Sir Ronald Powell Carter (born 17 June 1935) is a retired New Zealand businessman.

Early life and family

Carter was born in

Auckland 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 ...

in 1935, the son of Sybil Muriel (née Townsend) and Eric Powell Carter, a mechanic. He 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 1948. In 2013 he described his time at the school: "In all my days at school, although I was in a high-achieving class, I did not cross the platform once in my five years at Auckland Grammar to receive a class or a subject prize." Carter then attended

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, graduating in 1958 with a Master of Engineering degree in civil engineering. His thesis was titled ''The effect of stress on the longitudinal wave velocity of an ultrasonic pulse in concrete''.

Beca Group

Carter joined the Beca engineering company in 1959, becoming a partner in 1965 and managing director in 1986. He was chairman of the Beca group until 2002.

Corporate governance and other roles

Carter has been a member, director or chairperson of many boards, including: * Founding chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority (1992–98) * National Infrastructure Advisory Board * Electricity Corporation of New Zealand * Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand * Air New Zealand (1998–2007) * Trust Power Limited * Aetna * Sir Peter Blake Trust (until 2011) * Chair of the Selection Panel for the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards * Patron of the Committee For Auckland * Developed and co-founded the Iwi Business Consortium in 2009 * Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch earthquakes * Independent representative to the Board of the 2011 Rugby World Cup * Director Rural Equities Ltd.

Honours

Carter was appointed 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 rend ...

, for services to engineering and business administration, in the

1998 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1998 for the United Kingdom, Barbados, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis were announced on 30 December 1 ...

, and made a member of the Order of New Zealand in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours. In 2001, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering by the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. Carter has also received the following honours: * 1997 – Distinguished Fellow of IPENZ 1997 * 2009 – 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 ...

* 2010 – KEA World Class Leader for work in business and finance 2010

References

External links

Ron Carter
at beca.co.nz {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Ron 1935 births Living people Businesspeople from Auckland People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni New Zealand civil engineers Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Members of the Order of New Zealand Businesspeople awarded knighthoods