David Richwhite

Strategic Concepts & Mechanics

Relationship LeveragePay Consultants to Open Doors

Signature MoveGood Cop While Gibbs Plays Bad Cop

Competitive AdvantageMonopoly Infrastructure as Chokepoint

Capital StrategyHidden Cost of Frivolous Spending

Cornerstone MoveSell Before the Floor, Buy the Next Thing

Signature MoveNever Consider Failure as a Possible Outcome

Risk DoctrineBrierley's Bluff-Bid Brinkmanship Lesson

Cornerstone MovePhone Call to the Top, Then Show Up Anyway

Signature MoveStagger Contracts to Break Supplier Cartels

Cornerstone MoveExclusive Rights as Subscriber Magnet

Signature MoveResign from Everything When Time Becomes the Priority

Signature MoveCut-Throat Competition Even at the Dinner Table

Decision FrameworkRide Winners, Cut Losers at Ten Percent

Identity & CulturePhone Stops Ringing Test of Friendship

Strategic PatternState Broadcaster Arrogance as Opening

Operating PrincipleLucky Timing as Honest Accounting

Capital StrategySubscriber Economics Over Advertising

Risk DoctrineAnimal Intuition to Exit

Identity & CultureFree Market Conviction from Regulation Experience

Strategic PatternDiscontinuity Hunting as Core Strategy

Competitive AdvantageStructural Value Recognition Over Market Timing

Cornerstone MovePrivatization Partnership Arbitrage

Capital StrategyIntellectual Freedom Through Financial Independence

Signature MoveWalk Away as Negotiation Weapon

Signature MoveCash Preservation as Freedom Doctrine

Cornerstone MoveZero-Money Leveraged Takeovers

Signature MoveHands-Off Management Through Trusted Operators

Relationship LeverageRelationship Leverage in Government Asset Sales

Operating PrincipleManagement Avoidance as Operational Principle

Signature MoveSingle A4 Sheet Analysis

Risk DoctrineRisk Elimination Over Risk Taking

Decision FrameworkPsychology Over Numbers in Deals

Signature MovePartner Selection Over Capital

Primary Evidence

"The faces of New Zealanders such as Alan Gibbs, Trevor Farmer, David Richwhite, Michael Fay, Bruce Judge, Bob Jones, Gary Lane and Allan Hawkins were, for a time, as familiar as our biggest sports stars."

Source:No Limits: How Craig Heatley Became a Top New Zealand Entrepreneur

"At Sky, John Fellet regrets that Heatley and other entrepreneurs like him, including Alan Gibbs, Trevor Farmer, Sir Michael Fay and David Richwhite, created thousands of jobs ‘then almost as quickly, they packed up and left or went underground’. Partly, he thinks that tall poppy syndrome, which as an American he had never heard of before arriving in New Zealand, played a part. ‘They were similar in not wanting attention drawn to themselves and maybe that’s just the Kiwi way, but in the US, Craig Heatley and Trevor Farmer would be actively involved in major corporations. They would be more like the Warren Buffets, adding shareholder value and, yes, enriching themselves, but also enriching the New Zealand economy. Now I am sure that they have investments that do enrich the economy but they all seem to be off on their islands, Craig on Moturua, Richwhite on Mercury Island, and it’s a pity because that kind of brain power is a huge driver of economic growth and to have it sitting on the sideline at too young an age, especially in Craig’s case, is a shame.’"

Source:No Limits: How Craig Heatley Became a Top New Zealand Entrepreneur

"business world’s high-flyers, including Ron Brierley, Frank Renouf, Allan Hawkins, Alan Gibbs, Bob Jones, Michael Fay, David Richwhite, Colin Reynolds and Bruce Judge."

Source:No Limits: How Craig Heatley Became a Top New Zealand Entrepreneur

"In 1990, the government had sold Telecom to two US telecom giants, Ameritech of Chicago and Bell Atlantic of Philadelphia, and to the New Zealand firms Freightways (owned by Gibbs and Farmer) and Fay, Richwhite (the investment bank owned by businessmen Michael Fay and David Richwhite) for $4.25 billion. Freightways and Fay, Richwhite had brokered the deal and Gibbs, who was on Telecom’s board, chaired the board committee that ran the company. Through this, Gibbs had come to know the Americans well and was used to dealing with them. He offered to talk to them about whether they might be interested in Sky. It turned out that they might."

Source:No Limits: How Craig Heatley Became a Top New Zealand Entrepreneur

"It provoked a celebrated court case driven by some disgruntled Lion shareholders, which, once solved, allowed the merger to proceed.[8](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477273-050103421-8) As a Lion director Gibbs watched the saga unfold and he was later drawn to observe: ‘David Richwhite is one of the most aggressive businessmen this country has ever produced, and I mean that as a heartfelt compliment.’[9](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477273-050103421-9) Having been hired by several of the new SOEs, including Telecom, to raise capital on international finance markets, Fay, Richwhite had deep relationships throughout the Wellington commercial and government worlds."

Source:Serious Fun

Appears In Volumes

No Limits: How Craig Heatley Became a Top New Zealand Entrepreneur Serious Fun