Sir John: life in depth

Heartfelt tributes followed the death of Sir John Todd at his home in Wellington on July 29 after a period of ill health – not only for his business achievements, but also for his philanthropy. Today, the privately held Todd Corporation has diversified business interests of about $3 billion. In addition to global energy and mining holdings, it also has includes telecommunications, residential property development, healthcare and winemaking interests. The company started life in a Central Otago fellmongery and wool-scouring plant, but moved into stock and station agencies – as well as becoming a vehicle distributor and retailer in 1923.

INVOLVEMENT IN THE MOTOR-VEHICLE INDUSTRY

The name “Todd Motors” is familiar to many in the automotive sector. It was started by Charles Todd, who was Sir John’s grandfather, and imported the first motor cars into West Otago and established Heriot Motor Garage in 1912 to service them. It was a sub-dealer for Commer trucks, BSA motorcycles and Studebaker and Ford cars 1914.Charles Todd also acquired regional Ford distributorship and Ford tractors before the company’s garages expanded throughout Otago and Southland leveraging off stock and station outlets. Todd Motor Company (TMC) was established 1923 under Desmond Todd as the South Island’s distributor for Wolseley 1922. It became the first national distributor with Gray in 1922 and Maxwell, later Chrysler, in 1924. Its North Island dealership network started in 1923 with the head office relocated to New Zealand’s capital city a year later. The Oakland (General Motors) distributorship acquired for Wellington region in 1924 and it held the Chrysler sole brand by 1925. Todd Motors became a distributor for Rootes (Hillman and Humber) in 1931. The David Brown tractors franchise was acquired in 1945 and sold 1981. The Chrysler (Valiant) franchise was acquired 1958 and Mitsubishi’s in 1970. Todd Motor Industries was established in 1935 to manufacture vehicles under Andrew Todd at its Petone site in Lower Hutt. This business expanded to the Todd Park motor vehicle-assembly plant in 1975 for cars, commercial and trucks. TMC was established as parent company and listed in 1938 and privatised in 1956, and its General Finance joint venture with the National Bank in 1980 financed its dealer network and customers before being sold in 1987. It was largest car company in New Zealand by 1980 with the highest market share of any of Mitsubishi’s markets, and exited the sector when it was sold to the marque in 1987.

TRIBUTES TO SIR JOHN TODD

After studying accountancy and commerce at Victoria University, Wellington, Sir John joined the family business in the 1940s by working at Todd Motors’ assembly line in Petone. He became managing director in 1968 and the company acquired the Mitsubishi franchise for New Zealand two years later. Prime Minister John Key describes Sir John as an admired businessman.“He also dedicated time to charity work with the Todd Foundation. It was a privilege to have known him.” Sir John’s son, Mike, says: “Our father was a highly respected New Zealander who made a significant contribution to business and philanthropy. Our family salutes him for the work he did in the service of our wonderful family enterprise.” “Sir John was a huge driving force behind establishing our brand in New Zealand in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, the benefits of which we still feel today,” says Masao Tanuma, managing director of Mitsubishi Motors NZ. “As a businessman, his integrity and leadership were unequalled, yet our staff remember the gentleman and personal rapport he had with them, which extended long after his retirement from the board of directors in the late-90s.” A statement from MMC in Japan reads: “We recognise the great contribution made by Sir John from our first meetings in the 1960s as we contemplated opportunities in New Zealand, through great growth in the ’70s, through negotiations in which assembly operations passed into MMC’s hands in the 1980s and to his retirement from the board in 1997. Sir John’s leadership and vision is remembered with great respect.” And – at a grassroots level – Pat Snellgrove, of Carterton, says: “On behalf of my late husband, a former employee at Todd Motors, I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to the Todd family. Ian always loved working for the Todds and especially doing refits of Sir John’s boat.” The Shell Todd company flag at the Shell Todd Oil Services office in New Plymouth was lowered to half-mast as a mark of respect to his passing. Rob Jager, chairman of Shell NZ, says Sir John was one of this country’s most distinguished business leaders of his generation and was deeply respected. “He will be greatly missed.” Sir John was involved in the original joint-venture agreement between Shell and the Todd Brothers in 1955 to explore for oil and gas in New Zealand. This resulted in the creation of a joint venture known now as Shell Todd Oil Services (STOS), which employs some 400 people. Shell and Todd have been linked through STOS and its interests in the Kapuni, Māui and Pohokura natural gas and condensate fields in Taranaki. “For more than 60 years, this partnership has defined our sector and today continues to supply more than 70 per cent of the country’s natural gas,” says Jager. Meanwhile, Volunteer Service Abroad, a charity of which Sir John was a life member, was also saddened by his passing, while Wellington city councillor Nicola Young describes his death as the ending of a dynasty. Sir John rose through the family firm to become chairman of Todd Corporation in 1987, a position he held until his retirement in 2011, after which he devoted his time to the charitable Todd Foundation and family trust work. The foundation focuses on funding for children, young people, their families and communities. In 1990, he helped establish Philanthropy NZ. He was also a founding trustee of the Arts Foundation of NZ, and among other organisations, has been a trustee of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council and the Royal NZ Ballet. Sir John was knighted in the 2012 new year’s honours lust. He received the Wellington Icon Award in the city’s Gold Awards in 2010 and was included in Fairfax Media New Zealand’s Business Hall of Fame in 2011. After his knighthood, Sir John said the Todd family had contributed a lot to the economy and society. “I was fortunate to be able to carry on the tradition.” An obituary on Sir John Todd also appears in the August 6, 2015, issue of Autofile magazine. Click here to read it. Also, Autofile Online has a separate tribute piece. Click here to read that.

