ASIC senior leadership

Commission

Chair and Accountable Authority

Joseph Longo

Joseph Longo commenced as ASIC Chair on 1 June 2021.

He has more than 38 years’ experience in corporate law, financial services, governance and regulation in Australia and overseas.

Most recently, he was a senior adviser at Herbert Smith Freehills, specialising in regulatory matters, enforcement, commercial law and internal legal matters. Earlier in his career, Joseph was a partner at Parker and Parker (now Herbert Smith Freehills).

Joseph was the general counsel for Deutsche Bank in London and Hong Kong for 17 years, advising on a range of regulatory issues, governance, infrastructure and non-financial risk.

Earlier, Joseph was the national director of enforcement at ASIC for five years, responsible for the coordination and direction of all enforcement and litigation activities.

He has experience navigating multi-jurisdictional investigations and enforcement activity across financial services.

He holds a Bachelor of Jurisprudence (Hons) and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Western Australia and a Master of Laws from Yale Law School.

Deputy Chair

Sarah Court

Sarah commenced as an ASIC Deputy Chair on 1 June 2021.

Prior to joining ASIC, Sarah was a Commissioner at the ACCC for three terms from May 2018 to May 2021. At the ACCC Sarah led the Commission’s enforcement and investigation work, and contributed extensively to strategic priority setting, statutory decision-making and leadership across the agency on a range of complex economy-wide legal and economic issues.

Prior to her time at the ACCC Sarah was a Senior Executive Lawyer and Director at the Australian Government Solicitor where she led national teams in government litigation including restrictive trade practices, competition and consumer law, administrative law, employment law and law enforcement litigation.

Sarah has held board positions with the Law School and Centre for Regulation and Market Analysis at the University of South Australia.

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts (Jurisprudence) and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Adelaide, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Appointment as Deputy Chair, Treasurer’s media release, 29 April 2021.

Deputy Chair

Karen Chester BEc (Hons)

Karen Chester is ASIC Deputy Chair having been appointed in January 2019. Karen chairs the Commission Regulatory Committee and the Commission Risk Committee, and also represents ASIC on the Council of Financial Regulators.

Before joining ASIC, Karen was the Deputy Chair of the Productivity Commission having joined as a Commissioner in 2013. Karen presided on over 10 inquiries and reports, including on superannuation, retirement and housing decisions of older Australians, natural disaster funding, intellectual property and overcoming indigenous disadvantage.

Previously, Karen was a Partner and Global Head of Infrastructure at Mercer. Before joining Mercer, Karen was a Partner at Access Capital Advisers and the CEO of Access Economics. Karen has held directorships on infrastructure company boards.

Before moving to the private sector, Karen held senior economic policy roles in the Australian Treasury and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Karen has a first-class honours degree in Economics from the University of Queensland, was awarded an honorary doctorate in Economics by the University in 2017 and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Karen is a member of Chief Executive Women.

Commissioner

Simone Constant

Simone commenced as an ASIC Commissioner for a five-year term on 20 November 2023.

She has more than 23 years’ experience in financial services, markets, legal services and risk management.

Most recently, Simone was the Chief Risk Officer (CRO), Institutional Bank and Markets at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Simone has also held CRO roles at the National Australia Bank in the corporate, institutional and consumer banks.

She held senior NSW Government positions with the NSW Departments of Education, Treasury and Finance, where she specialised in risk management.

Simone has also held senior roles in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom at multinational investment, capital management and law firms.

She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Law from the University of Sydney.

Appointment as Commissioner, Treasurer’s media release, 25 August 2023.

Commissioner

Alan Kirkland

Alan commenced as an ASIC Commissioner for a five-year term on 20 November 2023.

He has more than 20 years’ experience in consumer protection, social services, law reform and justice in the public and not-for-profit sectors.

Most recently, Alan was the CEO at CHOICE where he represented the interests of Australian consumers for more than 11 years.

Earlier, Alan was the Executive Director of the Australian Law Reform Commission, the CEO of Legal Aid New South Wales, Chair of the National Legal Assistance Advisory Body, and Executive Director of the NSW Council of Social Service.

