Neville Alexander CrichtonCNZM (born 4 June 1945) is a New Zealand-born Australian businessman who was also a competitor in Australasian motor and yacht racing.
Born on a dairy farm in Otago, New Zealand, Crichton developed a skill for selling bicycles and left Rotorua Boys' High School,[1] aged 14 years, to start selling tractors and hay balers, door-to-door.[2][3]
Career
Automotive industry
Crichton entered the automotive industry in his local Forddealership, where he was promoted to sales manager. A short time later, he became general manager of a General Motors dealership. In 1972, he acquired an ailing used car operation;[4][5] and in 1977 he acquired the Mazda distributorship for the state of Hawaii.[4][3] Crichton sold his Hawaiian interests in 1982 and moved back to New Zealand where he acquired a group of Ford dealerships that were in difficulty. Under his stewardship, he turned them into the country's largest Ford dealership.[4]
He was also the founder of Alloy Yachts, which he incorporated with the same team that, in 1985, built Chanel, his 28-metre (92ft) sailing yacht. Over 29 years, Alloy Yachts launched sailing yachts in excess of 67 metres (220ft) and motor yachts up to 47 metres (154ft) in length. The company ceased trading in 2016.[17]
Personal life
In 1978, aged 29 years, Crichton was diagnosed with throat cancer. He underwent 30 operations and eventually had his voice-box and oesophagus removed. Doctors told him it was unlikely he would ever speak again, however he was one of the first people in the world to receive an artificial voice box during experimental surgery in Indianapolis.[5] This would lead to his nickname of "Croaky".[7]
Aged 71 years, in 2017 Crichton married his fourth wife,[18] Nadi Hasandedic, aged 38 years.[19][20] They live in Point Piper.[7][21][22]
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