Tom Seidenstein
Chair*, IAASB and Co-CEO, International Foundation for Ethics and Audit
United States of America
Tom Seidenstein is the chair of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and the co-CEO of the International Foundation for Ethics and Audit, the recently created organization that houses the IAASB and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). Since the beginning of 2023, he has served as co-CEO with IESBA Chair Gabriela Figueiredo Dias.
Mr. Seidenstein was initially appointed chair in July 2019 and reappointed to a three-year term in June 2022. In this role, and now as co-CEO, he has overseen significant revisions of existing audit standards aimed at enhancing public trust, the initiation of a new workstream aimed at creating a global assurance standard for sustainability, and an updated strategy aimed at increasing the responsiveness of standard setting.
Mr. Seidenstein’s career has spanned both the private sector and international standard setting. Prior to joining the IAASB, Mr. Seidenstein held senior strategic leadership positions at the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae (Senior Vice President, Strategy, Innovation & Capital Management: 2012-19), and the IFRS Foundation (Chief Operating Officer: 2000-2011).
Additionally, Mr. Seidenstein has served at a consulting organization for not-for-profits, CCS Fundraising (Executive Director: 1999-2000), and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Special Assistant to the Managing Director: 1995-1997). He has also served as a Trustee of the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) and on XBRL International’s Board of Advisors.
A strong believer in volunteer service, Mr. Seidenstein has held or holds volunteer leadership positions serving school education the USA and the Make-A-Wish Foundation (both UK and international boards). He holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an undergraduate degree (cum laude) from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.