Richard joined the board of Eastern Bays Hospice late in 2002 so has been very involved in the spectacular growth of the organisation ever since. He has a history in "Not-for-Profit" organisations having been President of Auckland Crippled Children Society (now CCS), Chairman of Auckland Civic Trust (an environmental body) and a member of Rotary Club of Auckland for more than 30 years. Richard has also been closely involved in politics for many years finally retiring as a vice president of the NZ National Party in 2000.

He has been in business for himself for many years and currently is the Managing Director of Textile Bonding Ltd with 50% ownership. This company, which has a staff of more than 40, exports black-out curtain linings all over the world. Besides New Zealand, major customers are in Australia, USA, UK, several countries Europe and three countries in South East Asia.

Richard has been a director of two publicly listed companies and on the board of the NZ Lotteries Commission. He is currrently on the board of two private companies beside his own.

Richard has been married to Joylyn for 46 years and they have three adult children and seven grandchildren. Apart from his family, Richard's interests include: golf ( a very poor player), music (classical and modern), business, their 3 acre property at the Bay of Islands and the boats that go with it. The one vice he admits to is coffee - a double shot macchiato and plenty of them!