With the pending retirement of Keith Manch at the end of this year, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Board is pleased to announce the appointment of the next Director of Civil Aviation and Chief Executive.
This follows a thorough six-month international search through recruitment agency Hobson Leavy.
Board Chair Mark Darrow commented, “We acknowledge this is a critical role at an important time for the CAA. Interest has been extremely high, and we were really impressed with the calibre of people we interviewed, both in New Zealand and internationally.”
“We are delighted to announce that Keith’s successor will be Wellington-based Kane Patena. Kane (Ngāti Haua) has significant regulatory experience as the previous Director of Land Transport and Deputy Chief Executive at WorkSafe. His regulatory work with NZTA in particular, has earned him an enviable reputation for delivering quality outcomes in difficult circumstances.”
Kane is expected to take up the role from 1 September 2025, as Keith nears the end of his five-year term. This allows time for a suitable handover and for Keith to provide continuity for key work programmes and upcoming engagements, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) General Assembly.
“This is a busy time for the aviation industry, so having a seamless transition and a suitable handover is important.”
The announcement will see Kane working alongside existing members of the Executive Leadership Team, as well as Catherine MacGowan and Fred Stein who were recently appointed.
“With Kane’s regulatory experience in the transport and health and safety sectors, and the depth of Catherine and Fred’s aviation safety and security knowledge, I’m confident we will continue to have a strong executive team to lead CAA forward.”
Darrow added, “CAA is in good heart and well positioned to continue supporting the aviation sector.
"We recently completed an organisation-wide reset aligned to new legislation, to support our operation as a modern aviation safety and security regulator and respond to increasing demands and expectations from aviation participants. This includes new areas such as aerospace and international flights from additional airports.
"We are also seeing tangible improvements in areas of focus such as airport security queues, certification wait-times, cost-base improvements, and industry and staff engagement. We have more work to do, but we are up for the challenge.
"The new Director appointment will add further impetus to that effort at a perfect time.
"Our thanks to Keith for his direction and diligent work at CAA. As he reaches the end of his term, we will acknowledge him and his 50-year public service career.”
Kane brings a depth of regulatory leadership experience and over a decade in executive leadership roles in NZ’s public service.
Kane spent his formative years in law as a Crown Prosecutor and regulatory specialist advising central and local government agencies. Kane was appointed Partner at Meredith Connell and established their Wellington office in 2014. He went on to hold various executive leadership roles with Wellington City Council where he oversaw the strategy and governance functions.
Kane then joined Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency as GM Regulatory Services, overseeing the regulatory teams responsible for monitoring NZ’s land transport sector – including rail safety, commercial transport, driver licensing, vehicle standards and road-user behaviour. With Waka Kotahi he also held the statutory appointment of Director of Land Transport. In this role Kane was accountable to Waka Kotahi’s Board of Directors and to the Minister for Transport, with a national responsibility under the Land Transport Act 1998. Kane successfully led a strategic re-set of Waka Kotahi NZTA’s regulatory functions, after an independent review found significant gaps in their regulatory performance.
Most recently, Kane has been with Crown agency and workplace health and safety regulator, WorkSafe New Zealand, as Deputy Chief Executive. Leading a team of ~500, he has been responsible for leading a strategic re-set and maintaining the delivery of regulatory products and services across New Zealand to influence safe behaviour at work.
