke Open Championship

Business Achievements

After leaving PNBHS, Barry qualified as a pharmacist and in 1965 he bought the Waikanae pharmacy. Later, with five others, he formed the Waikanae Property Enterprise which developed a number of projects in the Wellington & Kapiti areas. In 1973 Barry was appointed as the original manager of RDC. He was the CEO of RDC from 1973-88 as the company expanded to more than 50 staff in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

RDC completed a number of major developments during Barry's time as CEO, particularly in Wellington: properties were acquired near Parliament where Bowen House is now located; NZI House and Mercer Towers were developed, and the re-development of Stewart Dawson's Corner in Wellington saw Barry and his team win an architectural award.

Barry led the development of the National Bank Twin Towers in Auckland, as well as New Zealand's first K-Mart in Henderson. During Barry's time at the helm of RDC, he was appointed as a Director of the National Land Company which was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Barry was asked to become a part-time lecturer at Massey University; originally intending it to be for just a few weeks, Barry ended up staying for 12 years. He was a recipient of Massey University's Achievement Award and was made Deputy Chair of the Massey Property Foundation. He was also awarded a fellowship of the Property Institute of New Zealand.

Barry went on to form MC2 Group which has been responsible for a number of major property developments, and he has been a much sought-after property consultant, as well as diversifying into viticulture with the development of Horowhenua’s first substantial vineyard. Barry also holds Director positions with several development companies.

Barry is married to Hazel and has three daughters, Amanda, Sarah and Penny.

Full Name: Barry John Brown

Date of Birth: 2 October 1950

Years at PNBHS: 1964-68

Club: Murray

Notable Achievements while at PNBHS

• School Prefect; Head Prefect College House 1968
• 1st in 6th Form Geography and History; 1st in 7th Form Geography
• 1st XV 1967/68
• 3rd XI cricket 1968
• Flyweight boxing champion 1966
• Winner of the Hodder Brothers Cup for All-round Excellence in scholarship and sport in the senior school

Business Achievements

After leaving PNBHS, Barry studied law at Victoria University, graduating with an Honours degree in 1973. He began working for major law firm, Chapman Tripp, in 1972 and has been with them since then, apart from three years working and travelling overseas in the mid-1970s. Barry had 35 years as a partner of Chapman Tripp from 1980 to 2015 and he has been a consultant since 2015.

Barry practised as a corporate lawyer in Wellington and Auckland from 1978 with particular specialty in mergers and acquisitions. In 2011 Barry received the New Zealand Dealmaker of the Year award at the Australasian Legal Business Awards. He represented the NZ government on the privatisation of Telecom (now Spark), on the bail-out and sale of the Bank of New Zealand and on the sale and bail-out of Air New Zealand.

Major private sector transactions included acting for Lloyds Bank on its sale of the National Bank to ANZ Bank, acting for Shell on the sale of its service stations, acting for HJ Heinz on the sale of Tip Top and Tegel, acting on the merger of three businesses to form Heartland Bank, acting for the owners of Trust Bank's sale to Westpac, representing Rupert Murdoch's interests on the sale of their New Zealand newspapers (including the Dominion Post) to Fairfax and acting for the US owner on the sale of Carter Holt Harvey.

Barry has held, or currently holds, other positions including being a member of the New Zealand Racing Board, a member of the New Zealand Stock Exchange Markey Surveillance Panel, a member of the Financial Market Authority's Audit Oversight Committee and he is a trustee of the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation. Barry has been married to wife Jan since 1979 and he has three adult children.