Sir Graeme Thomas Harrison (born 13 November 1948) is a New Zealand business executive. He was the driving force behind

ANZCO Foods ANZCO Foods or simply ANZCO (formally ANZCO Foods Ltd and previously the Asian New Zealand Meat Company Limited) is a New Zealand meat producer fully owned by the Japanese company Itoham Foods, which in turn is part of Itoham Yonekyu Holdings. I ...

, which is New Zealand's fifth-largest exporter. He was at the helm of ANZCO Foods for 34 years until his retirement in 2018.

Early life

Harrison was born in Methven in 1948. He received his education at Methven District High School, at

Ashburton College Ashburton College is a state coeducational secondary school located in Ashburton, New Zealand. It opened in 1965 following the merger of two Ashburton secondary schools: Ashburton High School and Hakatere College, and moved to its current site ...

, and at 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 ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1969 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

with honours in 1971. He undertook further study at the

Manchester Business School Alliance Manchester Business School (Alliance MBS) is the business school of the University of Manchester in Manchester, England. One of the most prestigious business schools in the United Kingdom, it is also the second oldest in the UK, and pro ...

, where he graduated in 1979.

Business career

From 1976 to 1979, Harrison was the London-based commercial manager of the

New Zealand Meat Producers Board The New Zealand Meat Board is a statutory body which provides quota management on behalf of the Crown for meat exports to the United States, European Union and United Kingdom. To protect their own livestock industry these countries give limited ac ...

. From 1980 to 1983, he was the board's Assistant General Manager based in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. From 1984, he was Managing Director of the Asian New Zealand Meat Company Limited, known under its trading name

. He founded the company while he was in Japan. Initially, ANZCO Foods was owned through the New Zealand Meat Producers Board by individual farmers. In 1989, Japanese company Itoham Foods and ANZCO formed a 50–50 partnership and founded Five Star Beef, a company that operates a

feedlot A feedlot or feed yard is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used in intensive animal farming, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called conc ...

in Wakanui near Ashburton; this is New Zealand's largest feedlot and mainly exports to Japan. In 1995, the ANZCO management team led a buy-out of the company from the Meat Producers Board, with Itoham Foods taking a 48.3% minority shareholding and another Japanese company,

Nissui , is a marine products company based in Japan. It had annual revenues of US$5.1 billion in 2014.Until November 30, 2022, the company name will be . The company was established in 1911, and is a commercial fishing and marine product procurement ...

(Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd), taking a smaller shareholding. Through that buy-out, the initial investment of NZ$350,000 returned over NZ$40m to the original owners. ANZCO Foods started operating under the new ownership arrangement on 17 August 1995. In 2015, founder Harrison announced that he intended to retire in the near future. In the accompanying restructure in shareholding, Harrison sold down from just over 20% to 14%. In late 2017, Itoham Foods received

Overseas Investment Office The Overseas Investment Office is the New Zealand government agency responsible for regulating foreign direct investment into New Zealand. The Office is responsible for high value investments (2006: NZD $100m+), investments in sensitive land and ...

(OIO) approval to become to sole owner by obtaining the remaining 35% shareholding. Harrison retired from the company after the March 2018 annual general meeting; he had been at the helm of the company for 34 years, with his initial position of managing director followed as chairperson from 2004.

Family and private life

In 1971, Harrison married Barbara Jean Buchly. They have three children; two girls (born 1973 and 1977) and one boy (born 1981). Harrison retired to Methven but takes an active role in a sheep and beef farm operated by his second daughter and her husband at nearby

Alford Forest Alford Forest is a location in Ashburton District, Canterbury, New Zealand. Alford Forest was named after Lord Alford, a member of the Canterbury Association. In 1883, stones found in Alford Forest were identified as diamonds, leading to a br ...

. It was announced in September 2021 that Harrison was appointed to the board of the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...

Honours and awards

Harrison was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

for services to international trade. In the

2011 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to business. In 2012, he was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Commerce degree by Lincoln University. Harrison was inducted into the

New Zealand Business Hall of Fame The New Zealand Business Hall of Fame is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to New Zealanders who have made a significant contribution to the economic and social development of New Zealand. The hall was established in 1994 by the Young Enterpri ...

in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Graeme 1948 births Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit People from Methven, New Zealand New Zealand food industry businesspeople People educated at Ashburton College University of Canterbury alumni Alumni of the Manchester Business School Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Living people