Joseph Longo is the new chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) after being appointed to the position by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg today.
Longo will commence his new role on 1 June and replaces current chair James Shipton, who announced he would be stepping down from the top job at ASIC in January.
The appointment marks the second employment term with ASIC for Longo, who previously held the position of national director of enforcement at the corporate regulator.
Longo brings with him extensive experience in corporate law, financial services, governance and regulation, with 17 years of service as general counsel for Deutsche Bank in London and Hong Kong included in his employment history.
He is currently a senior adviser at legal firm Herbert Smith Freehills.
The government also made a second appointment to the regulator, with Sarah Court becoming full-time ASIC deputy chair.
Court joins the regulator from her current role as a commissioner of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), an organisation she joined in 2008, where she is responsible for enforcement matters.
In addition to working at the ACCC, Court was a senior executive lawyer with the Australian Government Solicitor. She has accumulated experience in areas such as regulation, compliance, consumer protection and civil litigation.
Court will fill the role left vacant by deputy chair Daniel Crennan.
“I congratulate Mr Longo and Ms Court on their appointments. They are both highly qualified and experienced individuals with a deep understanding of both the private and public sectors. ASIC will benefit from their understanding of regulatory settings, insight into business and their strong leadership,” Frydenberg said.
In making the appointments, the Treasurer also acknowledged Shipton’s service as ASIC chair since 2018.
“Mr Shipton has shown great commitment and dedication to ASIC during his three years as chair and I thank him for his service. I look forward to his continued assistance during the transition and wish him all the best in his future endeavours,” he said.
Shipton congratulated both Longo and Court on their appointments.
“Joe is known to many at the agency from his time as national director of enforcement from 1996-2000 and subsequent interactions as a lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills. His wealth of domestic and international experience will serve ASIC well in the vital work it does in supporting the financial system and economy, especially as Australia recovers from the downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
“We are also pleased to welcome Sarah Court, who joins as Deputy Chair from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Again, we know Sarah very well and appreciate the skill and experience she brings from our regulatory counterpart,” he added.
“We will work with Joe and Sarah over the coming weeks to manage a smooth transition to his leadership of the organisation.”
