The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s program of transformation work has continued with key appointments to its senior executive leadership team.
Regulation and Supervision
Following an international search, ASIC Chair Joe Longo has announced the appointment of Peter Soros as Executive Director Regulation and Supervision.
Mr Soros will join ASIC from the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), Australia’s financial intelligence and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulator. He will commence in November.
Mr Soros currently holds the position of Deputy CEO Regulation, a position he has held for six years. Last year, he was also Acting CEO for an eight-month period.
Enforcement and Compliance
Mr Longo also announced the appointment of Chris Savundra to the role of Executive Director Enforcement and Compliance, effective 28 October 2024.
Mr Savundra will bring significant litigation experience to the role from his time with ASIC including some of ASIC’s most significant and complex matters such as the Bank Bill Swap Rate litigation.
Recruitment for Mr Savundra’s current position of ASIC General Counsel and Executive Director Legal Services is underway.
Transformation work
Mr Longo said the executive changes continued ASIC’s transformation following the agency’s largest organisational redesign in 15 years.
This included the appointment of three new Commissioners in 2023, and the appointments this year of new executives including Diana Steicke as Executive Director Registry and Intelligence, Joanne Harper as Executive Director Data, Digital and Technology, and Annie Reeves as Chief People and Culture Transformation Officer.
Mr Longo said following announcements in April about Warren Day’s secondment to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, a global search for a new permanent CEO would also commence shortly.
‘We continue to change and evolve so we can ensure ASIC is an ambitious, confident and modern regulator,’ Mr Longo said.
‘I would like to congratulate Peter and Chris on their appointments. The talent and experience they bring to those roles will be invaluable.
‘The cumulative effect of these changes will help ensure ASIC is set up to meet the challenges and opportunities the agency faces.
'The work we have undertaken on ASIC’s transformation is delivering positive results for Australians, and we acknowledge that there are opportunities to continue that improvement.
‘I am excited by the agency’s future and I am committed to the renewal and culture transformation that we are undergoing.’
Biographies
Peter Soros is currently Deputy CEO Regulation AUSTRAC, responsible for its regulatory and compliance operations. In this role he also has responsibility for AUSTRAC’s legal, policy and communication functions.
Peter has more than 20 years of financial intelligence, regulation, and compliance experience, and has previously held the position of Chief of Staff in the ministerial portfolios of Human Services and of Justice. Peter holds a Bachelor of Business Studies degree.
Chris Savundra will be the Executive Director of ASIC’s Enforcement and Compliance group. In this role, Chris will oversee the leadership, management and strategic direction of ASIC’s enforcement and compliance response to misconduct across all sectors we regulate, except markets.
Chris has more than 25 years of legal, regulatory and enforcement experience and before joining ASIC worked in the litigation group of Allens Arthur Robinson (now Allens) in Perth and Herbert Smith in London. Chris holds law degrees from the University of Oxford and the University of Western Australia. He also holds a Bachelor of Commerce.