After studying for an accounting degree, John set off to the UK from New Zealand at 22 yrs on his big OE. He planned to stay for about 12 months and returned home some 20 years later with his wife and four children and an international business – Contiki Holidays. After a few months in London John’s desire to see Europe was overwhelming but he didn’t have the money so with just 25 Pounds he found a way to not only see Europe but start his own business.
When John eventually sold the company it was, and remains, one of the world’s major tour operators. Contiki is now firmly established as an international brand name and has been a household name in NZ, Australia and Canada with an estimated 1.6 million passengers already travelled with Contiki.
Subsequently, as a member of the Auckland Rotary Club John conceived the idea of a major fundraising opportunity. This became The Ellerslie Flower Show and it is now established as the largest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.
John travelled to London and met the Chelsea Flower Show organisation who assisted him with the development of the NZ show – John was the CEO of the event for the first year.
A change of lifestyle found John and his family moving to Marlborough in the South Island and mid 2010 they moved to Auckland where John continues to work as a management consultant and speaker. He has now published his book "Only Two Seats Left" which tells the "Contiki" journey and he's also started a new company catering for Baby Boomers Tours to South America.
More recently John has made a number of presentations about his incredible story – how he developed a simple idea into one of the world’s major tour operators; his determination to succeed, the belief in himself, his successes and failures. He's an extremely passionate speaker and his story is full of extremely funny and sad anecdotes which have a marked effect on the emotions of his audience - it can also be tailored to meet individual requirements.
Entrepreneurial Ventures:
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Began Contiki began in 1962 and sold 28 years later in 1989 operated extensive coach tour operations in : Europe , America Canada , Australia and New Zealand.
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Built and owned 2 resort hotels in Whitsundays, Australia (250 rooms) and Queenstown NZ (150 rooms).
Including Ownership of:
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15th Century French Chateaux (Lyon)
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Dutch Manor House (Noordgouwe, Holland)
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55-berth Greek Schooner (Athens)
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180 bed Lodge (Queenstown, NZ)
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Pudding Hill Resort (Methven, NZ)
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Motor camps and log cabins
Including Leases of:
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13th Century Italian Villa (Florence)
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German & Scottish Castles, Austrian Chalets, Irish Farm
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Houses, a Rhine Cruiser, and Mansion in New Orleans USA .
Established an international brand name and company offices in Hong Kong, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto, Los Angeles and London;
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Employed 700 staff
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Had a turnover of $150 million
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Carried 50,000 passengers annually (currently 100,000)
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In total 1.6 million passengers have travelled Contiki
“AND ALL CREATED FROM JUST 25 POUNDS"
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Testimonials
“Blew everyone away…He’s great…Nice guy…Everyone had tears in their eyes…Gave it everything…his presentation was spot on the objective…seemed to understand the brief perfectly”
- Coca-Cola Australia
“Heart felt, emotional, touched people, connected with the audience, received standing ovation. People swarmed him afterwards. Genuine. Passionate, Loved him”
– Tourism New Zealand
“Excellent, amazing, very personable and sincere. Was almost the star of the whole Conference”
– NZ Motor Trade Assn
"Extremely well received by the audience, did his research and fine-tuned his address which had tremendous relevance, delivered powerful messages to a diverse mix of professionals and academics, he has a great sense of humour, outstanding!"
- CPA Australia
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Categories
Motivation, After Dinner, Business, Communication, Branding, Customer Service, Entrepreneurs, Inspiration, Leadership, Management, Recruitment, Resilience, Strategy, Teams
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