Bruce Ullrich | |
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 Ullrich in 2007 | |
| Born | Noel Bruce Ullrich (1938-06-23)23 June 1938 (age 87) New Plymouth, New Zealand |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
Noel Bruce UllrichOBE (born 23 June 1938) is a New Zealand accountant andsports administrator.
Ullrich was born on 23 June 1938 inNew Plymouth, to August and Daisy Winifred Ullrich (née McMeekan). He started his education at Westend Primary School in New Plymouth before continuing atShirley Primary School inChristchurch. He then attended Shirley Intermediate andChristchurch Boys' High School.[1]
In March 1961, Ullrich's engagement to Jeannette Axelsen was announced,[2] and the couple married the following year.[3] They went on to have two sons and one daughter.[1]
In March 1962, Ullrich became an Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) of theNew Zealand Society of Accountants.[4] He graduated with aBachelor of Commerce from theUniversity of Canterbury in 1965.[1] While a student at Canterbury, he served as treasurer of theUniversity of Canterbury Students' Association in 1961 and president in 1962.[3][5] A versatile sportsman, he represented the university atrugby union,squash, tennis, andcricket.[3]
Ullrich was a partner at Morris Pattrick & Co, which is today part ofKPMG, from 1962 to 1974. He then set up his own business consultancy.[1] In 1992, Ullrich completed aMaster of Business Administration degree atMassey University.[3]
Ullrich has gained prominence through sports administration. He was vice-chairman of the organising committee for the1974 British Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch. He was team manager of theNew Zealand team at the1982 and1986 Commonwealth Games, and thechef de mission for theNew Zealand team at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[6] He also served as vice-president of theNew Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association.[3]
In the1987 New Year Honours, Ullrich was appointed Officer of theOrder of the British Empire (OBE), for services to sport.[7]
Ullrich has tried for many years to bring theWinter Olympic Games to New Zealand,[8] and chaired the promotion committee for a bid in 2002.[3]
From 1970 to 1990, Ullrich was a member of the council of the University of Canterbury, and between 1971 and 1981 he was the council's representative on the Christchurch Boys' High School board of governors.[3] In 2007, he was elected by theCourt of Convocation to the council of Massey University, and served in that role for nine years.[9][10]
Ullrich's wife, Jeannette, died in 2020.[11] In November 2023, he published his autobiography that he calledMy Arena.[12]