Following a career in merchant and investment banking, Sir John and others established Bancorp in 1987, a group of companies of which he is Non-Executive Chair. He is currently the Chair of a number of other companies, particularly in the financial services and sport sectors.

In 1999 Sir John chaired the National Co-ordinating Committee reviewing the delivery of high-performance sport on a New Zealand-wide basis, which resulted in the formation of The New Zealand Academy of Sport. Sir John also led the transformation of the Hillary Commission to SPARC, the Crown Entity for Sport and Physical Recreation. He was appointed the Chair, a position he held for nine years until 2009.

Sir John was a member of the Rugby World Cup Bid Committee that was successful in gaining the hosting rights for the 2011 RWC. He was then appointed a director of the RWC 2011 Establishment Board and later became a Government appointee to the Board of Rugby NZ 2011 Ltd. Sir John has chaired a number of other major sporting events, and is presently Chair of the World Masters Games 2017 Ltd.

He is also Chair of a number of commercial entities including Auckland Council Property Ltd, CBL Insurance, Fisher Funds Management, and Sheffield North Island, and he is an Advisory Board member of Marsh.

Sir John was awarded a Distinguished Companion of The New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM) for his services to business and sport in The New Year Honours 2009, and was subsequently invested with a Knighthood. At the 2013 Halberg Awards he was presented the Annual Sport New Zealand Leadership Award.

https://www.martinjenkins.co.nz/about-us/board/sir-john-wells/