Leading Rotorua businessman dies

Top Rotorua businessman Phil Verry has died, aged 68.


Mr Verry - executive chairman of Waipa Corporation, Red Stag Timber and EROS Capital - died in his sleep at home early yesterday.


His son Marty, also a director of the three companies, told The Daily Post his father had been fighting prostate cancer for some years.


The death has left the Verry family and the Rotorua community mourning a self-made man described as one of the region's top business leaders. Mr Verry was credited with making a major impact in a short period in Rotorua by taking a local company from receivership to being one of the forestry sector's leading businesses in five years.


He and wife Lyn moved to Rotorua in 2004 after Mr Verry and Marty Verry had bought Waipa Mill - a company which had been in receivership for two years.


From that, Red Stag Timber has gone on to become one of the "leading companies" in the forestry sector employing 240 people, Marty Verry said.


Marty Verry described his father, who was born in Hastings as the son of a carpenter, as "a self-made man who certainly didn't have anything to start with in terms of economic wealth".


Mr Verry studied accounting and businesses at Wellington's Victory University before becoming a chartered accountant and the youngest partner in his time. The company he worked for merged with others to become Price Waterhouse Coopers.


In the late 1980s he pursued his own entrepreneurial and business interests, establishing the largest merino stud in the North Island in the Hawke's Bay. He chaired the establishment Merino New Zealand - a spin-off organisation of the New Zealand Wool Board of which he had been a director.


Marty Verry said his father was professional and had high levels of integrity. "He was a man who didn't suffer fools and didn't have any tolerance for dishonesty. Those characteristics were reflected in his success in business."


Marty Verry said his father wasn't someone who would have been likely to ever fully retire.


If there was something he could do to improve his company, the region or New Zealand he would do it. He even lobbied the Government for a better monetary policy.


Marty Verry said his father was a "fantastic provider" for his wife and family.


"He was an incredible provider in terms of education and principles. He kind of lived his life to provide for his family to the extent he didn't smell the roses enough for himself."


Marty Verry said there were too many fond memories to name but he loved swimming, playing tennis, diving and fishing with his father.


Mr Verry's funeral will be held at 2pm on Thursday at St Luke's Church and Red Stag Timber is expected to close for a few hours in the afternoon as a mark of respect.


Marty Verry will take over full directorship of both companies.


Phil Verry is survived by his wife of 48 years Lyn, four children and six grandchildren.