John Bolton
What he didn't tell us in our chat was that he was a very capable student, receiving the Sir Charles Skerrett Scholarship in 1989 for 'ability and performance in fourth year of College'. He also excelled in Religious Education and won general excellence prizes during his time at St Pat's.
Since leaving St Pat’s in 1990, John Bolton (JB to most) has built a successful career in financial services. After a decade spent in various executive roles at Westpac and ANZ, he left the banking world to launch Squirrel in 2008.
JB credits his time at St Pat’s as building resilience and reinforcing good values.
“I arrived at SPC pretty much as an outsider. We lived at the top of Ohariu Valley, so it was a 1.5-hour commute each way to school, and I hadn’t come through the Catholic schooling system, so I knew nobody. I found my way there because my grandfather was an old boy.
“I was a skinny kid and not particularly good at sports. The teacher who made the biggest difference was John Jarvis, the Head of PE. He had military-level discipline and drive and an amazing knack for leading the school to win everything. He only asked that we have a good attitude and give it our all. I achieved nothing with sports, literally zip, but I learned a lot about myself and gained a ton of resilience.”
As a person, JB says he’s always chosen the bumpy, less-travelled road. The reward comes from facing and overcoming challenges.
“I tossed in my General Manager role at ANZ (and banking career) at the age of 34 with two infant children. I’m often asked why because, on most measures, it was nuts! It was ultimately because I wanted to play a bigger game, requiring a healthy dose of naivety, confidence, and faith.
“When you’re starting your own business, it’s all-consuming. There is no separation between work and home. It’s a huge sacrifice. Our daughters lived and breathed Squirrel from the moment they could talk. My proudest and possibly happiest moment was having both girls working in Squirrel at the same time briefly last year and experiencing what we have toiled for over the past 17 years. Our Squirrel tribe is also a family.”
JB says that so many of his teachers at SPC had an impact on him. “As a student, I was lucky enough to still have Marist Fathers and Brothers living and teaching at the school. They were so generous with their time and committed. I was also in the same year group as Mike Savali, so it rubbed off on Mike in a big way.
“So much of my character, if not forged by St Pat's, was certainly refined by my time there. It is that sense of purpose and values that ultimately led to Squirrel.”