Ms Helene Quilter, of Wellington, QSO for services to the State
Helene Quilter was appointed Secretary of Defence and Chief Executive of the Ministry of Defence in 2012. Prior to this, she was Deputy Commissioner at the State Services Commission. She produced the Ministry of Social Development’s first five-year strategic plan and implemented new reporting systems to facilitate more effective governance and risk assessment. She led the Central Agency team responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Defence White Paper 2010 and worked with the justice sector on the Better Public Services Justice Sector Results Action Plan. As Secretary of Defence, she led the Defence White Paper and Capability Plan 2016 and the Strategic Defence Policy Statement 2018. Ms Quilter has, with the Chief of Defence Force, led comprehensive reform of the Defence capability management system.