FAMILY BUSINESSES & INVESTMENTS

The family-owned Todd Corporation is one of New Zealand’s largest and most successful companies. With a history spanning 130 years, it has interests in oil and gas exploration and production, electricity generation, energy retailing, property development, healthcare, minerals, telecommunications, technology and wine. They include operated businesses and investment holdings, and more about them – in alphabetical order – follows. Ara Wines is a New Zealand single-estate wine company with a focus on delivering Marlborough sauvignon blanc, pinot noir and pinot gris. It is enjoying strong growth with distribution in this country, and in Australia, Canada, Europe, the UK and US. Integria Healthcare operates in the natural healthcare sector. Its brands include Thompson’s, Thursday Plantation, MediHerb, Greenridge, Eureka, Sunspirit and Red 8. Nova Energy retails natural gas, electricity, LPG, solar and co-generation technologies. It has a diverse and growing electricity generation portfolio that includes thermal and renewable. Nova Energy has become one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing energy companies, and now services more than 100,000 business and residential customers in this country. Todd Energy operates leader in oil and gas exploration and production industry. It holds interests in producing fields that account for about 80 per cent of the country’s annual hydrocarbon production. It has interests in these oil and gas fields – Maui, Kapuni, Pohokura, McKee, Mangahewa and Maari. It’s also building an energy business in Canada. It has acquired a 50 per cent working interest in a gas project in north-east British Columbia from Paramount Resources. Todd Energy will become the field operator in 2015. Todd Energy International has upstream energy businesses in Canada and North America. It’s the sole operator and joint owner, along with Paramount Resources, of the Birch liquids-rich gas project in north-east British Columbia. South Louisiana Methanol is developing North America’s largest gas-to-methanol plant, and is jointly owned by Todd Energy International and Zeep Resources. Todd Minerals and Coal manages investments in international projects, such as ASX-listed Rutila Resources which, alongside Todd, co-owns the Balla Balla iron-ore mine and infrastructure project in Western Australia. It also own Flinders Mines, a large-scale iron-ore mining project, the Hemerdon tungsten and tin project in the south-west UK, and Northcliff Resources. Todd Property is a Kiwi property developer engaged in designing and delivering some of the country’s largest land projects. It identifies and implements development and value-add opportunities for large-scale urban sites. Current projects include Stonefields, Long Bay, Napier Hill, Okura and Ngunguru. The Todd Corporation also holds investments in Crest Energy, King Country Energy, PartsTrader, Rutila Resources and South Louisiana Methanol, tungsten. The wider Todd family, with about 200 members, was estimated in 2011 to be worth about $2.7 billion. The National Business Review’s recently published rich list says that has since grown to $3.16 billion.