In the lead up to our 50th Jubilee we are profiling some of our former students. We are starting with our first Rhodes Scholar Andrew Smith from the class of 1983.
Andrew Smith attended Hillcrest High School from 1979 to 1983. During this time he was an active participant in sports, music and debating, and was the Dux of the School in 1983.
Andrew was the University of Waikato’s (and Hillcrest High School’s) first Rhodes Scholar, graduating with a Master of Science with First Class Honours in 1989 before going to Oxford University to complete his PhD in theoretical physics. In 2019 he received a Distinguished Alumni award from the University of Waikato and is currently on the Board of Trustees of the University of Waikato Foundation.
After university, Andrew moved into the business world in the consumer and retail sectors in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. In 2009 Andrew was appointed CEO at Hamilton-based Prolife Foods (owner of the Mother Earth, Alison’s Pantry and Donovan’s brands). On Andrew’s watch the company has acquired several more brands, expanded into Australia, Asia, the USA and Middle East, and in 2014 Prolife Foods built a factory in Melbourne to service the ever-growing customer base in Australia. Prolife now has 1600 staff and revenue in excess of $300 million. Over the past 5 years Andrew has sought to leverage his experience by being on the Board of a number of NZ owned companies to help them grow in NZ and internationally.
