Mark Rhys Weldon (born 19 September 1967) is a New Zealand businessman and swimmer.

Education

Born in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, Weldon has Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Arts, and Master of Commerce (First Class Hons) degrees from the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. From

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in New York, Weldon has a Juris Doctor degree, and a diploma in International Law (Hons)

Career

Weldon worked at Skadden, Arps and

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...

, both in New York City. Weldon has served as the CEO of

NZX New Zealand's Exchange (), known commonly as the NZX, is the national stock exchange for New Zealand and a publicly owned company. NZX is the parent company of Smartshares, and Wealth Technologies. , the NZX had a total of 179 listed securiti ...

Limited (NZX). When Weldon took over NZX, it was a mutual organisation that had nearly been sold to the ASX for a

peppercorn Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter (f ...

. He led the exchange through a demutualization and a listing, leading the organisation for a ten-year period, from 2002 to 2012. Weldon has given a significant amount of time to public policy in New Zealand. Service includes: * leading the Prime Minister's Appeal for Christchurch, after the 22 February 2011 earthquake * chairing the Prime Minister's Job Summit in 2009 * participating on the Capital Markets Development Taskforce in 2009/10; the Tax Working Group in 2009; and the Climate Change Leadership Forum in 2007 From 2012 to 2012 Weldon served on the board of High Performance Sport New Zealand, appointed by the government along with Hamish Carter as independent members to drive an enhanced focus on high performance outcomes in sport. He was previously on the Board of the New Zealand Olympic Committee (2004–2006). After leaving NZX Weldon invested in the wine industry, buying vineyards on Felton Road, Bannockburn, and establishing the Terra Sancta winery. Terra Sancta was named in the Top 100 Wineries of the World by Wines & Spirits Magazine in 2015. In 2014, Weldon was appointed as the CEO of

MediaWorks New Zealand MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is owned by Australian out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates eight national radio brands, eleven websites and ...

, managing the company's radio, television and digital businesses. Weldon resigned in May 2016 amidst media controversy over his management decisions and a line of high-profile resignations, saying "the personal cost is now too high to continue in this role". Weldon has since invested in a number of private companies.

Sport

Weldon represented New Zealand as a swimmer at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

in Barcelona, in the men's 50 m freestyle and the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. He also swam for New Zealand at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games () were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: at ...

in Auckland, and won numerous national titles, with national records. Weldon has also won a number of World Masters Swimming Championship titles.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Weldon was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

. He received a Blake Leader Award in 2005, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Auckland in 2006. In the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, he was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

, for services to the community and business.

Notes

References

*''Black Gold'' by Ron Palenski (2008, 2004 New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, Dunedin)

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weldon, Mark 1967 births Living people Commonwealth Games swimmers for New Zealand Columbia Law School alumni New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand male freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers for New Zealand Swimmers at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics University of Auckland alumni Companions of the Queen's Service Order Swimmers from Auckland 21st-century New Zealand people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen