George Karatzias to Become CySEC Chairman, Reports Say

George Karatzias is set to become the next Chairman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), according to local outlet InBusinessNews. He will succeed Dr George Theocharides, whose term as chairman began in September 2021.

Karatzias previously served as CySEC’s Vice-Chairman from 2021 to 2024 before joining the Central Bank of Cyprus as an Executive Board Member. Official confirmation of his appointment is expected tomorrow following a session of the country’s Council of Ministers, which will decide on CySEC's leadership.

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

Karatzias began his professional career in 2006 within international audit firms. 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. He headed the fund services division at Alter Domus in Cyprus from 2011 to 2020 and had two terms on the Funds Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC). He is a Fellow of the ACCA and holds a Master’s degree in Marketing and Financial Services from the University of Exeter.