Richard is an Otago graduate who completed surgical training in the UK, and a period of fulltime research in the US, before joining The University Department of Surgery in Wellington in 1986.

In 1991 he established the Wakefield Gastroenterology Centre in Wellington, which became a referral centre for both the medical and surgical management of Gastrointestinal diseases. There he developed a busy career encompassing clinical practice as an upper GI and hepatobiliary surgeon, clinical research, and basic science research. His own particular interests revolved around the treatment of liver tumours, bariatric surgery and diabetes. 

In 2008 he was appointed to an Adjunct Professor position within the University of Otago in recognition of his professional standing and the importance of his research program. He has since reduced his clinical workload in order to devote more time to the clinical trials industry in NZ, through the position he took up in 2010, as Managing Director of P3 Research Ltd.