Honorary Colonel 1st Armoured Regiment
Patron 1st Armoured Regiment Association

Patron Royal Australian Armoured Corps Association (Vic)
 

Ted Acutt graduated from the Royal Military College in 1981 into the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and to the 1st Armoured Regiment. He served in this unit on four occasions including as Tank Troop leader, Recon Troop Leader, Regimental Technical Adjutant, Squadron Commander and Commanding Officer.  He commanded the unit in 1999–2000. He also served in 2/14 LH QMI.  His other major area of service is in materiel procurement, particularly in the management of armoured vehicle programs. At different times he was responsible for the tank, M113, ASLAV and Bushranger projects and fleets. As Director, he was the lead negotiator for the Bushranger contract and the successful delivery of the initial vehicles.  His operational service includes command of the Australian Contingent on the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) Peacekeeping Mission in the Sinai, and for the first six months of 2004, he deployed to Iraq as the Deputy Chief of Staff on the Coalition Headquarters. He was awarded the US Bronze Star for his role during this period.  He left Defence in 2007 and went on to a successful commercial career as a partner in the financial firm of KPMG.  Much of this work was Defence related. 

​

Experience

Ted’s significant Defence experience includes:

Deputy Chief of Staff Multinational Force and Observers – Sinai 2001.

Deputy Chief of Staff Multi-National Force – Iraq 2004.

Commander Defence Network Support Agency (Part of Defence’s Chief Information Officer Group (CIOG) which included being the Strategic J6 for the ADF during the Timor crisis in 2006. 

Responsible for the establishment of the Strategic and Operational communications links between the ADF and Dutch Forces for the Afghanistan deployment. 

Fellow of the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies – Thesis on the Defence/Industry Interface - 2005.

Commanding Officer of 1st Armoured Regiment 1999-2000.  

 

 

KPMG

Ted joined KPMG on leaving the Army in 2007.  He quickly rose through the firm to be senior partner up until his retirement in 2019.  Some his responsibilities included:

 

KPMG Major Project Board (MPB).  Internally within KPMG there is a comprehensive risk management processes.  All major engagements need to go before the MPB.  Ted was the Subject Matter Expert for project management on this board.  This board was the direct advisor to CEO and membership included many from the National Executive. 

 

Head of Solutions. Ted’s other internal role within KPMG was Head of Solutions where he was responsible for the development of multi-service based solutions for substantial issues faced by clients.  For example, he oversaw the development of a customer/financial solution for disability care providers in response to the implications caused through the establishment of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.     

 

Client Support Roles.  Ted has had over a decade in support of clients, mainly Defence, but also Federal and State Government Departments as well as large commercial companies.  Some examples include:

 

Defence Reserves Support Council DRSC).  In 2018, Ted led a small team to review the DRSC.  While ensuring the client aims and requirements where achieved by the team, his main role was senior stakeholder engagement. 

 

Defence – Chief Information Officer Group (CIOG).   Ted led a multi-discipline team over a period of six years commencing in 2010 to support Defence’s major IT reform projects.  This included the Data Centre Migration, Next Generation Desktop (NGD), Single Information Environment – Secret, Stand Alone Network Reform and Infrastructure Transformation Programs.   

 

Department of Justice (DoJ) – Emergency Management White Paper.  In the period July and August 2012, Ted led the team that assisted the Victorian DoJ in a series of facilitations in relation to the EM White Paper.  The aim was to assist in the design of Emergency Management Victoria, an organisation to be established to best meet the challenges and risks facing the state.   

 

Qualifications

• Master of Arts (Strategic Studies), Deakin University;

• Master of Management Studies (Project Management), UNSW;

• Graduate Diploma Defence Studies, Deakin University;

• Graduate Diploma Armoured Vehicles, Cranfield Institute of Technology (UK);

• Bachelor of Science, UNSW;

• Certificate IV Government Procurement and Contracting;

• Rose and Barton Contract Negotiation Course;

• Prince 2 Practitioner; and

• Attended Harvard Business School – Leading Global Businesses.