Chief Executive, DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority)

Mr Ian Johnston was appointed Chief Executive of the DFSA in June 2012. Mr Johnston joined the DFSA in November 2006, as a Managing Director heading the Policy and Legal Services Division. Mr Johnston was admitted to practice law in Australia in the early 1980’s and spent most of his career in the private sector. He held a number of senior positions within the financial sector and was the CEO of one of Australia’s major trustee companies. During that time, he played a leading role in the trustee industry and served on the National Council of the Trustee Corporations Association. In 1999, Mr Johnston joined the Australian Securities and Investments Commission where he was Executive Director, Financial Services regulation, and spent several terms as an Acting Commissioner. In 2005, he took up a position as a special advisor with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission. Mr Johnston is a past Chairman of the Joint Forum, which comprises representatives of the major international regulatory standard-setters (IOSCO, IAIS and the Basel Committee). In November 2013, he was elected to the Steering Group of IOSCO’s Growth and Emerging Markets Committee. He is also a member of the Financial Stability and Technical Committee (FSTC) of the IAIS, the global standard-setting body for insurance regulation, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Financial Planning Standards Board (from Jan 2011 – Mar 2016).