Alan Timothy Gibbs (born 1939) is a New Zealand-born businessman, entrepreneur and former public servant. During the 1960s and 1970s, Gibbs was involved in manufacturing and investment banking, before overseeing the corporatisation of New Zealand's forestry sector as chair of the New Zealand Forestry Corporation during the Fourth Labour Government. Gibbs is a founding member and major funder of the ACT Party and has been a prominent advocate of free-market reform since the 1980s. He is the founder of Gibbs Amphibians, which produces

amphibious vehicle An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian) is a vehicle that works both on land and on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious Amphibious cycle, bicycles, Amphibious ATV, ATVs, Amphibious automobile, cars, Duckboats, buses, truc ...

Early life

Alan Gibbs was born in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, the son of Theodore Nisbet Gibbs and Elsie Gibbs. His father was a businessman and active member of the National Party who chaired a Royal Commission on taxation for the First National Government. In 1963, after graduating from university, Gibbs was employed as Third Secretary in the New Zealand High Commission in London through his father's connection to future Prime Minister

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake (11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also as the 13th governor-g ...

. In 1965, Gibbs returned to New Zealand to work in the Prime Minister's department.

New Zealand business career

From 1966 to 1970, with his brother Ian, Gibbs sought to produce New Zealand's first domestically produced car, the Anziel Nova. In the 1970s, Gibbs worked in investment banking, establishing his own firm Gibbs Securities to advise on corporate transactions. As a business person, Gibbs was involved in several high-profile investments and restructurings, including the acquisition of car dealership Tappenden Motors, the management buyout of Freightways, the privatisation of Telecom, and the founding of Sky TV.

Public sector reform

In 1985, Gibbs was appointed to the Forestry Corporation Establishment Board, which established the New Zealand Forestry Corporation (NZFC), a state-owned enterprise, as part of the Rogernomics reforms. Gibbs oversaw the NZFC during the corporatisation of New Zealand's forestry assets, which resulted in over 3,000 public sector forestry employees being made redundant in 1987. In 1989, the Forestry Corporation's plantation forests were privatised. Gibbs also advised the Fourth Labour Government on restructuring the public health and welfare systems.

Political advocacy

As a university student, Gibbs was a self-described proponent of "market socialism", and started the New Left Club at Canterbury University. However, he later adopted a neoliberal ideology after becoming more involved in business. During the Fourth Labour Government, Gibbs was an active member of the Business Roundtable and a strong supporter of Roger Douglas. He established a New Zealand branch of libertarian think-tank the

Centre for Independent Studies The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) is an Australian think tank founded in 1976 by Greg Lindsay. The CIS specialises in public policy research and publishes material in areas such as economics, education, culture and foreign policy. Alth ...

and was involved in the establishment of the ACT Party. In 2014, the ''New Zealand Herald'' reported that Gibbs gave $100,000 to the ACT Party each election year. During a speech to the ACT Party conference that year, Gibbs advocated privatising all of New Zealand's schools, hospitals and roads. His daughter, Debbi Gibbs, is chairperson of the

Atlas Network Atlas Network, formerly known as Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental, non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking, and grants for libertarian, free-market, and Conserva ...

, a libertarian think tank.

Art and sculpture collection at Gibbs Farm

Gibbs is an art collector, and since 1991 has created a sculpture park on his property at Gibbs Farm, which is located on Kaipara Harbour on New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. Among the art works installed on The Farm are pieces by contemporary artists including Daniel Buren,

Neil Dawson Francis Neil Dawson (born 6 November 1948) is a New Zealand artist best known for his large-scale civic sculptures. Early life Dawson was born in Christchurch in 1948. The son of Methodist minister John Brent Dawson and Florence Emily (), ...

, Marijke de Goey,

Andy Goldsworthy Andy Goldsworthy (born 25 July 1956) is an English sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist who produces site-specific sculptures and land art situated in natural or urban settings. Early life Goldsworthy was born in Cheshire on 25 July ...

, Anish Kapoor, George Rickey,

Richard Serra Richard Serra (November 2, 1938 – March 26, 2024) was an American artist known for his large-scale Abstract art, abstract sculptures made for Site-specific art, site-specific landscape, urban, and Architecture, architectural settings, a ...

and Bernar Venet. UoC graduation April 2014 42

Honours and awards

In 2018, Gibbs was 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 ...

. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Canterbury in 2014.

References

Books and media

"Seeing the Landscape: Richard Serra's Te Tuhirangi Contour"
documentary film by Alberta Chu, 2003.
"New Form at the Farm: Anish Kapoor's Dismemberment Site 1"
documentary film by Alberta Chu, 2010. * ''Serious Fun: The Life and Times of Alan Gibbs'' by

Paul Goldsmith Paul Edward Goldsmith (October 2, 1925 – September 6, 2024) was an American racing driver. During his career he raced A.M.A. Grand National Championship, motorcycles, Stock car racing, stock cars, and American open-wheel car racing, Indianapol ...

; ebook; Random House New Zealand; 3 August 2012; ,