Pauline Vamos has been named the most influential person in financial services by a panel of industry peers.
Vamos, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) director of licensing and business, took a clear majority of votes inMoney Management’s Top 10 Most Influential People 2002 list for her work in demystifying the Financial Services Reform Act (FSRA).
Panel member Roger Holt says: “Pauline Vamos runs a very professional team; she is approachable, knowledgeable and prepared to listen to the points raised by the industry. She has a very sensible approach to implementation of the [FSR] Act and is more than wiling to give her time back to the industry.”
Vamos debuted in the short list of 24 this year and was one of only two female contenders — the other, Senator Helen Coonan, did not make the final top 10.
Vamos says: “The fact that it’s a regulator [who has won] is a very good thing. ASIC has two main functions — to protect consumers and to construct an efficient, honest and fair marketplace. If the award is because we have been getting the balance right, then I’m absolutely thrilled.”
Also on the list are last year’s placegetters, Ken Breakspear, Paul Clitheroe and Stephen van Eyk. New to the list are Tom Collins, Richard Gilbert, David Knott, Andrew Mohl, Peter Morgan and Joe Nowak.
The list is based on the polling of 60 participants from a wide cross-section of the industry including financial planning, funds management, risk insurance, distribution and research.
Participants were asked to nominate people who had been personally influential this calendar year and who had made concrete, specific and identifiable contributions to financial services.
Money Managementreceived 60 nominations, which were then cut down to a short list of 24. Seven panellists were invited to join a roundtable discussion and the final list was drawn up following a secret ballot.
The panel consisted of Robert M C Brown (Bridgeport), Tom Collins (The Tom Collins Consultancy), Roger Holt (Association of Financial Advisers), Ken Breakspear (Financial Planning Association), Nina Hope (IntegraTec), Stephen van Eyk (van Eyk Research) and Brian Thomas (Credit Suisse).
Panel members who were also short-listed left the room while discussions about their possible inclusion on the most influential list took place.
