The board has hired Russell Reynolds to lead the search for a successor
The executive who built Canada's unified investment regulator from the ground up is preparing to step away.
Andrew Kriegler, the inaugural president and CEO of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), has told the board he will not seek a further term and intends to retire next year.
Kriegler asked the board to begin a search for his successor after completing the integration and major objectives of CIRO's inaugural strategic plan.
He will remain president and CEO throughout the search to ensure organizational continuity and maintain focus on the regulator's public interest mandate.
The board has launched a formal search process with executive search firm Russell Reynolds.
The Globe and Mail reported the process will involve both internal and external candidates, with succession expected to play out over six to 12 months.
CIRO described Kriegler's exit as the close of a transformative chapter.
The organization began on January 1, 2023, through the amalgamation of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada, and Kriegler is now in his 12th year as CEO, having led IIROC from 2014.
The body was established to unify oversight of investment dealers, mutual fund dealers and their trading activity under a single, modern self-regulatory framework.
Through a series of delegation orders from provincial and territorial securities authorities, CIRO consolidated responsibility for the registration of all investment and mutual fund dealers and their approved persons, the organization said.
With the enforcement and legal powers granted by those jurisdictions, CIRO said it can deliver harmonized, efficient and effective regulation across Canada.
Board chair Miranda Hubbs praised Kriegler's "integrity and commitment to public service" and the "lasting foundation he has helped establish."
Under his leadership, she said, CIRO "strengthened its regulatory credibility" and became "a high-performing organization" ready for a more complex market.
Kriegler called it "an honour to lead CIRO from its inception" and to have led IIROC earlier.
He is "immensely proud" of building "a more efficient and effective regulator," he said, one set to keep advancing investor protection and market confidence.
Hubbs said the board will conduct "a thorough and disciplined search for CIRO's next President and CEO," noting that Kriegler is "providing ample notice of his retirement plans, for which we are grateful."
She said his "decision to place the long-term interests of the organization first is typical of his foresight and commitment to CIRO," and that the board is focused on identifying a leader who will advance CIRO's mandate in a rapidly evolving financial marketplace.
The Globe and Mail reported Hubbs wants a successor with experience navigating technology such as artificial intelligence, and that the next CEO's mandate will include finding efficiencies.
According to his CIRO profile, Kriegler, 62, served as deputy superintendent at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions before joining IIROC.
He also held executive roles at Moody's Corporation and CIBC, where he was treasurer from 2008 to 2012.
He serves on the board of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, where he chairs the risk committee.
