Andrew Kriegler won’t be seeking a renewed term as president and CEO of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), the regulator announced on Thursday.
Kriegler, 62, “intends to retire next year,” a release said, and he has asked CIRO’s board to begin a search for his successor.
“It has been an honour to lead CIRO from its inception and to have served as CEO of IIROC [Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada] before it,” Kriegler said in the release. “I am immensely proud of what our people have accomplished in building on the strengths of our predecessor organizations to establish a more efficient and effective regulator for Canadian investors and markets.”
The board has begun a formal search for a new CEO, working with leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates, the release said. Kriegler will stay on as president and CEO throughout the search.
Kriegler is in his 12th year as CEO, having led IIROC since 2014 and then its successor CIRO since 2023, when IIROC and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada merged.
In the release, the board congratulated Kriegler for “exceptional leadership in guiding CIRO from inception … through a period of significant growth, integration and transformation. “
Under Kriegler, CIRO’s governance and operating model was established, as was a three-year strategic vision that included plans for expanded access to advice and standardized know-your-client data collection. CIRO was also delegated responsibility for registration of all investment and mutual fund dealers and reps, helping to harmonize regulation.
“On behalf of the board, I thank Andrew for his integrity and commitment to public service, his dedication to Canadian investors and the investment industry, and the lasting foundation he has helped establish,” Miranda Hubbs, CIRO board chair, said in the release.
Before IIROC, Kriegler was deputy superintendent of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. He also spent 25 years in the private sector, working for several of the Big Six banks as well as Moody’s Corp.
In recent months, Kriegler faced persistent inquiries and criticism after the regulator detected a data breach in August 2025, resulting from a phishing attack. The stolen data included registrants’ personal information, as well as that of about 750,000 Canadian investors. In addition to the types of data that were stolen, the regulator’s retention of data from past dealer audits was called into question.
Two potential class actions against CIRO — one in Quebec and one in B.C. — related to the breach have been filed in court, neither of which has been certified.
In Thursday’s release, Hubbs said Kriegler will “leave CIRO in a strong strategic and operational position. Under his leadership, CIRO has strengthened its regulatory credibility, enhanced collaboration with domestic and international partners, improved operational resilience, and built a high-performing organization positioned to respond to an increasingly complex and evolving capital markets environment.”
In a statement shared on LinkedIn, Grant Vingoe, president and CEO of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), said, “Andrew Kriegler oversaw one of the most significant shifts in the Canadian regulatory model when CIRO was born out of the merger of its two predecessor organizations. … Constantly driven by CIRO’s mandate to protect investors, provide efficient, consistent, and trusted regulation across provincial borders, Andrew has worked to implement a modern framework to support our market participants, investors, and provincial securities regulators.”
Vingoe said he appreciated Kriegler’s candor, and he thanked him for supporting the OSC and for “significant” contributions to Canada’s capital markets.