OSC sees executive suite shakeup

Several top executives are leaving the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) as the regulator prepares to implement a new strategic plan. 

The shakeup at Canada’s largest securities regulator includes the departure of the first head of its investor office, Tyler Fleming; the first head of its innovation office, Pat Chaukos; and the director of its compliance and registrant regulation branch, Debra Foubert.

“In connection with the OSC’s strategic evolution, I can confirm that Pat Chaukos, Tyler Fleming, and Debra Foubert have transitioned, or will be transitioning, out of their roles at the commission,” said JP Vecsi, senior public affairs specialist at the OSC, in a statement.

The departure of the trio of executives comes in the wake of the exit of Jeff Kehoe, the OSC’s head of enforcement, who left at the end of February.

Executive director Leslie Byberg is overseeing the enforcement branch, Vecsi said, while the OSC seeks Kehoe’s replacement.

In its latest draft statement of priorities, the OSC indicated that it’s developing a new strategic plan, following a fundamental restructuring that includes the separation of its regulatory and adjudicative functions — along with recommendations for sweeping reforms in this area from both a provincial task force and Ontario’s auditor general.

“Together, these changes have prompted the need for a new and refreshed strategic plan to ensure that we are well-positioned for the future,” the OSC said in its draft agenda.

That plan, which will set the OSC’s direction over the next six years, will be unveiled later this spring.

Ahead of its launch, the regulator noted that it will also be reviewing the organization “to ensure organizational programs — including a talent strategy, the investment in technology and data analytics, and operating models — are designed to support the implementation of the strategic plan.”

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.