When Lieutenant General Tim Keating took up the position of Chief of Defence Force in January 2014, having been Vice Chief of the Defence since late 2012, his focus was firmly on the Defence Force’s raison d’etre: the delivery of frontline military capabilities to ensure Government is provided the response options it requires to safeguard national security.
He began implementing a significant reform agenda aimed at lifting the organisational performance of the Defence Force and improving its contribution to the wider security sector. Fixing on a single plan for the NZDF and a new excellence horizon built around the year 2020 with the goal of ‘enhancing combat capability’, Lieutenant General Keating initiated work-streams to deliver stronger leadership, better governance, and improved management; greater partnering with other agencies and other militaries; and ensuring the Defence Force has the people and talent it needs, while also better supporting military families.
By demonstrating to Government that the Defence Force had a thorough handle on its processes, with improved understanding of the true through-life costs of all inputs, the NZDF under Lieutenant General Keating’s stewardship improved the levels of confidence in it within Government and the wider security sector. Government confirmed its faith in Defence’s ability to deliver by signalling a 15-year $20 billion asset replacement programme – new ships, aircraft, investment in estate, and new capabilities like cyber – delivering modern, combat-focussed capabilities, with the right people to operate them.
Lieutenant General Keating’s personal leadership philosophy is focused on the leader as a servant – a framework that he has developed over his career since first enlisting into the New Zealand Army in January 1982 as an Officer Cadet, and further honed through practical experiences. These include operational deployments as Commanding Officer of the New Zealand Contingent Multinational Force, Sinai; and to Afghanistan, where he was a Task Group Commander. Lieutenant General Keating has also been Commanding Officer 1st New Zealand Special Air Service, as well as serving as Commandant of the Army’s Officer Cadet School.
Lieutenant General Keating retired from the Defence Force in 2018 and became the Chief Executive of New Zealand Health Partnerships Ltd. He joined Kearney in December 2019 as a Senior Advisor in the Dubai based consultancy practice.