From 2016 to 2017, Alan was a member of the panel for the Ramsay Review, which led to the establishment of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and Compensation Scheme of Last Resort.

He holds degrees in Arts and Law from the University of NSW, an Executive MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Appointment as Commissioner, Treasurer’s media release, 25 August 2023.

Commissioner

Kate O’Rourke

Kate commenced as an ASIC Commissioner for a five-year term on 11 September 2023.

She has more than 25 years’ experience in law and regulation across financial services, markets, and corporations.

Kate joined ASIC from Treasury, where she held senior leadership positions with responsibility for data and digital economic reforms, COVID economic policy responses, small business policy and regulatory frameworks governing market conduct.

Kate previously held senior executive roles at ASIC with responsibility for corporate transactions and governance, and practised in the Sydney and New York offices of the law firm Sullivan and Cromwell.

She holds Bachelor’s degrees in Economics (Social Science) and Law from the University of Sydney, a Master of Laws from the New York University School of Law, and an Executive Master of Public Administration from the University of New South Wales.

Appointment as Commissioner, Treasurer’s media release, 25 August 2023.

Office of the Commission

CEO group

Internal Audit

Vacant

Chief Risk Officer

Zack Gurdon

As Chief Risk Officer, Zack is responsible for ASIC’s enterprise risk management and compliance frameworks, integrity and fraud management program (including Speak Up), protective security and business resilience arrangements. Most recently, Zack was General Manager, Group Risk, Compliance and Resilience with NBN. Prior to this he spent 12 years with Telstra in a range of senior risk and security leadership roles. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and a Master of Security Management. He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Regulation and Supervision

Senior Executive Leader, Superannuation and Life Insurance

Jane Eccleston

Jane leads ASIC’s Superannuation and Life Insurance team within ASIC’s Regulation and Supervision group. She oversees ASIC’s regulatory work associated with the life insurance and superannuation industries.

Jane’s previous role at ASIC was Senior Executive Leader, Superannuation. Her many years of regulatory experience includes senior roles overseeing superannuation, funds management, mergers and acquisitions, fundraising, corporate governance and supervising the ASX and other licensed financial markets. Before joining ASIC, Jane was a lawyer in private and corporate practice. She holds honours degrees in Law and Psychology from the University of Sydney.

Senior Executive Leader, Credit, Banking and General Insurance

Nathan Bourne

Nathan leads ASIC’s Credit, Banking and General Insurance team, which is within ASIC’s Regulation and Supervision group. Nathan’s team has primary responsibility for the supervision of general insurance providers, retail banking, credit intermediaries (including mortgage brokers), consumer and small business credit, and electronic payments. He also oversees ASIC’s Indigenous Outreach Program.

Previously, Nathan was ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader for Market Infrastructure and he also held senior roles in the Market Supervision team.

He has more than 20 years’ experience in financial markets, regulation and public policy. Most recently, Nathan was the Director of Wholesale Compliance at the National Australia Bank. He has also held roles at the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian Treasury, the UK Financial Conduct Authority and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities in London. Nathan holds a Bachelor of Economics (Honours) and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment.

Senior Executive Leader, Financial Advice and Investment Management

Leah Sciacca

Leah leads ASIC’s Financial Advice and Investment Management team within the Regulation and Supervision group. The team oversees the regulatory work associated with financial advisers, advice licensees, managed investment schemes, wholesale funds, platforms and managed discretionary accounts. Prior to this role, Leah was ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader, Financial Advisers.

Leah has more than 13 years of regulatory experience and has worked on significant policy and enforcement initiatives. Leah is focused on improving access to good quality affordable advice and working to address conduct in the advice and investment management sectors that leads to poor consumer outcomes. Prior to joining ASIC, Leah was a practising financial adviser for over 10 years, representing several Australian financial services licensees and providing personal advice to retail clients. Leah holds a degree in Business from the Queensland University of Technology as well as a Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance.

