Catriona Lowe, inaugural board member of the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA), has been appointed deputy chair at the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC).
First announced in October 2022, she began her role on 27 January, 2023 and was appointed to the position by the Governor General.
In this role, she would chair the ACCC’s Compliance and Product Safety Committee and would sit on numerous ACCC boards and committees such as the Financial Services Inquiry Board, Consumer Data Right Committee, and Competition Exemptions Committee.
“I am delighted with Catriona’s appointment. In her varied roles as a regulator, litigator and consumer advocate, Catriona has demonstrated a strong commitment to consumer issues and protection of consumer rights over many years,” said ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
“She is exceptionally well qualified to be appointed to this position.”
Lowe had been an inaugural member of the FASEA board until her resignation in January 2020 to take up a full-time role on the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).
She previously held non-executive director roles on the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and was co-CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre from 2006 to 2013.
She would take on the role of ACCC deputy chair from Delia Rickard, who held the position since 2012.
In a statement, Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, thanked Rickard for her decade of service with the consumer watchdog.
“No-one has done more to educate consumers and business owners about protecting themselves from fraudsters. In the process, she prevented the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars,” Jones stated.
“Her role at the ACCC was the culmination of three decades of devoted and dogged service to make the world a safer, better place for Australian consumers.”
Rickard had been also a senior executive at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for a decade until 2012. Her extensive experience included significant contributions to the Wallis Inquiry of 1997 into Australia’s financial system.
Jones added: “From product safety to financial literacy and scam prevention, Delia Rickard’s work has lifted standards, raised awareness and sharpened regulations.”
What could possibly go wrong?
well Fasea was a success, and the Energy Market is completely under control, so sure move on
So obviously you don’t need to have done a good job in previous board positions to get a new one with a government organisation. How can I get on that gravy train?