Ontario Securities Commission Chair and CEO Maureen Jensen to step down

TORONTO – Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Maureen Jensen today announced her decision to resign, effective April 15, 2020.

“It has been an honour to serve Ontario investors and market participants,” said Chair Jensen. “These past nine years have been the most meaningful in my career. I have enjoyed every moment working alongside my respected colleagues and leadership team, and contributing to Ontario’s vibrant, healthy and internationally recognized capital markets.”

Chair Jensen thanked the Honourable Rod Phillips, Minister of Finance, Ontario, Members of the Commission, and OSC staff for their confidence in her leadership and for their dedication to the important mandate of the OSC.

“The OSC is well on its way to becoming a more modern regulator, committed to continuously improving how we regulate. This would not have been possible without Minister Phillips and the Ontario Government’s full support of our important work on burden reduction,” said Chair Jensen. “I am grateful to have served in an esteemed position held by a long line of capable, gifted people. I leave with a tremendous sense of pride in an organization well-positioned for the future.”

Chair Jensen is the first woman to serve as Chair and CEO of the OSC. She was initially appointed in 2016 and reappointed to a three-year extension in 2017. Chair Jensen joined the OSC as its Executive Director in 2011 and, prior to that was Senior Vice President of Surveillance and Compliance at the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. She was previously the CEO of Market Regulation Services Inc. and was a director of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Under her leadership, the OSC finalized Client Focused Reforms, which establish a higher level of investor protection. It launched a successful whistleblower program, which has paid out awards of $7.5 million and continues to receive increasingly high-quality tips. Most recently, the OSC announced 107 regulatory changes to reduce burden for market participants while maintaining critical investor protections.

OSC Lead Director Lawrence Haber thanked Maureen for her professionalism and public service saying, “Maureen is an exceptional leader who has demonstrated integrity and dedication. She cares deeply about this agency and Ontario’s investors and capital markets, and leaves behind a strong legacy that will endure.”

Chair Jensen is a Registered Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo) and holds the ICD.D designation. She spent 20 years in the mining industry, holding both executive and technical management positions with several resource companies. She received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Windsor in 2019, was twice named one of “Toronto’s 50 Most Influential” by Toronto Life, and has been named one of “Canada’s Most Powerful Women” by the Women’s Executive Network.

OSC Vice-Chair Grant Vingoe has been appointed Acting Chair effective April 15, 2020.  Mr. Vingoe is a highly-skilled lawyer and respected business leader, who brings solid expertise to the role. Prior to the OSC, Mr. Vingoe was a partner with international law firms in Toronto and New York. He has extensive experience on cross-border securities initiatives and a background in corporate governance and regulatory policy.

The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices, to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the capital markets, 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 www.osc.ca.

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