Richard is now retired and living in Auckland, New Zealand. Born to a sheep-farming family in Central Otago, he boarded at Timaru Boys' High School and then went to university at Dunedin where he read law. After graduating he lived in Oamaru for twenty-three years, then moved to Wellington and subsequently to Auckland and Hamilton. He has been focused on small business but also has had appointments to boards of directors for several companies, including being a director of the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand. He was the first chairman of Radio New Zealand when it was made into an SOE. Later in his career he was managing partner, chairman of partners, executive director, and chief executive, respectively of several different law firm businesses across Australasia. This life of business experience has culminated in a desire to see growth and better management within the business community generally. He tries to help owners of these businesses thrive and understand how they can improve.