Following a Council of Ministers decision, Dr George Theocharides has been appointed as the new Chair of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), succeeding Demetra Kalogerou. George Karatzias was appointed as CySEC’s new Vice Chair.
Theocharides has served as CySEC’s Vice Chair since July 2020, and was previously a CySEC Board member. As Associate Professor of Finance at the Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM) and Director of the MSc in its Financial Services Programme from September 2010 until July 2020, he has extensive professional experience in the financial sector. Prior to taking office at the CIIM, he worked as Assistant Professor of Finance at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, from 2006 until 2010. In 2006, he also worked as International Faculty Fellow at the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Previously, he served as a member of the Bank of Cyprus Interim Board and Board Chairman of Cyprus Blockchain Technologies Ltd, among others.
Theocharides says: “I am honoured to lead CySEC at such a challenging and exciting time for the industry, and I would like to thank the President of the Republic and the Council of Ministers for putting their trust in me. My goal is to ensure that CySEC continues to act as a protective shield for investors, and also leads the way for the sector’s healthy growth. Financial technologies are developing at a rapid pace and I will work towards preserving the high standards set by CySEC over previous years, while also ensuring it can be flexible and effective in facing the challenges that lie ahead.
“I also look forward to building on the constructive cooperation that has been achieved with my counterparts from other supervisory authorities abroad, ensuring that Cyprus is able to contribute positively to the expansion and strengthening of regulatory practices and procedures across Europe and beyond.”
