Kevan Cowan begins term as OSC Chair

TORONTO – The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is announcing that Kevan Cowan began his term as OSC Chair of the Board effective December 15, 2022, by way of an Order in Council approved and ordered by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

“I am honoured to take on this leadership role with the OSC, an organization I have long admired, and with which I have worked closely both as a director and throughout my career,” said Mr. Cowan. “I look forward to further collaboration with the talented staff at the OSC who continually demonstrate their deep commitment to public service and to strengthening Ontario’s capital markets.”

Mr. Cowan was appointed Chair of the OSC by the Ontario government on November 30, 2022. His term as Chair continues until April 29, 2024, which corresponds with the term of his initial two-year appointment as part-time director that began with the proclamation of the Securities Commission Act, 2021, on April 29, 2022.

“The OSC will benefit tremendously from Kevan’s sound judgement and deep capital markets experience as we continue to fulfil our expanded mandate within our new governance structure,” said the OSC’s Chief Executive Officer, Grant Vingoe. “With Kevan’s leadership and the strength of our board and team, we are well-positioned to continue modernizing regulation and facilitating financial innovation while promoting safe, fair, efficient and competitive capital markets in Ontario.”

Kevan Cowan is a financial services executive and lawyer with more than 30 years of experience in capital markets operational, regulatory and policy matters. He is the past Chief Executive Officer of the Capital Markets Authority Implementation Organization, the past President of TSX Markets responsible for all TSX stock exchanges, and the past President of the TSX Venture Exchange. Kevan has served on many boards and in advisory roles, including with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, the Ontario Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce Expert Advisory Group, and as Chair of the Board of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance / Toronto Finance International.

The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices, to foster fair, efficient and competitive capital markets and confidence in the capital markets, to foster capital formation, and to contribute to the stability of the financial system and the reduction of systemic risk. Investors are urged to check the registration of any persons or company offering an investment opportunity and to review the OSC investor materials available at https://www.osc.ca.