Dr. Donald McGillivray Elder (born November 1958) is a New Zealand engineer and businessman. He was the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the New Zealand state-owned coal miner

Solid Energy Solid Energy was the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government. The company was formed from the former government department State Coal Mines. It was then established as a state owne ...

for more than a decade.

Biography

Don Elder was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand, in November 1958. He attended

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

at Christ's College and graduated from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

with a degree in engineering. He then gained a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, to go to

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Later, he moved back to New Zealand and became CEO of Solid Energy. Elder resigned as CEO of Solid Energy on 4 February 2013, having served as the CEO for 12 years since May 2000. Elder currently lives in Christchurch, New Zealand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elder, Don 1958 births Alumni of Wolfson College, Oxford Living people New Zealand Rhodes Scholars People from Christchurch University of Canterbury alumni People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch 20th-century New Zealand businesspeople 20th-century New Zealand engineers 21st-century New Zealand businesspeople 21st-century New Zealand engineers