US investment manager Vanguard has lined up Tonya Robinson as its next general counsel, ending the company’s search for a new GC following the departure of Anne Robinson earlier this year.

Robinson is joining from Big Four accounting firm KPMG, where she was most recently vice chair and GC. At Vanguard she will oversee all legal and compliance matters, including public policy and investment stewardship. She will take up her new role in October and will also serve as board secretary and secretary of the Vanguard funds.

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-based Vanguard is one of the world’s largest asset management businesses with around $9.3trn of assets under management.

Salim Ramji, Vanguard’s CEO, said: “Tonya is an accomplished lawyer and trusted business leader who brings extensive experience in the public and private sectors. She has spent her career championing access and transparency for individuals across a range of issues and amid increasingly complex legal and regulatory landscapes.

“We are pleased to add her counsel, business acumen and policy expertise to further our mission of giving individual investors the best chance for investment success.”

Robinson arrives after just over seven years with KPMG, having previously headed up the legal team at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. She also spent two years in the White House as a special assistant to President Barack Obama on regulatory and justice policy. Before that she worked in private practice at WilmerHale, working her way up to partner in its litigation and investigations group.

She said: “For nearly 50 years, Vanguard has helped families save for their education and retire better with a strong ethos of integrity and commitment to client success. I welcome the chance to work with Vanguard’s talented and purpose-driven management and legal teams to help propel the next 50 years of the firm’s impact on helping investors reach their goals.”

Anne Robinson, meantime, announced her departure from Vanguard in April to join IBM as chief legal officer, a role she started in July. She spent just under eight years at Vanguard, having joined from US bank Citigroup where she was GC for its global cards business. Her in-house career also took her to American Express and Deloitte before that.

In other recent finance moves, last week crypto exchange Bitget hired former Binance GC Hon Ng as its first CLO.