A trio of Canada’s top securities experts, Cecilia Williams, Lawrence Haber and Poonam Puri, were today named commissioners of the Ontario Securities Commission. The newly appointed executives on the board of directors will each serve a two-year term beginning in February 2017, the OSC officially announced on Friday.
Both Cecilia and Haber bring substantial experience as lawyers in key areas of the capital markets, while their specialized expertise will be an asset to the OSC in the effective regulation of increasingly complex and rapidly evolving capital markets.
Lorie is exceptionally well qualified for the job, bringing 30 years of experience in in Canada’s regulatory community. His appointment comes as the OSC is also preparing for the launch of a new federal-provincial securities regulator, which has a launch date of 2018. One of Mr. Haber’s recent roles has been to serve as member of Ontario’s Expert Committee to Consider Financial Advisory and Financial Planning Policy Alternatives.
The provincial regulator also appointed Cecilia Williams, a veteran of capital markets regulation in Canada, as its newest commissioner. Before joining OSC, Cecilia served as Senior Vice-President, Chief Compliance and Regulatory Officer at Scotiabank, where she was tasked with various responsibilities but was mainly focused on venture investing.
Moreover, the OSC hired the respected scholar and commentator Poonam Puri. She has over two decades of experience in securities law and financial regulation, with prior positions in the legal, financial and regulatory communities. Poonam was one of two research directors for the Expert Panel on Securities Regulation, Federal Ministry of Finance, which led to the proposed common securities regulator.
In its capacity as one of Canada’s provincial regulators, OSC seeks to protect investors while promoting fair and efficient capital markets throughout the province. The regulator website provides information, tools and resources for investors, including investor warnings about individuals and companies that appear to be engaging in unauthorized activities.
Speaking about the new appointments, Maureen Jensen, Chair and CEO of the OSC, said: “I am very pleased to welcome Cecilia, Lawrence and Poonam to the Commission, and am confident their unique skill sets and longstanding expertise in securities law will help the Commission deliver on its mandate for investors and Ontario’s capital markets.”
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