Reports: CySEC’s New Chair Will Be George Karatzias

According to local outlet InBusinessNews, George Karatzias will succeed Dr George Theocharides as the Chairman of CySEC.

Karatzias had previously served as the regulator’s Vice-Chairman between 2021 and 2024 before moving to the Central Bank of Cyprus as an Executive Board Member.

Official confirmation is expected to arrive tomorrow following a session of the country’s Council of Ministers, which will decide, among other things, CySEC's leadership appointment.

Reports also indicate that Loukas Lagoudis, an existing CySEC board member with extensive risk management and investment banking experience, is tipped to become the next Vice-Chairman.

Dr Theocharides took over as chairman of CySEC in September 2021, succeeding Demetra Kalogirou, having previously served as the authority's deputy chairman from July 2020. During his term, the Commission had increased supervisory activities and established the national registry for CASPs under the EU’s MiCA regulation.

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Who is Who

Karatzias' professional career began in 2006 within international audit firms. Active in industry leadership, he was elected to the board of directors of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) in 2019, where he also served as Vice-Chairman of its Fund Administrators Committee until September 2021.

Meanwhile, he headed the fund services division at Alter Domus in Cyprus from 2011 to 2020.

Additionally, he had two terms on the Funds Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC).

Karatzias is a Fellow of the ACCA and earned a Master’s degree in Marketing and Financial Services from the University of Exeter.