Ontario’s provincial government has tapped veteran regulator Maureen Jensen to lead the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), Canada’s largest securities regulator.
Jensen’s appointment as the OSC’s next chairwoman and CEO is subject to review by the Standing Committee on Government Agencies. Jensen would succeed Howard Wetston, whose term atop the OSC ended last November. Since then, OSC vice chairwoman Monica Kowal has been serving as interim chairwoman.
Jensen’s nomination comes at a time when several provinces and the federal government are working to create a co-operative capital markets regulator (CCMR), which would involve merging the OSC with several other provincial authorities in a bid to create a quasi-national regulator.
In a release announcing her nomination, the provincial government notes that Jensen has been “an instrumental part of the OSC’s executive team in supporting the government’s efforts to develop and establish the [CCMR].”
The new authority is slated to launch this autumn, although that timing seems unlikely given that the provincial and federal legislation required to launch the new regime has yet to be finalized.
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Jensen has been the OSC’s executive director and chief administrative officer since 2011. She joined the OSC from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), at which she was senior vice president, surveillance and compliance.
Prior to that, Jensen headed one of IIROC’s predecessors, Market Regulation Services Inc., and was a director of the Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Group.
Before she entered the world of regulation, Jensen worked in the mining sector. She is licensed as a geologist and accredited as a director. She has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Toronto.
“Ms. Jensen’s nomination as the OSC’s new chair[woman] and [CEO] reflects her accomplished career in the financial services industry and expertise in capital markets regulation,” says Charles Sousa, Ontario’s Minister of Finance. “She is well-respected by her colleagues and peers in the investment industry across the country. Ms. Jensen’s leadership will ensure that the OSC will continue to operate efficiently and smoothly through a crucial period of modernizing Canada’s capital markets regulatory system.”
Ontario’s government also notes that Jensen has played a big part in its efforts to improve gender diversity in corporate management and boardrooms, with the OSC spearheading rules that establish disclosure requirements for public companies in this area.
Photo: Ontario Securities Commission