Senior Executive Leader, Companies and Small Business

Claire LaBouchardiere

Claire leads the Companies and Small Business team within ASIC’s Regulation and Supervision group. She is responsible for the regulation and supervision of companies and small business, with a focus on corporate governance and disclosure, financial reporting and audit quality, conduct of registered liquidators, and engagement with the small business sector. Claire is also responsible for leading ASIC’s work in relation to sustainable finance.

Claire’s previous role at ASIC was Senior Executive Leader, Corporations. Before working at ASIC, she was a solicitor with Gilbert and Tobin, working in the mergers and acquisitions area. Claire has more than 20 years’ experience in corporate law and regulation, and holds a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney, and a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Sydney.

Senior Executive Specialist, Companies and Small Business

Thea Eszenyi

Thea is a regulator with deep experience in insolvency and restructuring. She is responsible for strategic and technical oversight of ASIC’s regulation of liquidators and auditors through risk-based surveillance and compliance projects, and for contributions to ASIC’s policy and law reform responses.

Prior to working at ASIC, Thea held senior positions in a multidisciplinary accounting practice and a specialist insolvency and restructuring firm, with broad experience across international, national and SME markets. Her previous roles at ASIC were in leading ASIC’s Registered Liquidators and Financial Reporting and Audit teams.

Thea is a registered liquidator, and a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (and was formerly their Regional Councillor and Chairperson for SA and NT), and a Fellow of the Australian Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association.

Senior Executive Leader, Strategic Surveillance and Data

Suneeta Sidhu

Suneeta leads ASIC's Strategic Surveillance and Data team within the Regulation and Supervision group. She is responsible for running complex and cross sectoral surveillances and leading and implementing the data strategy for the Regulation and Supervision group. Suneeta’s previous role at ASIC was Chief Supervisory Officer, Institutional Supervision (formerly known as the Close and Continuous Monitoring team), where she oversaw ASIC’s institution-wide supervision of financial services organisations with the greatest potential impact on consumers.

Suneeta has more than 25 years of legal and regulatory experience including senior roles at ASIC overseeing corporate governance, fundraising and mergers and acquisitions. She has previously held the role of Senior Executive Leader of the Governance team. Before joining ASIC, Suneeta worked in the corporate teams of Gilbert and Tobin, and Sly and Weigall (now Norton Rose Fulbright). She has also worked as in-house legal counsel at Westpac Banking Corporation. Suneeta holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Sydney.

Senior Executive Leader, Regulatory Reform and Implementation

Kate Metz

Kate leads ASIC’s Regulatory Reform and Implementation team, which is within ASIC’s Regulation and Supervision group.

Kate was previously ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader, Investment Managers, where she oversaw the regulatory work associated with managed investment schemes, wholesale funds, platforms and managed discretionary accounts.

Kate has more than 20 years of regulatory experience and has worked on significant policy and enforcement initiatives. Prior to this, she was Senior Executive Leader of ASIC’s Financial Advisers team, which regulates Australia’s multi-billion-dollar financial advice industry. During this time, Kate oversaw a number of key projects including unmet advice needs, life insurance advice, advice provided by superannuation funds and advice to set up self-managed superannuation funds. Before joining ASIC, Kate worked as a solicitor in private legal practice, specialising in corporate finance. She has honours degrees in Law and Arts from the University of Melbourne.

Senior Executive Leader, Licensing

Peng Lee

Peng leads ASIC’s Licensing team within the Regulation and Supervision group. The Licensing team has primary responsibility for the assessment of applications relating to financial services licences, credit licences and auditors, and ensuring that only those that meet the statutory requirements are granted a licence. Peng was previously the Senior Manager of Licensing at ASIC and has also held senior roles in ASIC’s applications and advice and Corporations teams.

Before joining ASIC, Peng worked in a number of legal roles including at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and Mallesons Stephen Jaques. Peng holds a Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Economics (Hons) and a Master of Law and Management.

Markets

Senior Executive Leader, Market Supervision

Dr Rhys Bollen

Rhys leads ASIC’s Market Supervision team within the Markets group. He is responsible for the oversight of investment banks, market participants and issuers of complex retail products for monitoring trading activities across Australia’s equities, futures, and over-the-counter markets.

