Dubai's financial regulator said today (Wednesday) that its chief executive, Mark Steward, will join the board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). He takes the seat as the new vice chair of one of its committees.
Steward was appointed vice chair of IOSCO's Growth and Emerging Markets Committee (GEMC), and the board seat comes with that post, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) said.
The committee has 95 members. It also counts 22 non-voting associate members, and ten G20 countries sit among its members, according to the DFSA.
London's trading industry is coming home!
IOSCO develops the international standards that national securities regulators adopt. In Dubai's financial free zone, the DFSA oversees a market where over-the-counter derivatives activity doubled to $13 trillion in notional value in the fourth quarter of 2025.
From FCA Enforcement to Dubai
Steward became DFSA chief executive on May 19, 2025, for a three-year term, succeeding Ian Johnston. A month later the regulator named Juma Thani Alhameli as its chief operating officer.
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Before Dubai, Steward spent seven years as executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA ). He left the FCA in 2022 after joining in 2015.
He earlier led enforcement at Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission and held senior enforcement roles at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
"Emerging markets are playing an increasingly important role in the global financial system," Steward said in the statement.
Under his leadership, the DFSA this year began a conduct review of brokers, which found that 32% of surveyed firms kept no register of staff trades.
Egypt Holds the Committee Chair
The committee is chaired by Islam Azzam, head of Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority. He was elected for the 2026 to 2028 term and is also an IOSCO board vice chair, Egypt's State Information Service reported in May.
The GEMC works on regulatory priorities and market development for securities regulators in growth and emerging economies, the DFSA said.
The Dubai regulator linked the appointment to the Dubai Economic Agenda, known as D33, which aims to make the emirate one of the world's top four financial centers by 2033.
The DFSA regulated 1,050 firms at the end of 2025, after 182 new firms were authorized during the year, according to its annual report.
