John Key

John Key transitioned from a successful career in foreign exchange to become the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, serving for eight years and overseeing periods of economic change and national recovery. After a distinguished 20-year career in global finance, which culminated in his role as global head of foreign exchange at Merrill Lynch for six years, John Key transitioned into politics to become the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, serving for eight years and overseeing periods of significant economic change and national recovery. Key earned a Bachelor of Commerce in accounting from the University of Canterbury in 1981, beginning his career as an auditor at McCulloch Menzies in 1982 and quickly advancing in foreign exchange to become head foreign exchange trader at Elders Finance in Wellington before joining Bankers Trust in Auckland in 1988. In 1995, Key moved to Merrill Lynch, first as head of Asian foreign exchange in Singapore, then promoted to global head of foreign exchange, based in London, later that year.

Further expanding his global corporate impact, Key joined the board of the American cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks in 2019.