His role as vice president of global marketing for the major global computer graphics company Sapphire Technology involves leading a “virtual” marketing team of around 80 staff in 18 countries. That means traveling extensively, living and working half-a-world away from his old home town.

After leaving Otago Boys High School he began studying marketing at Otago but the desire to get hands-on saw him head overseas, working in various roles before moving into the computing field in the mid-90s.

Since then Adrian has worked for some of the major computing companies such as Nvidia – another major graphics company – and as a consultant for computer components manufacturer ASUS.

He tries to get back to Dunedin about three times every year, visiting his father Mike, who is the project manager on the Milne and Bremner building in Cumberland St.

But Adrian sees the project as a way of putting something back into Dunedin.

“I wanted to do something that will last longer than I do. It should be there for another 100 years with the amount of steel strengthening, high quality materials and workmanship that’s gone in. It’s a legacy I can leave.”

The fine old building has three basic levels: There is retail, light industrial and storage space on the ground floor, professional spaces on the second and two spacious luxury apartments on the third.

“You need to have mixed tenancy in a building,” says Adrian. “You invest in the future and the vision you have.”

Both apartments feature spacious master bedrooms with ensuites up on a mezzanine floor which sits snugly under the peak of the roof.

The main floor below features two large bedrooms, a luxury bathroom, modern kitchen, a dining/living area and an ‘entertainment’ room all hardwired for high-speed Internet and a complete home theatre package.

Clever design has allowed for an atrium between the two apartments to bring natural light down into the reception area shared by the spacious second floor offices below. As well as lighting, Dunedin’s ample sunlight is also harnessed by solar panels that provide water heating.

Other modern adaptations include a lift and a suitably industrial looking steel staircase designed to meet current building standards.

But many of the bond store’s original features have been cherished, such as the original strong room and some fascinating Chinese graffiti, seemingly the work of one Hung Chang, which appears to date back to 1914.

At the time of writing the building was ready to accept new tenants.

While Adrian has had properties in other parts of New Zealand it is the Dunedin one that has been closest to his heart.

“There is something about Dunedin – it’s in your blood. It gets in and it stays in.”

His hope is that with endorsement from his French wife Magali, at least some of his children will go to University at Otago, even though they are growing up so far away.

Adrian is bullish about Dunedin’s prospects because of its still untapped potential and the way people here go about their business.

“It’s the Scottish influence – they ferret away money for hard times.”

But his bullishness also comes with a timely warning.

“Dunedin needs a lot more investment put into it,” he says.

“The city has a real soul to it – but you have to put things back, you have to invest.”

Adrian believes that the key to the city’s future lies in developing the waterfront.

“Dunedin needs to capitalise on that beautiful harbour. Anywhere else in the world they would spend millions developing it,” he says.

“You need to capitalize on what you have now, while at the same time looking 20 years into the future. Investment in the long-term assets is like people – it sometimes takes time to materialize, but if done right secures the future.”

Davies was filling the dual roles of guest speaker at the Otago Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards and the University of Otago Business School’s Distinguished Visitor.

Since leaving Otago Boys High School in 1963 he has amassed an impressive list of credentials, including numerous business awards, and roles such as Director of the British Chamber of Commerce; Director and Council member of the Agricultural Engineers Association; and Chairman of the Farm Equipment Council.

Davies’ CV includes a BSc(Hons) and MSc from Manchester University, and a Postgraduate Diploma from Keele University. He is also Vice President of an American NYSE listed company, Alamo Incorporated, and Managing Director of a group of Alamo-owned agricultural and commercial mowing equipment manufacturing companies spread through Britain, France, the Netherlands and Russia. He has also received an OBE from the Queen in 2004 for services to British agriculture.

His family had originally come to New Zealand under post-war immigration schemes when he was a child. They lived on a farm in Otautau to begin with, before moving to Dunedin and tackling the grocery trade.

From this Davies developed a love of rural life but also enjoyed his first taste of business and entrepreneurship, watching his father develop their Caversham shop.

After his time at OBHS Davies headed for the United Kingdom to train as a naval navigation officer, gaining his qualifications from Manchester University in the process.

The business world eventually beckoned and he completed his postgraduate diploma in management studies at Keele University before applying for a position with the Rubery Owen Group which eventually took him into the world of agricultural equipment manufacturing and his current role with Alamo.

