First Kiwi to head up WestpacNZ
Westpac New Zealand’s longestserving chief executive, Harry Price, has died aged 80.
Price joined the bank in 1961 as a junior in Dunedin and worked there for the next 40 years, working his way into several senior executive positions, including as chief executive from 1992 to 1999.
In 2000, Australia’s former Westpac chief executive
David Morgan said Price’s leadership had resulted in Westpac becoming the largest bank in New Zealand.
Westpac’s growth under Price included the acquisition of Trust Bank in 1996 for $1.3 billion.
Based at the bank’s former head office in Lambton Quay in Wellington, Price was the first New Zealander to lead Westpac New Zealand and the first not to have previously worked at Westpac’s Australian headquarters.
After leaving the bank in the early 2000s, Price took on several directorships.
He and his wife developed a property near Queenstown where he died on Monday.
Price is survived by his wife, Margaret, his daughters, Kristen and Glenn, and their families.