'Encounter' meets self-made man

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33963, 2 October 1975, Page 4

'Encounter' meets self-made man

“Encounter” (TV2, Sunday) looks at the life and what some would consider the hard times, of a successful New Zealand businessman, Mr John Russell. John Russell began an

enterprise known as Securitibank in 1962 with an office girl, a desk and a typewriter. Today, Securitibank is the biggest merchant bank in the country, with shareholders’ funds of more than ssm, and a staff of 100. Apart from his business acumen, Mr Russell is also noted for two other characteristics: his outspoken attitude, and his singular dedication to work. UNION GREED A conservative, according to some, he constantly criticises government ineptitude (regardless of the party in power). His other targets include trade unions because of what he believes is their greed, and the New Zealand worker — who he considers to be the laziest in the Western world. Mr Russell advocates the old fashioned virtues of hard work, discipline and selfsacrifice. He works 16 hours a day six days a week, and sets aside four hours every Sunday for more. The last holiday he had with his family was 12 years ago. Mr Russell is not however a white-whiskered, splenetic old man, out of touch with reality. He is only 41 and has a relatively young family of five children. “Encounter” director Paul Leach explores the personality of this self-made man.