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ASIC commissioner named as new head of Vanguard’s Office of the General Counsel

Investment management company Vanguard Australia has appointed a now-former commissioner of the corporate regulator to lead its Australian Office of the General Counsel.

user iconJerome Doraisamy 17 January 2023 Corporate Counsel
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Sean Hughes has been appointed as the new head of Vanguard Australia’s Office of the General Counsel, which the company said encompasses the legal and compliance functions of the business, and to join the Australian executive team.

He joins from corporate and financial services regulator Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), where he was appointed as a commissioner back in 2018.

Mr Hughes formerly served as GC for Tabcorp, chief risk and legal officer for UniSuper, and chief executive of the Financial Markets Authority in New Zealand. Prior to this, he served at National Australia Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and was a partner at the law firm Herbert Geer & Rundle (now Thompson Geer).

He will end his term as an ASIC commissioner on 3 February.

Speaking about Mr Hughes’ departure, ASIC chair Joe Longo said: “We are grateful for the contribution Sean has made to ASIC in his role as commissioner and wish him well in the next stage of his career.”

Mr Hughes was due to end his five-year term in December of this year.

Speaking about the appointment, Vanguard Australia managing director Daniel Shrimski said that he is delighted to welcome Mr Hughes, whom he said “brings a significant depth of experience in law, governance, regulation, financial services, wealth management and risk into leading this critical function of the business”.

“Following the recent launch of Vanguard Super and a successful three years since the business introduced Vanguard Personal Investor, a platform for investors to invest directly with Vanguard, we have progressed in our goal of providing Australians, and the advisers that serve them, with a high-value offer that supports their financial goals both inside and outside of super,” Mr Shrimski said.

“The strong foundations built by Vanguard’s Australian leadership over the past 27 years [have] always been guided by delivering on Vanguard’s mission, and with Sean’s appointment, we continue to focus on building teams led by strong leaders who will ensure that the business remains aligned with the new and changing needs of our clients into the future, to offer them the best chance of investing success.”

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.

You can email Jerome at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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