CIRO CEO Andrew Kriegler plans to retire early next year. He is shown in April, 2018, when he was CEO of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, a predecessor to CIRO.CHAD HIPOLITO/The Canadian Press
The country’s capital markets watchdog, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, is looking for a new leader after inaugural chief executive officer Andrew Kriegler announced plans to retire early next year.
Mr. Kriegler, 62, has run CIRO and predecessor organizations for the past 12 years. On his watch, the industry created a pan-Canadian investor protection platform through the 2023 merger of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, or IIROC – where Mr. Kriegler was CEO – and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada.
“CIRO’s success is an example of what can be accomplished when groups in different jurisdictions co-operate,” said Mr. Kriegler in an interview.
CIRO’s ability to break down silos and oversee capital markets players under one set of rules across the country is an example of how the provinces can work together to harmonize regulation, despite the fact that securities regulation continues to be under provincial jurisdiction, Mr. Kriegler said. He said model could also work for sectors such as insurance, which also features national companies overseen by provincial regulators.
CIRO created cross-country rules for investment banks and mutual fund dealers and runs systems to track trading in equities, bonds, derivatives and crypto products. Mr. Kriegler said one of the regulator’s key achievements during his tenure “was ensuring an investor gets the same high level of protection, whether they live in Chicoutimi, Kamloops or Toronto.”
Investment dealers and fund managers created CIRO in part as a response to criticism of the country’s fragmented financial oversight from groups such as the International Monetary Fund. Last August, the IMF published a study on Canada’s financial stability that concluded: “Safety net schemes would benefit from further harmonization across jurisdictions.”
CIRO’s board of directors has hired executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to find a new CEO. The process is expected to involve internal and external candidates.
Succession is expected to play out over the next six to 12 months, with Mr. Kriegler remaining CEO throughout the search and transition period.
The next CEO will need experience in overseeing the opportunities and threats that come as markets deal with technology such as artificial intelligence, said CIRO chair Miranda Hubbs.
“We are focused on identifying a leader who will build on Andrew’s contributions and continue to advance CIRO’s mandate in a rapidly evolving financial marketplace,” Ms. Hubbs said.
Last year, CIRO made a small but meaningful 1-per-cent average decrease in the fees it charged companies it oversees. Ms. Hubbs said the next CEO’s mandate will include finding efficiencies in the organization.
Mr. Kriegler joined IIROC after serving as deputy superintendent at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, and holding executive roles at Moody’s Corp. and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Ms. Hubbs said the CIRO board is open to CEO candidates from a variety of backgrounds. She said: “We simply want another great leader.”
CIRO oversees a total of more than 75,000 firms and individuals in the investment industry and another 42,000 individuals and firms in fund management. Last year, the regulator’s revenues were $163-million, while its expenses were $156-million.
In 2025, CIRO imposed a total of $4.7-million in fines and other financial penalties on industry members. Mr. Kriegler said one of the organization’s achievements in recent years was giving its fines the same regulatory heft as court-ordered sanctions. In the past, individuals fined by market regulators frequently ignored the sanction, without adverse consequences.