Already a keen supporter of the school, through his Senior Fellowship membership of the Otago Boys’ High School Foundation, Davies is keen to extend his involvement with OBHS, the University of Otago and Dunedin by way of an intern programme.

His company already sponsors five undergraduates a year and Davies told the Otago Daily Times that he is keen to establish a similar programme here.

The aim would be to have an OBHS pupil sponsored to study at the University of Otago and then go on to an internship with one of the 17 companies in Alamo Group Europe.

Davies is also interested in building his business contacts with Dunedin by buying a manufacturing business in the city.

Barry was at Otago Boys’ High School between ‘83 and ‘87 before going into the air force, pursuing an interest in flying which included him going solo at the tender age of 15.

However, at the same time he had also begun to develop an interest in business and accounting through OBHS teacher Brian Ashwin.

“Eventually I came to realise my passion was actually business not flying,” says Barry.

To cut a long story short, Barry stayed on the Air Force path, ending up spending a year at the Australian Defence Forces Academy in Canberra as a University Officer Cadet.

As you would expect the degree included plenty of maths and physics but Barry crammed in as many business-related papers as he could get away with.

After about 18-months he decided to head back to Dunedin and take on a B.Comm at the University of Otago.

Once he had graduated, Barry landed a job with Deloittes working in audit for about four years before getting the opportunity to move to Canada.

“I had two years in Vancouver doing a range of audit and also stock exchange work such as IPOs, capital raising and reporting to the stock exchange.”

Barry returned to Dunedin in 1997, eventually moving to Price Waterhouse Cooper in 2003 to take on more of a business advisory role.

He has clients all over New Zealand and is heavily involved in Price Waterhouse Coopers’ South Island Technology Group, supporting new tech companies at the start-up and early stage level.

Barry is also involved in corporate finance, particular buy-side due diligence with companies in Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand.

“I feel I have the best of both worlds. I get to live and work here but I also get to work with businesses in other parts of New Zealand and Australia.”

He is extremely positive about the business opportunities Dunedin presents.

“Historically the area has been strong in farming and forestry etc but on top of that we are also making great strides in other areas. There are new technology companies with enormous potential and a number of companies being launched out of technology developed at the University.”

He also points out that companies that were once working to individual order are now creating their own range of products.

“That’s an important step. We need to be asking how do we create new products or market opportunities off the back of those things.”

Dunedin’s business renaissance is also matched by its cultural one, Barry claims.

His own personal favourite is the steamer basin area of the Dunedin waterfront where he has opened the Customhouse Restaurant in late 2006.

“I saw a lot of waterfront development when I was living in Vancouver. I think Dunedin’s waterfront will go from strength to strength with the addition of the Chinese Gardens and the Otago Regional Council’s planned office building,” he says

Barry is on the board of Tourism Dunedin and is delighted by the way people seem to be re-engaging with Dunedin’s heritage, such as Olveston, Speight’s and the railway station.

“I think Dunedin is well-positioned for the future with its heritage, its ecology and the fact is has Central Otago on its doorstep,” he says.

“It’s time to set some objectives and set some goals.”

Like many OBHS alumni Brendan had happily headed to the University of Otago when he left school, tackling a combined BA/BCom majoring in marketing and economics.

After taking a job in Christchurch as a financial planner he found himself feeling a bit disillusioned with an early 1990s New Zealand that seemed mired in land claims, nasty politics and Rogernomics, so he headed overseas for new opportunities.

A stint in Japan teaching English was followed by time in Western Australia working in a pub while looking to land a job in the mining game. Before he made it into the desert proper, a call from an Auckland-based friend saw him heading back across the ditch to project manage a business running underground TV and Internet cables for Telecom NZ.

After two successful years running a contracting firm with his best mate, the plug was, almost literally, pulled overnight with the development of ADSL technology, so Brendan found his way back into part-time pub work while the next move was contemplated. Here he started to meet many people working in IT.

Seeing the possibilities, Brendan headed back to Otago to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Computer Science, before heading to London in 1999 where his project management skills were in demand.

