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Brian-Gaynor

BusinessMay 17, 2022

Brian Gaynor leaves a formidable legacy in New Zealand finance

Brian-Gaynor

Simplicity managing director Sam Stubbs remembers the influential investment analyst and business commentator, who passed away earlier this week.

New Zealand has lost two formidable lions of finance in the last year. The first was Michael Cullen, who died in August 2021. The first in a three-peat of world-class finance ministers, his footprint will forever be part of our financial wellbeing as the architect of KiwiSaver. The second was Brian Gaynor, who passed this week after a short illness.

Brian left his footprint on many of our greatest institutions. He made his name as head of research at Jardens – when the firm changed its name from First NZ back to Jardens, I wondered if was a nostalgic return to the time when Brian and his cohort were so good. He was always influential at the NZX – first as a member, and later as its most informed critic. And as a founder of Milford, he helped grow a tour de force of asset management in New Zealand.

New Zealanders don’t tend to welcome critics, however gently they tread. So it’s a testament to Brian that he could analyse and criticise our companies, politicians and policymakers so well, and yet be respected and admired by most of them.

What was his secret? He was always thorough, and he got the facts right every time. At the peak of his influence, his regular column in the Saturday Herald was a must-read. Each article was meticulously researched and data-rich. Even if you disagreed with his conclusions, it was still very difficult to fault his methodologies and evidence.

His opinion was usually delivered at the very end of his articles, and usually in moderate, reasoned language. He was never the type to say “here’s what I think and let me prove why” – his style was more “isn’t this interesting, what does it mean?” His advocacy followed a familiar pattern. He would regularly turn up to AGMs and industry briefings, and everyone knew he wasn’t there for the tea and scones.

Brian would wait until everyone else had asked their questions, then politely ask about the issue that really mattered. I’ve seen plenty of chairpersons and directors squirming in their seats, waiting for Brian to speak – he wasn’t afraid to ask tough questions of financial and political heavyweights, the types who might have intimidated less experienced analysts and journalists. And after asking the question, he would sit down and listen to what they had to say.

The pen was his sword. Over the years there were plenty of criticisms of his views from many directors and politicians, but their arguments were seldom as anchored in logic or fact as Brian’s were. Many were just annoyed at the sunlight.

Then there was the egoless nature of it all. I don’t recall a single use of “I”, “me” or “my” in any article he wrote. Each analysis and critique left the reader feeling that he wrote for the sheer joy of informing, teaching and provoking thought.

And his research and peerless objectivity allowed him to weigh in on a very wide range of topics, from company performance to fiscal policy. His secret power was having a memory like a steel trap. His recollection of past events allowed him to quickly put the present in proper context. Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them, and Brian never forgot anything.

As competitors, we usually met at company or political meetings. I always came away impressed by his desire for the best outcome for New Zealand investors. He was a class act.

And he understood the power of the fourth estate, and its vital role in a modern democracy. He was instrumental in the formation of BusinessDesk, and his columns there fostered informed debate on everything from fiscal and monetary policy to the nuance of company takeovers and capital raising. He was a one-person encyclopaedia of business and finance.

The tragedy is that we only had one Brian Gaynor. If we could have cloned him, New Zealand would be an even better place. He had the golden touch, and he cared passionately about making this country a better place to live, work and play.

Okioki i runga i te rangimarie Brian. You left us in a better place. Thank you.


Read more: Duncan Greive’s 2017 interview with Brian Gaynor


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Eloping
Melanie and David flagged their big wedding dreams to elope. (Photo: Holly Shin Photography / Treatment: Tina Tiller)

BusinessMay 14, 2022

‘Big weddings are overrated’: Why more and more couples are choosing to elope

Eloping
Melanie and David flagged their big wedding dreams to elope. (Photo: Holly Shin Photography / Treatment: Tina Tiller)

Massive celebrations are out; small, intimate ceremonies for two are in. Chris Schulz finds out what’s behind the rise of ‘elopement’ wedding packages.

When Melanie and David got engaged at the end of 2019, they had a big wedding planned. Family from all over the world —Australia, Germany, and South America — would fly to New Zealand, the celebrations would last a week, and their love for each other would be on show the entire time.

“It was supposed to be 100 people,” says Melanie, who paid a deposit to book a venue large enough to accommodate everyone, then planned out a week of activities, including several barbecues. “The only thing we could imagine was having all our family there.”

Then the pandemic hit, forcing their wedding plans to be put on hold. As 2020 ticked over into 2021 and a blur of lockdowns and alert levels, the pair got sick of waiting. “We were up in the air as to what we were going to do,” says Melanie. “It was so indecisive. The emotional fatigue [was draining].”

She’d heard of people eloping before the pandemic, but Melanie had never even considered it for her and David’s wedding. But, more than two years into their engagement, she jumped on Google, searched for “elopement packages,” and found a small venue nestled into a forest clearing near Waihi that might suit.

The Owharoa waterfall with a small swimming hole was nearby. They could get married in a clearing with views over the bush, with just a celebrant and two witnesses present. Then they’d walk to a rustic forest cabin where a ladder leads up to the bed. Food that had been grown and cooked on site would be delivered in hampers to their door.

The cost? Well under $2000 – a steal compared to the cost of a wedding catering for 100 people. “We decided we had to do it,” says Melanie.

eloping
Melanie and David on their wedding day. (Photo: Holly Shin Photographer)

Emma Walters hears this a lot. She and her husband have owned The Falls retreat for 15 years, and while multiple lockdowns have curbed the numbers of diners that come through their doors lately, elopement packages for two have taken off.

She’s doing two a week, sometimes more, with bookings months in advance. When The Spinoff calls, there’s one happening the very next day. “We provide them with a bottle of Prosecco, and a delicious hamper … homemade soda bread, homemade chutneys and pickles, marinated chicken breasts, and organic salad out of our vege gardens,” Walters says.

Yes, there’s a dessert platter too, and poached eggs breakfast, as well as a small wedding cake, if required.

The trend is happening around the country, with helicopter wedding trips to Parihoa being offered in Auckland, lakeside elopements available in Wānaka, and a “wild” elopement package up for grabs in Glenorchy. Celebrants and wedding photographers also offer elopement services, with one telling the Spinoff they preferred snapping an elopement over a big wedding because of the relative lack of stress.

Despite the lack of family and friends there, Melanie and David were surprised by how emotional their March elopement was. “He was quite nervous and a little bit stressed [so] I was calming him down,” says Melanie. “The moment we started walking into the ceremony, I started crying my eyes out. I couldn’t stop.”

the falls
Couples who elope to The Falls stay in a small cottage after the ceremony. Food is delivered to their door. (Photo: Supplied)

It’s an emotional moment for Walters too. She often sits in on the ceremonies as a witness, and says they’re often more tearjerking than larger weddings. “You really feel it,” she says, believing the lack of guests boils a wedding down to its bare essentials. “They just want to make this commitment to each other, they want to declare their love for each other.”

Even though larger wedding are allowed, Walters isn’t surprised elopements are continuing to take off. “It takes all the pressure off. They’re not worried about the guests, they’re not worried about what everybody’s going to be eating, they’re not worried about the favours on the table. There’s no other stressful things.”

Even better, says Melanie, is that she remembers every single second of her wedding day. “Couples say, ‘The day’s a blur’. For me, it wasn’t,” she says. “I remember everything, from waking up, snuggling David, then going through the whole process, having breakfast, driving over there.”

Melanie even remembers the storm they drove through on their trip down from Auckland. But when their big moment came, the skies cleared, the sun came out, and their vows, exchanged in front of two strangers, were picture perfect. “It was the best decision we’ve made.”

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