Our People

Westpac Corporate Finance offers a wealth of local and international experience across a variety of industries and types of corporate transactions.

Andrew Bashford - Executive Director

• Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Accounting) and Bachelor of Laws, University of Canterbury
• Admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court
• Certified Finance & Investment Professional, Member of INFINZ

Andrew has 14 years of investment banking experience and two years as a banking & commercial solicitor. He joined Westpac Corporate Finance in 2003, having returned to New Zealand following three years working in London for the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse First Boston.

From 1994 to 1999, Andrew worked for Southpac Corporation Limited and then Ord Minnett Securities-NZ-Limited, leading New Zealand based corporate finance houses. For two years prior to that he was a commercial and banking solicitor for Bell Gully Buddle Weir.

Andrew has significant and wide ranging experience in corporate finance advisory services, across a range of industries and in a number of different markets.

Richard Hopkins - Director

• MBA, Leeds University
• First Class Honours degree in Chemistry from Warwick University

Richard has over 12 years investment banking experience and joined Westpac Institutional Bank in 2007.

Prior to joining Westpac Richard was a Director of the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse First Boston, where he worked for eight years. As a Director in the Energy Group, Richard's focus was on mergers & acquisitions, equity and debt capital market transactions for European utility and infrastructure companies. Prior to this, Richard worked in the corporate finance division of HSBC Investment Bank in London.

Richard has extensive international expertise and has advised clients on:

• Acquisitions, restructurings, divestments and mergers;
• Corporate strategy and capital structure reviews; and
• Equity, hybrid and debt issues and structuring.

Chris Irvine - Associate Director

• Bachelor of Commerce (Finance and Economics), University of Auckland
• Graduate Diploma, Australian Securities Institute

Chris joined Westpac Corporate Finance in June 2005, following four years working for the Corporate Finance division of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Prior to these roles, Chris held analytical and finance roles at the Bank of New Zealand and for telecommunications firms in the United Kingdom.

Chris has extensive corporate finance technical skills and experience in the execution and origination of mergers & acquisitions, debt capital market transactions, valuations, strategic alternatives, and capital structure reviews.

Joseph Buist - Associate

• Bachelor of Management Studies 1st Class Honours (Economics and Finance), University of Waikato
• Bachelor of Laws, University of Waikato
• Admitted as a Barrister & Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand

Joseph joined Westpac Institutional Bank in February 2007 as part of the Westpac Institutional Bank Graduate programme.

During the one year programme Joseph worked extensively with the Westpac Corporate Finance team. As part of the programme Joseph also worked in Financial Markets trading Spot Foreign Exchange. In January 2008, Joseph accepted a permanent role with the Westpac Corporate Finance team.