ASIC names Greg Yanco as Interim CEO, replacing Warren Day

Australia financial regulator the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced a number of changes to its senior executive leadership team – including its CEO.

ASIC Chief Executive Officer

ASIC Chair Joe Longo has accepted a request from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions for ASIC CEO Warren Day to join the CDPP on secondment as the Director’s Executive Officer, effective 1 June 2024.

The Chair said the request recognised the contribution Mr Day had made to ASIC as CEO, in particular supporting its organisational transformation since 2021.

“Warren has been a significant contributor to ASIC for more than 20 years across virtually every part of ASIC’s remit. This is an opportunity for him to bring the skills and experience he has gained at ASIC to an agency we have a shared interest in supporting and seeing succeed,” Mr Longo said.

“Since I embarked on the review of ASIC’s infrastructure and operations on my first day as ASIC Chair, Warren has played a significant leadership role, particularly with leading the organisational redesign, the delivery of our strategic and enforcement priorities, and the management of ASIC’s Executive Leadership Team.

“Warren leaves with our full support and his appointment underpins the critical institutional relationship ASIC holds with the CDPP, which is core to our enforcement work.”

At the conclusion of the CDPP secondment, Mr Day has indicated he will not return to ASIC.

The ASIC Chair said Mr Day’s secondment to the CDPP came as ASIC enters the next phase of its transformation.

ASIC Regulation and Supervision

Executive Director of Regulation and Supervision Greg Yanco will be appointed as ASIC’s Interim CEO effective 1 June 2024. Mr Yanco was previously Executive Director Markets between January 2019 and June 2023 before commencing in his current role. He has more than 30 years of experience in financial market development, regulation, and supervision.

Mr Yanco has informed the Commission that he expects to retire in mid-2025. A local and global search for a permanent CEO will commence in early 2025.

ASIC Enforcement and Compliance

Following more than 25 years of service to ASIC, Executive Director of Enforcement and Compliance Tim Mullaly has also advised that he will be retiring from ASIC at the end of July 2024.

Mr Mullaly has held executive roles at ASIC for the last 12 years, leading the Financial Services Enforcement team for 11 years and, for the last year, Enforcement and Compliance (E&C) team. In this role and as a member of ASIC’s Executive Leadership team, Mr Mullaly was critical to implementing the new E&C structure, overseeing a team of 450 staff focused on delivery of enforcement and compliance outcomes.

“Tim has for many years played a crucial role in ensuring that ASIC has maintained a strong and strategic pipeline of enforcement work. ASIC is in court every day, and we are launching new investigations every second day of the week, all aligned to the priorities we have set out,” Mr Longo said.

Local and global searches for the Executive Director Regulation and Supervision and Executive Director Enforcement and Compliance roles will commence shortly.

“Filling these positions is an opportunity for executive renewal and ASIC’s ongoing transformation towards being a modern, ambitious and confident regulator. As the ongoing impact of our work continues to be realised, we also have opportunities for exceptional leaders to drive the next phase of ASIC’s transformation,” Mr Longo said.

“I want to thank Warren and Tim for their significant contribution to ASIC over many years and thank Greg for stepping into the Interim CEO role.”

ASIC’s executive leadership team is also being strengthened with the addition of a new Executive Director role for Registry and Intelligence – following the transition of Registry services back to ASIC from the ATO – as well as a Chief People and Culture Transformation Officer. ASIC also recently appointed Joanne Harper as Executive Director for Data, Digital and Technology.