ABOUT INSTITUTE BOARD & PRINCIPALS

NZ Board - Hillary Summit Convenor:

Hon David Caygill

Born and educated in Christchurch, New Zealand, David graduated B.A., LL.B (Hons) from the University of Canterbury. He was first elected to public office at age 22 and served three terms on the Christchurch City Council (1971-80). In 1978 David was elected to Parliament, representing his home district of St Albans in Christchurch. He served as a Member of Parliament for the following 18 years, including six years (1984-90) as a Minister of the Crown.

During the fourth Labour Government David held a number of Ministerial portfolios. In particular he was Minister of Trade and Industry (1984-88), Minister of Health (1987-88) and Minister of Finance (1989-90). He was closely involved in the major economic reforms of these years and was personally responsible for the enactment of the Commerce Act, the Reserve Bank Act, the Public Finance Act and the repeal of the Economic Stabilisation Act.

From 1993-96 David served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Following his retirement from elected politics in 1996 he returned to his former profession as a lawyer, joining the national firm of Buddle Findlay as a partner specialising in public law. In December 2003 David was appointed as Deputy Chair of the Commerce Commission and in October 2007 as Chair of the Electricity Commission.

David has served on a number of outside bodies, including as chair of the Accident Compensation Corporation. In 2000 he chaired the Ministerial Inquiry into the Electricity Industry. He subsequently chaired the electricity industry’s Electricity Governance Establishment Committee and its Grid Security Committee as well as Heart Surgery (South Island) Ltd. He has also been a director of Infratil Ltd and chair of the Pegasus Health group. He currently chairs Education New Zealand Trust and the Advisory Committee on Official Statistics and is a director of Whai Rawa Fund Ltd, Ngai Tahu’s savings scheme.