Theirs was an unlikely combination. Bruce Sanderson was a lawyer; Graeme Bringans was a property developer with a very high profile. In their respective careers, they would encounter each other – but did not always see eye to eye.
“While it started as a memorial to an individual, it has grown to something way beyond that. It remains a highly worthwhile project.”
Eventually, however, there was a meeting of great minds. Graeme – a charismatic and larger-than-life character – was seconded to Fletcher Challenge in Auckland, and became chief executive of Challenge Properties.
“I was doing a lot of work for Fletchers, and we got on very well,” says the former partner of Bell Gully.
Then came Graeme’s sudden death – “an enormous shock”, says Bruce. Soon after, he was approached by Graeme’s widow, Binty Bringans, and asked if he would be a foundation trustee of her husband’s eponymous trust. “I was very happy to join in. It was promoting property education as a discipline in itself – and before that, there was no overall qualification.” For Bell Gully, association with the property development and real estate trust had a key relevance, says Bruce. “The value for the legal fraternity lay in the connections made and general industry relationships.” And it worked both ways. “It was a promotional way of getting quality people in as interns, which was very successful for property firms. It also offered a connection to a whole range of people who are clients or potential clients.”
Bell Gully has always committed itself to the provision of pro bono work for charitable organisations; Keystone has been an enduring recipient. In the beginning, the goal was to raise $1 million in capital funds, but – largely in part thanks to Binty Bringans and fellow founding trustee Paul Duffy – it only took a couple of years to reach that goal.
Although he may never have envisaged the trust would grow to the size it now is, and despite its name change, Keystone still holds entirely to its original ethos, says Bruce. He spent 10 years as a trustee, during which time his association also included becoming involved in student interviews, some of which were conducted at Bell Gully’s previous headquarters in Shortland St. (Some of those applicants would later return to the premises as employees, having earned a scholarship and completed a law degree. By Bruce’s description: “these kids were pretty impressive.”)
Bruce and Bell Gully also recognised the importance and value of the mentoring scheme that came with each scholarship. There was never any question that after he left, the sponsorship would not continue – first through then-partner Mark Crosbie and now partner Andrew Petersen.
Keystone filled a need – no question about it, says Bruce. “While it started as a memorial to an individual, it has grown to something way beyond that. It remains a highly worthwhile project.”