Rhys manages the sub-teams: Equity Surveillance, Derivative Surveillance and Market Conduct – which comprises the four sub-teams: Intermediary Supervision, Exchange Intermediary Compliance, Wholesale Market Intermediary Compliance and Retail Complex Products and Investor Protection.

His previous roles at ASIC include Senior Executive Leader of the Credit, Banking and General Insurance team, the Insurers team and the Investment Managers team. Rhys has also held senior leadership roles at ASIC in the areas of international strategy, consumer, and strategic policy.

Rhys has more than 20 years’ experience as a regulator, academic and public policy practitioner. Before joining ASIC, he was an Executive Director at the NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority, and Assistant Commissioner for Policy and Strategy at NSW Fair Trading. He has also worked in private legal practice. Rhys has a PhD in financial services regulation and Masters degrees in both law and business.

Senior Executive Leader, Market Infrastructure

Ben Cohn-Urbach (Acting)

Ben leads ASIC’s Market Infrastructure team within ASIC’s Markets group. His sub-teams include Clearing and Settlement, Securities Markets, Derivative Markets, Market Structure and Intelligence. . Ben’s portfolio is responsible for the supervision of Australian market licensees and operators, clearing and settlement facilities, Australian derivative trade repository operators, benchmark administrators and credit rating agencies.

Ben has extensive experience at ASIC, including in strategic planning, intelligence and regulatory efficiency. He has held previous roles in the Market Infrastructure and Market Supervision teams, including as Group Senior Manager for Market Conduct in Market Supervision. 

Ben previously worked in the United States for the Futures Industry Association, a global trade organisation for the futures, options and centrally cleared derivatives markets, and for the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, focusing on over-the-counter derivatives market reforms. Ben started his career as a supervisor at the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. He has a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Sydney and a Master’s in Finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science. 

Senior Executive Leader, Markets Enforcement

Molly Choucair

Molly leads ASIC’s Markets Enforcement team, within ASIC’s Markets group. She oversees ASIC’s enforcement focused on maintaining the integrity of Australia’s financial markets, including offences relating to insider trading, market manipulation and continuous disclosure.  

Molly has extensive regulatory enforcement and litigation experience and has previously worked in several senior roles for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and was a senior lawyer for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Molly holds a Bachelor of Arts (Distinction) and Bachelor of Laws.

Senior Executive Leader, Corporate Finance

Amanda Zeller (Acting)

Amanda leads the Corporate Finance team, which conducts surveillance and reviews of transactions and related conduct for listed companies in Corporate Finance areas such as public capital raisings and mergers & acquisitions. This team also leads and co-ordinates ASIC's supervisory cyber and operation resilience work and provides input on law reform, implementation and regulatory reviews related to Markets.

Enforcement and Compliance

Senior Executive Leader, Enforcement Inquiries and Compliance

Tom O’Shea

Tom leads the Enforcement Inquiries and Compliance team within the Enforcement and Compliance group. The team undertakes early inquiries into allegations of misconduct and implements compliance outcomes. It also refers serious misconduct to the Investigation and Enforcement Action teams for further investigation.

Tom has spent more than 20 years working at federal regulatory agencies in operations and enforcement. Predominantly working across the employment and workplace relations portfolios, he has held senior leadership positions in operational, policy and corporate roles.

Immediately prior to joining ASIC in September 2023, Tom led corporate services for Australia’s workplace relations regulator, the Fair Work Ombudsman, where he also held the positions of Chief Risk Officer, Chief Security Officer and for more than 10 years was a Senior Executive Specialist.

Tom has experience in leading teams through change and transformation projects, and professional skills in data-driven and intelligence-led regulation.

Senior Executive Leader, Enforcement and Compliance, Portfolio Executive

Marita Hogan

Marita is ASIC’s national portfolio lead for enforcement and compliance for the Superannuation, Life Insurance, Investment Management and Financial Advice sectors. She also leads delivery of a range of ASIC enforcement priorities including ESG and greenwashing enforcement action. Marita heads up a group of Senior Specialists and is responsible for the Enforcement and Compliance group’s national Business Management Unit.

