Scott Gregson testifying during the Hayne royal commission in 2018.

ASIC has appointed career regulator and chief executive of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, Scott Gregson, as CEO. 

The appointment of Gregson was the result of an eight-month search of “domestic and international” candidates that ultimately led to an appointee located a five-minute walk away. 

Gregson was a witness at the Hayne royal commission, representing the ACCC over unfair contract terms largely from banks to small businesses. 

He joins former colleague, ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court, who was previously a Commissioner at the ACCC before moving to the corporate regulator in 2021. 

Gregson officially takes over on 17 March 2025, replacing Greg Yanco who was appointed interim CEO last April, stepping in for Warren Day who joined the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Greg Yanco

“In an increasingly complex world with heightened cost of living pressures, the work of ASIC is more important than ever and I look forward to taking the step up and helping ASIC meet the challenges ahead,” Gregson said in a media release. 

Yanco was previously the executive director of regulation and supervision and had previously indicated his intention to retire in 2025. 

His interim tenure as CEO was marked by a dispute with the Association of Independently Owned Financial Planners, particularly its director Peter Johnston, after the association demanded an apology from ASIC over comments made by one of its representatives during a Treasury roundtable for the advice reforms last year. 

That dispute – a disagreement over the characterisations made by ASIC senior executive leader for superannuation and life insurance Jane Eccleston – resulted in the regulator only communicating via writing with the association from then on. 

The regulator was also absent at the AIOFP’s long-running regulator panel session at its annual conference in Canberra last year. 

Gregson joined as a graduate in 1996 shortly after the formation of the commission and spent much of his career in the enforcement division, starting as an investigator before taking on senior management roles.  

He was appointed as ACCC chief executive in August 2020 when the role was previously labelled as chief operating officer.  

He led teams that litigated high-profile matters including against Volkswagen, Coles, and Apple, and more recently has led the ACCC’s digital and data transformation program. 

ASIC chair Joe Longo said Gregson will bring extensive experience to the role. 

“As ASIC enters the next phase of the program of transformation we began three years ago, Scott’s experience supporting digital and technology delivery, and his pedigree in enforcement and compliance, will continue to ensure ASIC is well placed to meet future challenges,” Longo said. 

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb described Gregson’s departure as a “great loss” for the commission. 

“Scott Gregson has made an enormous contribution in his nearly 30 years at the ACCC, and he will be sincerely missed,” Cass-Gottlieb said in a separate media announcement. 

“Scott carried his enforcement experience in the agency throughout his career here, as a foundation of the strength of the ACCC. He has been an influential leader across a number of roles.”  

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