Max Purcell

Max Purcell is a corporate governance specialist with over a decade of experience advising listed companies on governance, executive remuneration, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement across international markets. He founded VINCIT QSV to address a fundamental gap he observed throughout his career: the disconnect between the depth of institutional investor expectations and the tools available to companies preparing for shareholder engagement.

Max believes that good governance is not a regulatory hurdle but a strategic tool — one that strengthens organisations and creates sustainable value. That conviction, combined with experience on both the issuer advisory and institutional investor side, led him to build VINCIT QSV: a platform that quantifies stewardship expectations and translates them into actionable intelligence for listed companies.

Max is currently a Partner at OpenEngagement, an independent corporate governance and shareholder engagement advisory firm in Australia. He advises listed companies on corporate governance, remuneration, and strategic engagement, supporting issuers through the entirety of their annual cycle — from governance and remuneration reviews through to shareholder engagement and AGM preparation.

Max's career spans both sides of the governance equation. He has worked in investment stewardship at Vanguard, one of the world's largest asset managers, where he gained direct insight into how institutional investors evaluate governance frameworks, make proxy voting decisions, and prioritise engagement with portfolio companies. This experience provided an invaluable perspective on how institutional investors approach stewardship and reach voting decisions.

Previously, Max spent several years at Sodali & Co, one of the world's leading governance and shareholder engagement advisory firms, where he served as Director of Corporate Governance across both EMEA and APAC regions. In his EMEA role, he led the UK corporate governance team and advised listed companies across the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Greece. Across APAC, he advised companies listed on the ASX and exchanges in Singapore, Japan, and Korea, and established the remuneration advisory practice within Sodali & Co in Australia.

Earlier in his career, Max served as Senior Analyst at Godfrey Remuneration Group, one of Australia's leading executive remuneration consultancies.

Max is a trusted voice in corporate governance and stewardship, having been a panelist across international markets with the OECD, London Stock Exchange Group, IR Society, and the Athens Exchange (ATHEX). He has also presented to those studying the Australasian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) diploma of investor relations, providing insights on the proxy voting and corporate governance landscape.

Connect with Max