Previously, Marita was ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader, Financial Services Enforcement, leading the Wealth Management Enforcement team. In this role, she oversaw ASIC’s enforcement work in the superannuation and investment management sectors and built ASIC’s enforcement pipeline for the superannuation sector following the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. Marita has previously held senior roles in a number of ASIC teams, including Financial Services Enforcement, the Wealth Management project team, Corporate Governance and Financial Advisers. Most recently, Marita has been leading ASIC’s ESG greenwashing enforcement actions as well as ASIC’s enforcement pipeline for design and distribution obligations.

Before joining ASIC, Marita was a Senior Associate at major national law firm. She has more than 20 years’ experience in regulation, enforcement and the law, and holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts (Hons).

Senior Executive Leader, Enforcement and Compliance, Portfolio Executive

Melissa Smith

Melissa is a Senior Executive Leader in ASIC’s Enforcement and Compliance team and leads the Companies, Credit, Banking and General Insurance portfolios. She also leads the Enforcement Policy and Practice team.

Previously, Melissa was a Senior Executive Leader in the Office of Enforcement and led a project to enhance enforcement practice at ASIC. Melissa has previously held senior roles in a number of ASIC teams, including Financial Services Enforcement, and ASIC’s Royal Commission response team. Melissa has over 25 years’ experience in financial services regulation and litigation and before joining ASIC was a commercial litigation lawyer in private practice. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts (Juris).

Senior Executive Leader, Investigation and Enforcement Action

David McGuinness

David leads one of ASIC’s five Investigation and Enforcement teams within the Enforcement and Compliance group. He is responsible for the investigation of suspected misconduct and enforcement action across ASIC’s remit, excluding financial markets misconduct. David is also the Senior Executive responsible to the Commission for the ASIC Scams Strategy.

David was previously ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader, Financial Services Enforcement. In this role, he oversaw ASIC’s enforcement work in relation to misconduct in the financial services and wealth sectors. David also led ASIC’s investigations and enforcement actions arising from the Financial Services Royal Commission. For a number of years he was ASIC’s representative on the IOSCO Enforcement Committee 4. David has served in several roles including as ASIC’s Director of Enforcement for NSW and the ACT.

Prior to joining ASIC, David was a senior partner of Blake Dawson Waldron (now Ashurst) in its litigation and dispute resolution practice and held several senior leadership positions. He has more than 40 years of legal practice and regulatory experience and holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney.

Senior Executive Leader, Investigation and Enforcement Action

Brendan Caridi

Brendan leads one of ASIC’s five Investigation and Enforcement teams within the Enforcement and Compliance group.

Brendan was previously ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader, Corporations and Corporate Governance Enforcement where he oversaw enforcement action associated with corporations, corporate governance, insolvency practitioners, auditors, financial reporting and the whistleblower regime.

Brendan has more than 20 years of experience in investigations, enforcement and litigation, holding a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Economics.

Senior Executive Leader, Investigation and Enforcement Action

Chris Rowe

Chris leads one of ASIC’s five Investigation and Enforcement teams within the Enforcement and Compliance group.

Chris has held various roles at ASIC, including most recently as a Group Senior Manager in both Financial Services Enforcement and the Markets Enforcement Group. His experience includes investigation and litigation in matters across the financial services sector including superannuation, managed investments, insurance, and credit. Prior to joining ASIC, Chris was a lawyer in private and government practice. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from the University of New South Wales.

Senior Executive Leader, Investigation and Enforcement Action

Wendy Endebrock-Brown

Wendy leads one of ASIC’s five Investigation and Enforcement teams within the Enforcement and Compliance group. She oversees ASIC’s enforcement work in the financial services, credit, markets and corporations sectors in Western Australia. Wendy’s previous role at ASIC was Senior Executive Leader, Enforcement WA.

