AZ NGA makes senior staff changes

Accounting and advisory organisation, AZ NGA, has filled the newly created role of General Counsel and Company Secretary with a former Yellow Brick Road executive and has appointed a new mergers and acquisitions (M&A) head.

Yasemin Onat, who has enjoyed the role of Group Company Secretary since 2020, will move into the new position and focus solely on M&A, while Andrew Symes brings previous experience as YBR’s General Counsel and Company Secretary to his new role spearheading AZ NGA’s legal, risk and corporate governance division.

“AZ NGA is an ambitious company with a high calibre team, and I am excited about the opportunity to join this dynamic business to lead the legal, risk and compliance, and governance function as well as provide some support in operational areas,” Symes said.

“In the current environment, it is rare to find a business that is well funded and has the capability and capacity to pursue growth, and I look forward to making a contribution to AZ NGA’s ongoing success.”

Symes also spent time in other senior legal counsel roles at Commonwealth Bank, Challenger Limited and IBM. He will report to AZ NGA chief executive, Paul Barrett.

“AZ NGA has doubled in size in a relatively short period of time and our growth trajectory is strong necessitating significant investment in people and talent to expand our capacity and capability,” Barrett said.

“Andrew is an experienced General Counsel and Company Secretary with a detailed understanding of the relevant regulatory requirements and a proven track record of achieving results, solving complex problems and delivering outcomes.

“His background and broad financial services experience, which spans advice, lending, broking and wealth management, also positions him strongly to offer support to our collective of accounting and advisory firms.”

A corporate governance and M&A professional, Onat will be responsible for identifying appropriate targets, completing due diligence and executing deals for the key organisation and subsidiary firms.