Taking over the Todds

John Todd

Henry Tait has the pedigree.

Not only does he have the all-important blood link with Todd Corp founder Charles Todd. But he also cut his teeth under the tutelage of two of New Zealand's most high-profile businessmen - Sir Michael Fay and David Richwhite.

The Eton and Oxford-educated Tait, 41, is grandson of Todd Energy founder Sir Bryan Todd and son of Todd Motors director, the late Admiral Sir Gordon Tait and Philippa Todd.

He is the family member most often tipped in answer to one of the biggest questions facing the wealthy Wellington dynasty - who will succeed the Todd patriarch, John Todd.

After completing a degree in modern history, Tait started his business career as one of the "blind mice" graduate trainees at Fay and Richwhite's investment bank. The sobriquet was attached to all graduate trainees because they were not allowed to offer advice or meet clients without oversight of senior management.

After Fay Richwhite he spent two years with investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston in Australia, and then developed his own business interests.

It is these that mark him as more entrepreneurial than the two other names most commonly put forward as successors to John Todd - John Todd's son Michael, 55, and John Todd's cousin Malcolm Whyte, 60.

His first company was Connovation, which has commercialised technology to deliver poisons to control pests such as possums. And in 2001, he and business partner Andrew Duff set up the Auckland-based angel investor Sparkbox, which funds small companies and helps find major venture capital backers. One of its successes was backing Virtual Katy, the sound editing software behind the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

Indulging his love of skiing - he learned at Klosters, the Swiss resort linked to the British Royal family - he is the major shareholder in Snowstar, the driving force behind the Snowdome indoor skiifield at Silverdale north of Auckland.

He also has a stake in Fresh To Go, a former division of Restaurant Brands which supplies fresh produce to the fast food operator and other customers.

Tait, like the other two contenders, sits on the Todd Corporation board as well as the Todd family council - the elected body that oversees the Todd family office and its extensive investment portfolio.

Henry Tait is remembered by former Fay Richwhite associates as intelligent and focused, but aloof. A less charitable assessment was "a bit of a geek".

These criticisms could work against him ascending to the head of the family. He is also relatively young and unmarried, which could be a problem for a family that places such a high emphasis on the bloodline.

But those who know him say he has left his reserve behind.

"Henry is very polished. Speaking to him you have the sense that he is very thoughtful with integrity and good commercial sense," said one person familiar with the family. That person added Admiral Sir Gordon Tait's military background, first training and then serving with the Royal Navy, had rubbed off on his son.

Tait, who speaks with an urbane Home Counties lilt, is unapologetic. At Fay Richwhite he was fully occupied working on the bank's often controversial investment in the Bank of New Zealand

"You had to be focused. There was a lot of work to do," he told The Business.

Would he accept or even want John Todd's position? His reply is diplomatic. "It is an interesting role. But I am sure John Todd is going to go on for some time yet."

Michael Todd is the oldest son of the current patriarch and, of the three contenders, has had the longest tenure in an executive position with the company.

He graduated from Victoria University with a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration, then went to work for J Ilott advertising in Wellington.

He then went to the UK, where he worked for Heatrae Sadia Heating, a large water heating manufacturer. After four years he had become head of marketing.

Before Todd Motors was sold to Mitsubishi, he had various roles within the car company, rising to marketing manager.

The interest in cars continues. He now drives a Holden, but has restored several cars from a derelict state, including a Valiant E49 Charger and a Sunbeam Alpine. These were manufactured by Chrysler and the Rootes group respectively, both with Todd Motors links.

Michael Todd also sat on the board of Shortland Properties, a listed property company controlled by the family and subsequently taken over by rival Capital Properties in 1999.

More importantly, and suggesting credibility within the family, he is chairman of the elected 16-member Todd family council, which maintains oversight of the Todd family office and monitors the family's investment performance.

Michael Todd's interests outside the family include a stake in the governing body of the The Point residential complex at Whakamoenga Point in Taupo, where he is also registered on the electoral roll.

He also shares two companies with Wellington barrister Michael Okkerse. These are interests linked to his mother's family and include a 1000ha Hawkes Bay property, 100ha of which grows grapes, supplied to labels such as Montana, Craggy Range and Sacred Hill.

He has also dabbled in restaurants and property with what he admits has been varying degrees of success.

Despite his involvement in the family and his other interests, observers doubt his interest in the business to carry it forward. He declines to discuss the Todd Corporation leadership.

Whyte, John Todd's cousin, is less commonly named as a contender, although observers are less specific about just why.

He is chairman and a six per cent shareholder of Prime Finance, a Wellington-based finance company that lends to businesses for equipment purchases and provides motor vehicle finance. He started his career in the family oil business before launching his own ventures in the early 1980s.

He also declines to discuss the leadership of the corporation.

In one important respect the three will be a break with the past - they have only limited experience in operational roles within the company.

John Todd and those in the previous generation held executive positions and were responsible for decisions that are now the foundation of the family's wealth.

Failing these three, it is not clear who from the family could step up, especially since Todd Corp does not employ any family members in executive roles.

One alternative is the appointment of a Todd Corp professional manager.

One investment banker says: "They have been able to avoid nepotism. That has been one of the keys to their success."

Sources say the top contenders are deputy chairman and former managing director John Hunn, or another director, Geoff Ricketts, chairman of Lion Nathan since 2001.

Whatever happens, the family, like it or not, will have to retain an interest in the development of the business. Even if it is handed over to hired management, they will still have to be sufficiently skilled to monitor management's performance and have a broad understanding of the decisions the managers are making - if only to understand the risks facing the family fortune.

As John Todd notes: "These are the affairs of the family business."

Voting rites


How the family decides the next chairman of the $2.6 billion Todd Corporation

* Todd family members elect the family directors, who must hold at least a quarter of the corporation's board seats.

* Todd directors appoint the chairman and set remuneration.

* A chairman who ceases to hold office for any reason (other than death) will remain a director of the board.

Todd Corporation structure

Family Directors

John Desmond Todd
* Chairman.
* Married to Christina.

David Todd
* Married to Joanna Todd, one of Andrew's daughters. He is related to the Todd family by marriage.

Michael John Todd
* He is the only son of John Todd. He joined the Todd board in 1997. Unmarried.

Malcolm Whyte
* Son of Sheila Todd, one of the founding generation. Chairman of independent finance company Prime Finance. He is married to Liz.

Henry Tait
* Son of Sir Gordon Tait and Philippa Todd. Started his career at investment bank Fay Richwhite. From there he has developed his own interests. Unmarried. Independent Directors

Barry Dineen
* Former chairman of Shell New Zealand and professional director on boards such as Rangatira and Steel & Tube Holdings.

John Hunn
* Deputy chairman. Former managing director of the Todd Corporation.

Geoffrey Ricketts
* Chairman Lion Nathan since 2001, a consultant to the law firm Russell McVeagh and a director of a number of companies including the NZX and dry cleaning group Taylors.

Christopher Harris
* Professional director.