Peter Shirtcliffe

George Peter Shirtcliffe is a New Zealand businessman. He was the chairman of Telecom New Zealand, New Zealand's largest listed company, from 1990 to 1999.

Early life and family

Shirtcliffe was born in Palmerston North on 28 July 1931, the son of Nancy Vida Catherine Shirtcliffe and Geoffrey Shirtcliffe. Sir George Shirtcliffe was his grandfather. He received his primary education at Wellesley College and Huntley School, and his secondary education at Wanganui Collegiate School. He graduated from Victoria University of Wellington in 1955 with a Bachelor of Commerce. In 1966, he married Margaret Cecilia Bryden, and they had one son and two daughters.

Director, Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited 1999–2001
Chairman, Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited 1990–1999
Deputy chairman, Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited 1987–1990
Founding chairman, New Zealand Trade Development Board 1986–1990
Chairman, Venture Pacific Ltd 1986–1989
Chief executive/managing director – Goodman Group Limited, and as a Director of its publicly listed associate companies 1976–1985
Member Wellington Stock Exchange 1970–76
Non-executive director/deputy chairman – A.S.Paterson & Co. Limited 1968–1976
Directorships at various times of companies engaged in wholesale and retail distribution, food processing, transport, tourism, banking, life insurance, manufacturing (plastics and textiles, agribusiness, telecommunications and airlines

Shirtcliffe was the founding chairman of the Enterprise Education Foundation and later a trustee of the Enterprise New Zealand Trust. He was an active member of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve from 1953 to 1967, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

During the debate over electoral reform in New Zealand in the early 1990s, he led the Campaign for Better Government which unsuccessfully opposed the Mixed Member Proportional system. In the late 2000s, he campaigned for changes to the format of the 2011 referendum.