US audit oversight non-profit the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has hired George Kostolampros as general counsel, replacing acting GC Matt Goldin in the role.
Kostolampros joins from US law firm Venable, where he was a partner advising on regulatory, compliance and governance matters. At PCAOB, he will manage the office of the general counsel (OGC) and provide legal advice and counsel on the organisation’s operations.
Washington DC-based PCAOB oversees audits of public companies and US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-registered brokers and dealers.
Demetrios Logothetis, PCAOB’s chairman, said: “OGC’s work underpins the PCAOB’s ability to execute its mission to protect investors. We are grateful that George is joining us to fill this critical leadership role.”
Kostolampros joins after a decade at Venable in Washington – his second spell at the firm. He was previously a partner at Dentons for three years, having joined following his first spell at Venable.
Prior to that he was a senior counsel in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division. He started his career in private practice at Jones Day.
Meanwhile, Goldin – who took up the acting GC role back in January, replacing previous acting GC Connor Raso – will return to the deputy GC role.
Logothetis added: “Matt is a valued member of the OGC team, and we thank him for his distinguished service as acting general counsel.”
Raso had replaced former GC James Cappoli in May 2025, about a year and a half after Cappoli had become GC.
Former PCAOB chair Erica Williams said at the time: “Among other things, James transformed the legal function of OGC through various organisational and operational improvements at a time when OGC was taking on more than it had ever done before and navigating novel and complex legal matters.”
Cappoli previously spent almost 16 years at the SEC, close to 15 of them as assistant GC for enforcement matters.
Earlier this year, the SEC appointed former BlackRock lawyer Russell ‘Rusty’ McGranahan as GC, replacing acting GC Jeffrey Finnell. Finnell, who has returned to his deputy GC role, had been serving as acting GC since Megan Barbero exited the GC position in January 2025.
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