Sir Murray John Wells (born 23 July 1943) is a New Zealand businessman and sports administrator.

Biography

Born in

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

on 21 July 1943, Wells was educated at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

from 1957 to 1961. In 1969, he married Sheryl Jane Gavin, and the couple went on to have two children including broadcaster

Jeremy Wells Jeremy Wells (born 7 June 1977) is a New Zealand media personality who hosts the Radio Hauraki breakfast show with Matt Heath, '' Seven Sharp'' alongside Hilary Barry, and the NZ version of '' Taskmaster''. Career Wells first appeared on tel ...

. An associate chartered accountant, Wells was chief general manager of NZI Financial Corporation from 1980 to 1986. In 1987, he was appointed chairman of the Auckland-based merchant bank Bancorp Holdings. He has served as a director or non-executive chair of other companies, including Baycorp Holdings, Fisher Funds Management,

Vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

, and Aetna Health (NZ). Wells is best known as a sports administrator. He was appointed to the New Zealand Sports Foundation in 1998, and chaired

Sport and Recreation New Zealand Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) (Māori: ''Ihi Aotearoa'') is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. Sport NZ believes sport is an integral part of New Zealand's culture and way of life. The or ...

(SPARC) between 2001 and 2009. Wells chaired boards organising the

2007 World Netball Championships The 2007 World Netball Championships was the 12th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball co-ordinated by the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA). Sixteen nations contested the ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, the Auckland stopover of the 2011–2012 Volvo Ocean Race, and the

2012 ITU World Triathlon Series The 2012 ITU World Triathlon Series was a series of eight World Championship Triathlon events that led up to a Grand Final held in Auckland, New Zealand in October 2012. The Series was organised under the auspices of the world governing body of tr ...

grand final in Auckland. He was a member of the New Zealand bid committee that won the hosting rights for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, and subsequently served on the Rugby World Cup establishment board. In 2011, he was appointed to the board of

New Zealand Rugby New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

Honours and awards

In the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...

, Wells was appointed a

Distinguished 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 rend ...

, for services to business and sport. A few months later, following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government, he accepted redesignation as a

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 ...

. At the 2012 Halberg Awards, Wells received the Sports New Zealand leadership award, which recognises an individual who has displayed inspiring, focused and effective leadership in sport.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, John 1943 births Living people People from Whanganui People educated at Auckland Grammar School New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand sports executives and administrators Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit