Erich Bachmann is a Milford resident, New Zealand’s honorary consul for Germany in Auckland, patron of the Auckland Goethe Society, and managing partner at Hesketh Henry, one of the major and long-term sponsors of NZ Sculpture OnShore, which takes place this month. In July this year he received the Verdienstkreuz am Bande (Order of Merit) of the Federal Republic of Germany from the German ambassador.
Erich emigrated to New Zealand with his parents when he was 15, and has lived on the Shore for 35 years. He attended Auckland Grammar, went on to Auckland University where he completed a law degree and worked at two other large firms in Auckland before joining Hesketh Henry.
“I am a commercial lawyer dealing primarily with business transactions and commercial contracts,” he says modestly. (He’s listed among the best corporate lawyers in the country on the Best Lawyers website, with listings based on nomination and peer review). “However, I get a wide variety of work and enjoy working with others in the office to look after clients and get the job done. The firm covers most areas of the law, so I am able to pass work on to experts in other parts of the firm including construction, instance, commercial property, leasing, private wealth and others.
“I particularly enjoy doing mergers and acquisitions transactions which involve either sellers or buyers of businesses. Often this involves acting for international clients or local clients who deal with foreign buyers. It’s always interesting to deal with people from different countries, time zones and customs and work out practical outcomes for clients. For example, I have just finished acting for a German business owner in the sale of 100% of his company in Germany (Neuseeland Haus) to Manuka Health NZ. Our team at Hesketh Henry worked closely with a major German law firm to complete the deal at the end of September. I was over in Germany for the completion of the deal.
“Another example was acting for a German company in the purchase of a majority shareholding in Vehicle Testing NZ (VTNZ). The final negotiations on that deal were done in Singapore which is sort of half way between New Zealand and Germany.
“There is also a North Shore example. I was Sovereign Assurance’s legal adviser from its establishment in on the early 1990s until its takeover by a bank [ASB] 10 years later. It was a very exciting decade being involved right from the start when Chris Coon and Ian Hendry founded the company in Anzac Ave, through to Hurstmere Road and spectacular growth from zero to a leading life insurance company in New Zealand in just over 10 years.”
Erich speaks German [and, we understand, Spanish] fluently and as a result has developed extensive connections with Germany and a close interest in trade relations between New Zealand and Germany.
“I am on the Board of the German New Zealand Chamber of Commerce (GNZCC) and was the President of the Chamber from 2000 to 2016. The absolute highlight in that role was the opportunity to meet German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel when she visited Auckland three years ago, participating in a round table business discussion and hosting her at a reception at the Auckland Art Gallery. I was also involved in the visit of the German President Mr Steinmeier to New Zealand in November last year. Each of these occasions included being part of the reception group on the tarmac at Auckland Airport followed by the fastest rides into the city in the motorcade.”
“I am also a member of the Hesketh Henry board,” he adds. “The firm is of a reasonably significant size with around 85 people working there. It was founded in 1865 and has been part of the Auckland business scene for a long time. It is a great privilege to be able to serve the firm in a leadership role.
“Hesketh Henry is a major sponsor of NZ Sculpture OnShore which is held every two years at Fort Takapuna. We have been doing this since its start at the Becroft residence at Lake Pupuke about 20 years ago. It is now the largest exhibition of outdoor sculptures in NZ and raises significant funds for the NZ Women’s Refuges organisation. I’m pleased to have been able to play a role in the firm’s involvement with this event by putting forward the original proposal and as a board member of NZ Sculpture Onshore Limited.”
“I am also the local director of a number of foreign-owned private companies and was the Chairman of The Lawlink Group which is an association of 17 leading independent law firms throughout New Zealand. More recently I became the Deputy Dean of the Auckland Consular Corps. There are around 65 Consulates in Auckland.”
In his role as Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in Auckland, Erich reports to the German Embassy in Wellington. “My area covers the top half of the North Island. I took on the role in 2007 at the Embassy’s request. There is an approval process including authorisation from the New Zealand government. Honorary means you don’t get paid and your expenses are supposed to be covered by the fees which the office is allowed to charge its customers. We process passport applications, signature verifications, document verifications and a variety of other matters.
“We also issue temporary travel papers for German nationals who have been unfortunate enough to have been robbed, which does happen relatively frequently. I employ someone more or less full time to look after Consulate customers on a daily basis. We see several thousand customers each year. So, we are probably one of the busier Honorary Consular offices in Auckland. Apart from overseeing Consular operations, I also attend quite a few official ceremonies such as Anzac Day and Armistice Day, look after visiting dignitaries and attend all kinds of functions. It’s a great opportunity to meet all sorts of interesting people including political figures and business people.
“I was extremely honoured to receive the Verdienstkreuz am Bande (which is the Order of Merit) of the Federal Republic of Germany. Obviously I would not have received this recognition but for my voluntary work as Honorary Consul and my long term involvement in the promotion of the trading relationship between New Zealand and Germany via the GNZCC.”
He is keen to pay tribute to his loved ones, as a key factor in his achievement. "I am very grateful for the tremendous support I’ve received from my wife Alix and our sons, Matthias and Stefan. They have been extremely understanding about the demands on my time from all these roles. I am really fortunate to have have had their ongoing backing throughout this time."
Amongst his ferocious workload, Erich manages to find time to enjoy “movies, going out for dinner, travel, the gym, walking the dog, spending a few days at our bach in Ruakaka, and watching sports, particularly soccer which I used to play (including indoor football at the North Shore YMCA)”.
Erich also celebrates the North Shore outdoors – the beaches (particularly Milford and Takapuna), North Head and Mt Victoria – and makes the most of the Bridgeway and Berkley cinemas. Other amenities he particularly admires on the Shore include the Northern Busway, which he says is “excellent (up until recently but will no doubt regain its former glory after the recent changes are bedded down)”. As for food – he notes there’s an abundance of choice but highlights “Madam Woo and Tok Tok restaurants, ice cream at Takapuna beach cafe, Swiss Patisserie in Milford, Bread & Butter in Milford, Diehl’s Bakery in Glenfield, Seaview Butchery and others”.