“I went into IT project management,” explains Brendan. “This was right in the middle of the dot com boom. It was bloody exciting actually – it was all free lunches and fast cars,”

Brendan ended up at a Hampshire-based company called NTL for five years and during that time met his Australian wife, Rebecca, and had two children, Sam (3) and Charlie (2).

Despite the exciting lifestyle, the desire to return to New Zealand, and more specifically Dunedin, became stronger.

“I came home so the kids could grow up knowing their grandparents and cousins,” he says. “I also got very sick of working for someone else and wanted to be able to build something for myself.”

The opportunity to return home and take over the family business Marlow Pies ticked a lot of boxes for him.

Brendan and his family arrived back in December 2006 and he began almost immediately getting to know the business.

“Learning in a stable business has been a good thing. I have been fortunate that the family business is long-standing and after looking at a number of other businesses that my wife and I could have become involved with, it was a no-brainer to enter one in which we knew the entire history. It would have been a lot more daunting to enter a similar sized business trusting all of our life-savings to the integrity of people we didn’t know.”

For Brendan that has already involved adding a wholesale bread bakery called ‘The Doughbin Wholesale Bakery’ to the once predominantly pie making business. The expanded company now employs more than 40 people.

He has enjoyed being back in the Dunedin business scene, catching up with old school and university friends who are doing very well in Dunedin and Central Otago.

Brendan is also amazed by the changes in the city’s business and economic environment.

“It’s striking. There was never a Porsche or a Mercedes dealership of any consequence before I moved away,” he says.

“This tells me that there is money about and is a good sign on the health of the local economy.

“A lot of people have done very well out of Dunedin and Central Otago. It gives me great optimism because I know if I work hard enough, some of it will come my way.”

Brendan is also enjoying seeing his children taking in the city’s parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities, as well as the fantastic Otago outdoor environment.

And, like all good OBHS alumni, he recognises that the city’s educational environment will give them a great foundation for later life.

“The facilities in Dunedin are really good for a city of its size.”

Rod, his wife Shelley, daughter Ali and son Ciaran returned to Dunedin 5 years ago and set about turning a former Christain Brothers Residence  perched above central Dunedin into the 15-room ‘The Brothers Boutique Hotel‘, which features superb views over the city.

For many years Rod – a former Contiki guide in Europe – had been based in Arrowtown running a variety of tourism-related businesses, from a tour company to a market research company specialising in tourism.

“I actually had no intention of coming back to Dunedin. It’s not that I was negative about the city, it was more I really didn’t see us living here,” he says.

“We returned for the children’s education and have no regrets about the move”.

While Rod is actually an ex-Bayfield High School pupil the fact that his daughter was at boarding school in Dunedin and his son had a strong desire to go to Otago Boys’ helped Shelley and him to make the change.

“Ciaran has actually wanted to come to Otago Boys’ since he was five. We watched a game of cricket at Littlebourne one day and he was adamant he wanted to come here, As it turned out he has already played 2 seasons for the 1^st Eleven with a year to go,” he says.

“The School has provided him with huge sporting opportunities and a recent trip with the Willows Cricket Club to India and Oman is a testament to this. Music has become a passion for him as well and it has flourished due the environment here.”

“Dunedin has an almost ‘Bohemian’ feel to it with the students and the University and there are always plenty of things happening, It is a very balanced place” he says.

What followed probably seemed anything but balanced, as Rod and his family worked to turn the stately old 1930s brick building into a friendly Boutique Hotel.

“The building had all the right attributes for what we thought would be a good use.  We had no aspirations of doing anything else with it,” says Rod.

It now offers a selection of ensuite rooms ranging from $135 to $305/night.

Rod’s daughter Ali has joined him in running the business and they are thoroughly enjoying being able to share their city with visitors.

“There is a growing awareness about Dunedin’s environment and heritage” he observes.

“We find Europeans in particular frequently book two nights but end up staying for three – they find much more to do here than they expected.”

He thinks the key to that is that the city has a feel and atmosphere they can identify with.

“You don’t see it anywhere else in New Zealand. It’s a huge competitive advantage Dunedin has and we need to make sure we don’t lose sight of that.”

If there is one thing he would like to see to strengthen that it’s a tram system, connecting the main street with the University, the proposed new Carisbrook Stadium, the railway station Chinese Gardens and back into the Octagon.

“I believe it would enhance Dunedin’s reputation as a character City.”