Prior to joining ASIC, Wendy held the position of Director, Legal Services at the Corruption and Crime Commission (WA) and before that, she worked at the Australian Government Solicitor as a Senior Executive Lawyer. She specialises in government legal and law enforcement work and holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Western Australia.

Chief Investigator and Senior Executive Leader Small Business Enforcement

Brett Crawford

Brett leads the Small Business Enforcement portfolio, which is one of ASIC’s five Investigation and Enforcement teams within the Enforcement and Compliance group.

Brett has held various other roles at ASIC, including most recently as a Senior Manager in the Markets Enforcement group, where he oversaw complex investigations. His experience includes investigations across various sectors including audit misconduct, corporations, corporate governance, financial reporting and financial services.

Prior to joining ASIC, Brett was a police officer with the Queensland Police Service for 16 years and worked for a number of years with the Australian Taxation Office, investigating tax evasion. He holds a Master of Arts in Fraud and Financial Crime from Charles Sturt University and a Graduate Diploma in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. 

Senior Executive Leader, Enforcement Services

Amanda Dixon

Amanda leads the Enforcement Services team, within ASIC’s Enforcement and Compliance group. She is responsible for delivering enabling services for the enforcement and surveillance teams in ASIC. Her unit includes the Evidence Services, Enforcement Data and Forensic Accounting teams.

Amanda was formerly ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader, Enterprise Services, managing security services, property and facilities management, travel, intelligence, records management and information resources and research. In this role, Amanda also oversaw ASIC’s digital working strategy, specialist forensic accounting, computer forensics and e-discovery, evidence management and knowledge management. Previously, she was a Senior Executive in ASIC’s human resources team.

Amanda has more than 15 years’ experience in senior leadership roles in government agencies, human resources and industrial relations. Before joining ASIC, Amanda worked for the Australian Public Service Commission and the Department of Primary Industries and Energy.

Legal Services

Deputy General Counsel

Kathleen Cuneo

Kathy is ASIC’s Deputy General Counsel. In this role, she assists ASIC’s General Counsel in leading the Chief Legal Office, with a focus on advising on complex regulatory matters, law reform and new areas of regulatory responsibility for ASIC. Kathy has more than 20 years of legal and regulatory experience in a variety of senior roles at ASIC, including in mergers and acquisitions, fundraising, financial services, and markets regulation. Before joining ASIC, Kathy was a Perth-based solicitor with a national law firm. Kathy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University (Canada) and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Western Australia.

Communications and Corporate Affairs

Finance

Intelligence and International

Senior Executive Leader, Misconduct and Breach Reporting

Peter Witham (Acting)

Peter Witham leads ASIC’s Misconduct and Breach Reporting team, which registers and assesses all reports of misconduct, breach notifications and reports from registered liquidators. He also leads our Office of the Whistleblower, ensuring we record and assess the whistleblower disclosures we receive, and communicate with whistleblowers. As the head of ASIC’s national Criminal Intelligence Unit, Peter leads ASIC’s efforts to disrupt and mitigate the harm from organised crime in Australia's corporate and financial sectors.

Peter has worked in the Misconduct and Breach Reporting space since 2004, having joined ASIC from private legal practice. He led ASIC’s Property Law and Unclaimed Monies function between 2010 and 2014. Peter holds a Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Commerce from Griffith University.

Senior Executive Specialist, Strategic Planning and Intelligence

Mark Adams

Mark leads ASIC’s Strategic Planning and Intelligence team, within the Intelligence and International group.

He is ASIC’s Regional Commissioner for New South Wales and also leads ASIC’s Strategic Planning and Intelligence (SP&I) including ASIC’s Innovation Hub and Regulatory Efficiency functions. SP&I leads ASIC strategic prioritisation work. The Innovation Hub provides practical support to start-ups and scale-ups as they navigate Australia’s financial regulatory framework. ASIC’s Regulatory Efficiency work seeks to identify unnecessary frictions and minimise the costs of regulatory requirements.

