Alan Esmond Bollard (born 5 June 1951) is a New Zealand economist. He currently serves as the as chair of the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. He previously served as the Executive Director of the

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

(APEC) Secretariat for the period of 2013–2018, and as the Governor of the

Reserve Bank of New Zealand The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ, mi, Te Pūtea Matua) is the central bank of New Zealand. It was established in 1934 and is constituted under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989. The governor of the Reserve Bank is responsible for N ...

for the period of 2002–2012.

Early life

Bollard was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

on 5 June 1951. His parents were Constance Mary () and

Ted Bollard Edward George Bollard (21 January 1920 – 10 November 2011) was a New Zealand plant physiologist and science administrator. Biography Born in Athlone, Ireland in 1920, Bollard moved to New Zealand as a child with his family. He was dux at Mt ...

. He attended Owairaka Primary School, Wesley Intermediate School, and Mount Albert Grammar School. He gained a PhD in economics from the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in 1977, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the same university in 2007.

Career

Bollard headed the

New Zealand Institute of Economic Research The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) is the largest independent think tank in New Zealand. It is non-profit incorporated society and was established in 1958. It seeks to take a centrist, politically neutral position. It has a sta ...

from 1987–1994 and the

Commerce Commission The Commerce Commission ( mi, Te Komihana Tauhokohoko) is a New Zealand government agency with responsibility for enforcing legislation that relates to competition in the country's markets, fair trading and consumer credit contracts, and regul ...

from 1994–1998. He subsequently spent four years as secretary to the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

, from 1998–2002. He subsequently served as the Governor of the

from 2002–2012, and as the Executive Director of the

(APEC) Secretariat for the period of 2013–2018. In August 2019, the Minister for Infrastructure,

Shane Jones Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014. Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...

announced the appointment of Dr Alan Bollard as chair of the new Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga. He has edited or written three books on the topic of economic reform in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Recognition

In 1998, Bollard was elected fellow of the

Royal Society Te Apārangi The Royal Society Te Apārangi (in full, Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi) is an independent, statutory not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities. History The R ...

. In the

2013 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2013 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrat ...

, Bollard was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

for services to the State.

Personal life

He is married to

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

ist Jenny Morel. They married in 1977 and have two sons.

References

Writings

*
Design and evaluation of projects with variable labour response: case study of agricultural aid on Atiu
' (1977). PhD thesis. (Full text)

External links

New Zealand Reserve Bank Governor to lead APEC Secretariat

Reserve Bank of New Zealand biography
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bollard, Alan 1951 births Living people Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Governors of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand economists New Zealand public servants People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School University of Auckland alumni Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand economists