George Karatzias set to return to CySEC as chairman

Nicosia, Cyprus. George Karatzias is set to return to the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) as its chairman, more than two years after leaving the regulator to join the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC). The appointment has not yet been formally announced.

Expected appointment

According to information published on Wednesday, Karatzias has been selected to succeed George Theocharides, who has led CySEC since September 2021.

Loukas Lagoudis is expected to be appointed as CySEC’s new vice-chairman.

Previous roles at CySEC and CBC

Karatzias served as CySEC vice-chairman from September 2021 until May 2024, when he left the Commission to become an executive member of the CBC board.

He was appointed to the CBC board in May 2024 and has since served as one of its executive members.

Professional background

Before entering public-sector financial supervision, Karatzias led the Cyprus fund services operation of Alter Domus. He joined the company in 2011 and remained there until the end of 2020.

Earlier in his career, he worked for international audit firms after entering the profession in 2006.

Karatzias was elected to the board of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) in 2019 and served as vice-chairman of its Fund Administrators Committee until September 2021. He also served two terms on the Funds Committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC).

He is a Fellow of ACCA and holds a master’s degree in Marketing and Financial Services from the University of Exeter.