Mark has held a range of senior executive positions at ASIC, including lead of Strategic Intelligence, lead of ASIC's competition in equity markets project and the Exchange Market Operators, Regulatory Policy and International teams. Between 2012 to 2014, he undertook secondments at the Ontario Securities Commission as Principal Adviser, Financial System Inquiry Secretariat and as Director of Strategy, Research and Risk. Prior to joining ASIC, Mark worked in the corporate and superannuation areas of a national law firm.

Senior Executive Specialist, International

Gerard Fitzpatrick

Gerard (Ged) is responsible for International at ASIC. The team engages closely with peer regulatory authorities and international organisations to develop international regulatory policy and coordinate international cooperation requests. In this role, Ged has led across a range of international regulatory, economic and risk issues, developed innovative cooperation arrangements and provided capacity building initiatives. Ged’s previous roles at ASIC include leading Investment Managers and Superannuation and earlier, Credit.

Before joining ASIC, Ged led policy and government relations at the Financial Planning Association of Australia and held senior leadership roles at the Institutional Money Market Funds Association and Investment Management Association in London. Ged's previous regulatory roles included markets and international responsibilities at the UK FSA (precursor to the FCA) and international economic analysis and prudential supervision at the Bank of England. An economist by training, Ged also taught economic and business-related topics at universities in the UK.

People, Transformation and Technology

Senior Executive Leader, People and Development

Therese Harris (Acting)

Therese leads the People and Development team within ASIC’s People, Transformation and Technology group. She is responsible for developing and implementing a human capital strategy that enables ASIC to achieve its vision and mission. In this role, she heads the teams responsible for Talent and Workforce Strategy, Health, Safety and Wellbeing, Business Partnering, People and Pay Services and Capability and Culture.

Therese has been with ASIC’s People and Development team in ‘Head of’ roles since 2020. Most recently she has been Deputy Chief People Officer and Head of Organisational Capability and Culture. 

Prior to ASIC, Therese was in Head of roles at Sydney Water and PeopleScout, with over 20 years of experience in a range of HR fields. She has a Bachelor of Economics and Business Law, a Master of Commerce in HR and a Master of Commerce in Employee Relations.

Senior Executive Leader, Transformation Office, Digital, Data and Technology

Joanne Harper

Jo leads the Digital, Data and Technology Transformation Office team within ASIC’s People, Transformation and Technology group. Jo is responsible for leading ASIC’s transformation agenda across Digital, Technology and Data and the delivery of ASIC’s cyber security program. She heads five teams: Digital Delivery and Strategy Hub, Governance and Policy, Chief Technology Office, Chief Data and Analytics Office, and Cyber Security.

Previously, as Digital Lead, Digital Transformation, Jo managed the ASIC Digital Transformation Program, delivering ASIC’s vision of being a digitally enabled, data-informed regulator. Prior to this, she held roles as ASIC’s Chief Information Officer and IT Program Director.

Before joining ASIC, Jo worked in the IT industry for more than 30 years in several roles. Her areas of specialisation include project delivery, technology governance and risk. Jo has a particular interest in promoting young women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and she is a founding member of the Sydney-based Senior Women in Technology Group (SWIT). Jo was previously appointed to the international examinations board for the MSP, PRINCE2, P3O and Managing Benefits qualifications.

Senior Executive Leader, Chief Technology Office

Mark Pearce

As the Chief Technology Officer, Mark leads the Information Technology team, which is within ASIC’s People, Transformation and Technology group. He is responsible for technical leadership into the future state technical strategy, focussing on increasing technology capability that supports government reform, improving user experience through innovation, providing core technology services and ensuring ASIC is cyber resilient. Previously, as ASIC’s Chief Information Officer, Mark oversaw the information technology strategy and operations and was responsible for the supply of technology solutions and services to ASIC, internally and externally. Before that, he was ASIC’s Head of Infrastructure Services.

Prior to joining ASIC, Mark worked across various verticals including finance, transport and logistics, and retail sectors in a range of roles in strategy, cloud, end user computing and IT infrastructure. Mark holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Wollongong and qualifications from the Securities Institute of Australia in Applied Finance and Economics.

