Thomas Kirriemuir (Kerry) McDonald
Education
- Doctor of Commerce (hc) 2007, University of Canterbury
- Master of Commerce (Hons) 1967
- Bachelor of Commerce 1964 - Economics - University of Canterbury
- Accredited Fellow, Institute of Directors
- Fellow, NZ Institute of Management
- Fellow, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Position
Chairman, Grant Thornton New Zealand Ltd
Professional
After completing his first degree Kerry joined the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, became a Senior Commodity Economist for the Commonwealth Secretariat in London in 1967. And returned to the NZIER in 1969, becoming its director in 1976 - a position he held for five years. In 1981 he joined Comalco Limited in Melbourne, becoming a Managing Director of CRA/RioTinto in 1988. Until 2003 he worked in a variety of roles and projects, in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, North America, SE Asia and elsewhere, including as MD of Comalco New Zealand.
Kerry’s current directorships and roles include Opus International Consultants Ltd (Chairman), i-lign Limited (Chairman), Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd, NZ Institute of Economic Research (Deputy Chairman), Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Ltd (Advisor), WWF NZ and Institute of Directors (President). He is a Life Member of the Australia-New Zealand Business Council.
He has a long list of previous professional commitments, including chairman of the Bank of New Zealand, GRD Macraes, and OceanaGold, and as a director of National Australia Bank, Carter Holt Harvey, Ports of Auckland, Antarctica New Zealand, Owens Group, Gough Gough and Hamer, and DUX Industries. Kerry was also Chairman of the State Sector Standards Board, the Australia-New Zealand Leadership Forum and the DOC Oversight Committee after Cave Creek and the Japan and Australia business councils, and a member of the e-Government Advisory Board, APEC Business Advisory Council, the Foreign Direct Investment Advisory Board andTranspower Establishment Board.
Committed to organisational performance and improvement, Kerry has a keen interest in public policy and national development. His wide-ranging capabilities spread from environmental management and threatened species recovery to strategic analysis and planning, in both international and domestic business settings. He has been involved with highly competitive industries including manufacturing, mining, banking, logistics, energy and forest products. Accomplished as a negotiator, he possesses the skills and manner for excellent communication and the personality and ability to successfully lead and develop people.
On a personal note, Kerry enjoys rugby, surf life saving, motorcycles, skiing, reading, shooting and “bush style” gardening. He is married to Luvaine and they have two adult children, Duncan and Louise.