PIOB Secretary General since 2024

Dr. Martin B. Manuzi is the Secretary General of the Public Interest Oversight Board and has 25 years of international experience in regulatory and public interest matters relating to governance, reporting, assurance and tax.

Dr. Manuzi joined the Public Interest Oversight Board in 2022 as Nominations Director when the PIOB assumed responsibility for appointing members to the Standard-Setting Boards. In June 2023, he took over the Secretary General position from Gonzalo Ramos, first in an acting capacity and was subsequently appointed Secretary General on a permanent basis with effect from 1 March 2024.

Dr. Manuzi was extensively engaged while based in Brussels on EU regulatory and legislative initiatives in the audit and accountancy spheres from 2000 to 2020. Among his additional areas of activity prior to joining the PIOB are: ethical tax planning through his leadership of the CFE Tax Advisers Europe 2021 initiative on “an ethics quality bar for all tax advisers”; audit quality assurance through his establishment and Chairmanship of the Quality Assurance Network for non-PIE audit; and public sector accounting and reporting through his Chairmanship of the ICAEW-PwC discussion series on “Sustainable public finances – EU perspectives”.

From 2016 to 2020, Dr. Manuzi was Chair of the Accountancy Sub-Group of the UK Professional Business Services Council’s Mutual Market Access Group, addressing the impact of Brexit on the accountancy profession. In 2008, he was lead researcher and author of an authoritative study on the structure and functioning of international accountancy firms published by the Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens (now Accountancy Europe).

Dr. Manuzi completed a Ph.D. in 2000 on the Italian state industrial sector, addressing the impact of political interference in the management of the Italian state industrial sector through corporate governance case studies. He worked as a part-time university lecturer from 1993 to 1998 in modern economic and political history.

Lee White, FCA became IFAC's Chief Executive officer in March 2024.

Mr. White has worked as an assurance practitioner in both the private and public sectors, a securities and audit inspector regulator, and as the leader of a public interest body setting both global financial reporting an sustainability standards. His career has predominately been dedicated to serving the public interest.

Mr. White, who had been with the IFRS Foundation since 2018, has more than 30 years of global executive, regulatory and leadership experience. A chartered accountant, Mr. White led the creation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) within the IFRS Foundation, and the launch of the ISSB’s first two standards in June 2023.

Before joining the IFRS Foundation, Mr White spent nine years with the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), including six years as its CEO (2012-2017). He has also worked as the Chief Accountant at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (2004-2009), during which time he was directly involved in the creation of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR).

Mr. White holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Accounting from Macquarie University, as well as a Graduate degree in leadership from INSEAD.

PIOB Chair – Since 2020

Linda de Beer is qualified as a chartered accountant (SA), holds a master’s degree in taxation and holds a chartered director (SA)  designation. She has a long professional in the setting, monitoring and oversight of reporting standards, corporate governance principles and related regulation, which includes chairing the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s Consultative Advisory Group (CAG), serving on the CAG of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants, serving on the King Committee for Corporate Governance in South Africa, chairing the Financial Reporting Investigation Committee of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and serving on the Investor Advisory Group of the PCAOB. 

Beyond chairing the PIOB she serves as an independent non-executive director on a number of South African listed company boards, a role she has played since 2010. Her experience at a board level includes merger and acquisition activities, business turnaround and restructuring (including debt restructuring and equity raising), appointment and removal of executives and other strategic and governance matters that directors take responsibility for. She also serves on the board of trustees of the International Valuations Standards Council, based in London, and has advised numerous companies and regulators on corporate governance matters.

Ms. de Beer has experience in mediation of matters between parties and expert witness work on various aspects relating to corporate governance, financial reporting and auditing standards and related legislation.

She is an Honorary (Professor in Practice) at the University of Johannesburg, with previous full time lecturing experience at post graduate level. She also launched a book, in 2018, co-authored with Mervyn King, on the audit profession, entitled The Auditor: Quo Vadis?

PIOB Member – Since 2020

Retired public law practitioner and consultant based in Wellington, New Zealand. He has a background in public sector and independent legal practice, public and not-for-profit sector governance roles, experience as an independent adviser and reviewer, international development work in the area of public sector governance and accountability, and audit, assurance, and ethical standard-setting both in New Zealand and internationally.

His international work has drawn on his public law and governance experience gained since the 1980s. Most recently, he had his own legal practice in Wellington from 2006 until his retirement in 2022. Before then, he was Assistant Auditor-General, Legal at the New Zealand Office of the Auditor-General (1998 to 2006). He is also a former Director of the New Zealand Law Commission (New Zealand’s law reform agency).

Besides his legal background, he had an extensive international consultancy practice from 2008 to 2020, both in his own capacity and in association with consultancy organisations. He undertook projects for The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank in South-East Asia and the Pacific, and work in the Pacific funded by the New Zealand and Australian aid programs. He has also published and presented papers internationally on public sector finance, governance, and accountability.

This background gives him a unique combination of skills in law, governance and management, public finance, and auditing. In 2011 he was appointed an inaugural member of New Zealand’s independent audit standard setting board, the New Zealand Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. In 2016, he became the Chair of the Board in recognition of his independent perspective on standard setting. In that capacity he was also appointed a member of the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, under a reciprocal membership arrangement between the two countries. Robert served in these roles until his retirement in June 2022. He represented the New Zealand board in international standard setting fora, and was a prominent member of the National Standard Setters group that engages regularly with the IAASB and IESBA. This led indirectly to his appointment to the PIOB, as a nominee of IOSCO, in 2020, and his reappointment by the Monitoring Group in early 2023.

Elaine promotes inclusion in her work and the accountancy profession. As a qualified accountant, Elaine is active in the profession in her role as the former Chair of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants’ (ACCA) Scotland Committee and newly elected ACCA global council member and also membership of the Financial Reporting Council’s stakeholder insight group. 

Elaine’s career has focused on public sector finance, initially in the NHS and for the last 20 years at Audit Scotland, the public sector spending watchdog. She is currently the Director of Audit Quality and Appointments and is responsible for annual reporting of quality standards on more than £50 billion of annual spending.

Inclusive and adaptive leisure activities are important to Elaine, and she thrives on finding solutions to barriers that could prevent her from participating in leisure activities due to cerebral palsy. Recently Elaine has taken up cycling and enjoys riding her adapted etrike with the Callander Meanderers in the Trossachs. Skiing with Disability Snowsports UK is her other passion, and she is a member of the user group which provides views on future services. More recently she has started flying lessons with Alba Airsports based at Perth Airport.

Dato’ Mohd Muazzam Mohamed is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad. He joined Bank Islam on 11 May 2015 as its Chief Financial Officer before being appointed to his current position on 5 December 2018. He was formerly a Partner with KPMG in Malaysia and an Executive Director with KPMG Management Consulting. He is a Chartered Accountant with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, a Council Member of The Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a Chartered Islamic Finance Professional of the Chartered Institute of Islamic Finance Professionals, and a Chartered Public Finance Accountant of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. He is the President of the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia. Dato’ Mohd Muazzam has over 25 years of experience in finance, consulting, and audit. Dato’ Mohd Muazzam holds a Bachelor of Accounting from the International Islamic University Malaysia and is an Advanced Management & Leadership Programme graduate from the University of Oxford’s Said Business School.