Brigadier Esther Harrop, MNZM

Brigadier Esther Harrop is a senior New Zealand Army officer with 30 years of leadership, strategy, logistics, and international engagement experience. She has commanded at all levels of the NZDF and deployed to Bougainville and South Sudan, earning appointment as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in 1999.

She holds degrees in Commerce, Human Resource Management, Logistics Management, and National Resource Strategy from institutions in New Zealand and the U.S.

A governance expert, she has served on the NZ Army Leadership Board and other senior defence bodies. In June 2024, she graduated from the Eisenhower School, earning the Ambassadors Award for excellence in scholarship and Partnership Building. Promoted to Brigadier in November 2024, she now leads Information Command, overseeing cyber, digital, data, IT, information warfare, and emerging technologies for the NZDF.

Esther is married to Stephen and has four sons. She enjoys music, reading, and sports.