Senior Executive Leader, Enterprise Planning and Performance Office

Eriza SanMiguel (Acting)

Eriza leads our Enterprise Planning and Performance Office, which is within ASIC’s People, Transformation and Technology group. She is responsible for leading a range of enabling services including project management, change management, analytics, performance reporting, methodology and assurance services. In this role, she heads the teams: Change and Readiness, Portfolio Delivery, Project Management, Business and Data Analytics, Business Office, Strategic Insights and Performance Reporting, Business Planning, and Governance Assurance and Methodology.

Eriza has more than 20 years of experience in transformation, strategy, delivery and productivity across Banking, Insurance and Markets industries. She has held a number of executive roles in organisations such as ASX, NAB, CBA, AMP and GE including Head of Business Analysis, Senior Consultant, Chief Officer, New Business and Operations and Head of Group Strategic Initiatives and Productivity. Eriza holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Sydney, is a Graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors and is currently completing a Master of Information Technology from UTS.

Senior Executive Leader, Registry Interactions and Services

Jennifer Dolphin

Jen leads the Registry Interactions and Services (RIS) team, which is within ASIC’s People, Transformation and Technology group.

In her role, Jen is responsible for ASIC’s relationship with the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) as the current provider of ASIC Registry services, including overseeing interagency governance and interagency projects, change and risk management. Jen is also responsible for delivery by the Registry Interactions and Services team of a wide range of register support functions for the companies and professional registers, including compliance programs and transaction assessment and processing functions.

Jen is the current Senior Supplier, Law and Policy for the ASIC Delivery stream of the Government’s Modernising Business Registers (MBR) Program and in that role is accountable for the delivery of legal and policy advice to the program. Jen is also accountable for implementation of a range of registry transition projects and changes to ASIC’s operating model that are related to the rollout of the MBR Program.​

Jen has more than 18 years of legal and regulatory experience in a variety of roles at ASIC, including as a senior lawyer in ASIC’s Chief Legal Office specialising in financial markets regulation. Before joining ASIC, Jen worked as a financial intelligence analyst for the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and as a legal editor in both London and Sydney. Jen has a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Law (Hons) from the University of Sydney.

Senior Executive Specialist, Modernising Business Registers Program

Liesl McKay

Liesl leads ASIC’s Modernising Business Registers Program within the People, Transformation and Technology group. In this role, she oversees the transition of the ASIC registers and functions to the ABRS, the modernisation of the functions and transactions remaining with ASIC, and the delivery of technology and governance to ensure that ASIC has full and timely access to ABRS registry data to support its regulatory and enforcement work.

Prior to this, Liesl held roles as ASIC’s Senior Executive Leader, Registry and Senior Executive, Registry Transformation, leading major law and technology reform programs to ASIC’s Registry business

Liesl has more than 25 years of experience in senior leadership roles in regulation, service delivery, program delivery and business transformation. She holds a Bachelor of Business from Monash University, a Graduate Diploma in Organisational Behaviour from Swinburne Institute of Technology and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Senior Executive Specialist, Modernising Business Registers Program

Michael McCulloch

Michael is the senior IT Supplier on ASIC’s Modernising Business Registers Program, a team within the People, Transformation and Technology group. In this role, he is responsible for ensuring that all IT requirements across the program are successfully delivered. His previous role at ASIC was as Senior Executive Specialist, IT Service Delivery, with responsibility for all of ASIC’s IT systems, applications and IT Security.

Before joining ASIC, Michael was a Senior Executive at IBM Australia, having also held roles there as Service Delivery Manager, Project Manager and Asia Pacific Data Centre Manager.

Regional Commissioners

ASIC’s Regional Commissioners are our local ambassadors, promoting ASIC initiatives and engaging with regional communities.

Region	Regional Commissioner
Queensland	Amanda Zeller
Victoria	Diana Steicke (acting)
Tasmania	Alex Purvis
Western Australia	Rhian Richards
South Australia	Natasha Haslam
Australian Capital Territory	Peter Dunlop (acting)
Northern Territory	Duncan Poulson
New South Wales	Mark Adams