After seven years at the Financial Conduct Authority, Mark Steward is to step down as executive director of Enforcement and Market Oversight.

Since joining the FCA in 2015, Steward has led the delivery of some of the watchdog's most high-profile and precedent-setting enforcement cases, with many notable successes against major global financial institutions and individuals. He also led the FCA’s listing authority and oversight of the UK’s publicly traded markets, a role in which he developed the FCA’s data-led approach to market oversight. He has been at the forefront of the FCA’s anti-scam marketing campaign, Scamsmart.

Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the FCA, said: “Mark has brought his formidable experience as a regulator and as a litigator to the FCA, delivering significant enforcement cases across a broad spectrum, as well as the FCA’s data-led approach to market oversight. That enormous contribution is a result of Mark’s abiding belief in fairness, that markets must be clean if the economy is to thrive and in doing the right thing on behalf of consumers. He has shown that the FCA is willing to take on challenging cases, will use the full extent of our powers and will deliver results that have a real impact for the markets we oversee and for those who rely on them. I am hugely grateful for Mark’s leadership, dedication and expertise and wish him the very best for the future.”

Steward added: “It has been a privilege to serve the FCA throughout many challenges over the last seven years and, as I move on, to leave behind such a strong team for the future.”

Steward joined the FCA in 2015 from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, where he was executive director with responsibility for the enforcement division. Before joining the SFC, Steward held several senior positions with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. He has been involved in corporate and securities regulation since 1987 in both Australia and in the UK, specialising in investigatory work and resulting litigation. He completed a law degree at the University of Melbourne in 1989.

The global search for Mark’s successor will begin shortly. Steward will leave the FCA in Spring 2023.

Share Story: