Dubai: Paul M Koster, chief executive of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent regulator of financial services business in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) will step down later this year.
DFSA yesterday announced that Koster has decided to step down in September.
He was appointed chief executive of the DFSA on December 1, 2008. Prior to holding the position, he was Commissioner and Member of the Executive Board of the Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM), the national financial services regulator for the Netherlands.
Koster previously served as executive vice president (Corporate Internal Audit) at Royal Philips Electronics 1998 to 2001; as managing partner corporate finance, Coopers & Lybrand 1988 to 1998; and as chief compliance officer and acting commissioner of quotations, Amsterdam Stock Exchange from 1986 to 1988.
Accountant
Trained as an accountant with Arthur Andersen, Koster is a licensed registered (chartered) accountant having qualified through the Royal Dutch Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1977.
With Koster deciding to step down, the DFSA board of directors has commenced the normal nominations process to identify a new chief executive, which is being guided by the DFSA's Governance and Nominations Committee.
"The board is confident of finding a worthy successor to Koster to take over the important work which he and his team have been doing; to strive to maintain the high international standards of the DFSA as an independent regulatory body and to contribute to the success of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) as a whole," DFSA said in an emailed statement.
Koster has not announced his future plans. An accomplished market regulator, he joined the advisory board of the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), the UAE's federal securities regulator in May 2009. In September 2010, Koster won the CEO of the Year for Financial Services award and was voted one of the most influential expatriates living and working in the region.
