Carlo Comporti succeeds Verena Ross as ESMA Chair, less than a year before the EU's switch to T+1

Carlo Comporti became Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority on 1 Nov. ESMA announced on 9 Oct that the Council of the European Union had confirmed his appointment at its meeting that day. Under the procedure ESMA set out when it published its two-candidate shortlist in May, the Council appoints the Chair after confirmation by the European Parliament. He takes over from Verena Ross, who in her own words has led ESMA “for the last 5 years”.

Who he is

According to ESMA, Comporti had been a commissioner at Italy’s CONSOB since Feb 2022. In that role he sat on ESMA’s Board of Supervisors and Management Board and chaired its Digital Finance Standing Committee. He was also a member of the IOSCO Board, where he chaired the Audit and Finance Committee.

Before CONSOB, he spent 2011 to 2022 as chief executive of Promontory Italy and chief operating officer of Promontory Europe, a business unit of IBM Consulting, having earlier been Directeur Général of Promontory France. From 2008 he was Secretary General of the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), ESMA’s predecessor, and ESMA says he “played a key role in the transition from CESR to ESMA in 2010 and 2011.”

What he said

On his appointment, Comporti said: “Now more than ever, ESMA plays a critical role in ensuring that European markets further develop and integrate, to support the needs of companies, investors and citizens.”

Ross said Comporti “brings decades of experience in European financial markets regulation and knows ESMA well.” Of her own tenure, she said: “it has been a true honour to lead ESMA as Chair for the last 5 years.”

ESMA had not published a statement from Comporti marking his first day by the morning of 2 Nov. The most recent items on its news page were dated 29 Oct.

The agenda he inherits

The EU moves to T+1 settlement on 11 Oct 2027, the date from which Regulation (EU) 2025/2075, which amends Article 5(2) of the Central Securities Depositories Regulation, applies. On 16 Oct ESMA headlined its one-year-to-go release “the regulatory framework is complete, now let’s make it happen” (our report). On 20 Oct it published requirements for the safe use of post-trade risk reduction services (our report). Our earlier coverage of ESMA’s 2027 work programme is here.

Why it matters

Analysis. For trading and post-trade firms, ESMA’s chair matters less for any single rule than for priorities: which technical standards get finished first and how hard ESMA pushes national regulators towards common supervision. Comporti brings two relevant backgrounds. He helped build ESMA from CESR, and he chaired its Digital Finance Standing Committee. Firms will watch his first speeches for signals on T+1 enforcement, the consolidated tape and supervisory centralisation.

What we are watching

• Comporti’s first public remarks as Chair, and any change to ESMA’s 2027 priorities.
• Who replaces him at CONSOB and in his former ESMA committee roles.

Sources

• Carlo Comporti appointed Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, ESMA, 9 Oct 2026 (appointment effective 1 Nov 2026)
• ESMA publishes shortlist of candidates for position of Chair, ESMA, 20 May 2026
• One year to go for T+1 settlement: the regulatory framework is complete, now let’s make it happen, ESMA, 16 Oct 2026
• ESMA specifies requirements to facilitate safe use of post-trade risk reduction services, ESMA, 20 Oct 2026
• Regulation (EU) 2025/2075 amending Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 as regards a shorter settlement cycle in the Union, Official Journal of the European Union, 14 Oct 2025 (applies from 11 Oct 2027)