OSC announces new Vice-Chair and Commissioner appointments

For Immediate Release OSC

Wendy Berman has been appointed Vice Chair, Cathy Singer as part-time Commissioner

TORONTO – Ontario Securities Commission Acting Chair and Chief Executive Officer Grant Vingoe today announced the appointment of Wendy Berman as Vice-Chair for a one-year term, and Cathy Singer as part-time Commissioner for a two-year term.

Wendy Berman is a highly experienced litigator, with expertise in complex commercial and securities-related litigation, often involving parallel and cross-border regulatory, criminal and class action proceedings and in litigation relating to proxy contests, takeover bids and other mergers and acquisitions. Wendy is on sabbatical from the law firm Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, where she is a partner and served as Chair of the Securities Litigation Group. Wendy has also previously served on the OSC’s Securities Proceedings Advisory Committee. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Toronto.

Cathy Singer is a lawyer with over 30 years of business and securities law experience in private practice, as well as from a securities regulatory perspective. Cathy’s experience is broad-based including mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, corporate governance, investment funds and related-party transactions. Cathy is currently a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. She previously was seconded to the OSC as General Counsel. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario.  

 “I am pleased by the appointments of Wendy and Cathy to the Commission and welcome the extensive experience and securities-related expertise they will bring,” said Grant Vingoe, Acting Chair and CEO of the OSC. “I know their perspectives will be invaluable as we continue to respond to business and market demands, while ensuring strong investor protections are in place.”

The Commission consists of nine to 16 Commissioners, including a full-time Chair and two full-time Vice-Chairs.

Biographical information on all Commissioners is available in the About the OSC section of the OSC website.

The Commission performs three distinct functions in support of its mandate – making policies and rules, serving as the board of directors, and adjudicating.

The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices, to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the capital markets, and to contribute to the stability of the financial system and the reduction of systemic risk.  Investors are urged to check the registration of any persons or company offering an investment opportunity and to review the OSC investor materials available at http://www.osc.gov.on.ca.

 

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