Steven Maijoor is the chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). He took up office on April 1st 2011 and is the first chair of the authority and has been appointed for a term of 5 years. He represents the Authority and is responsible for chairing ESMA's Board of Supervisors, which gives strategic guidance to ESMA and takes all main regulatory and supervisory decisions. He also chairs the Management Board, which needs to ensure that the Authority carries out its mission and performs its tasks. Prior to taking up this role, Mr. Maijoor was the managing director at the Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). In his regulatory role at the AFM, Mr. Maijoor held a number of international positions, including but not limited to the chairmanship of IFIAR (International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators). Before joining the regulatory world, Mr. Maijoor was the dean of the School of Business and Economics at Maastricht University. He holds a Ph.D. in business economics from Maastricht University, was a research student at the London School of Economics, and has an M.A. in business economics from the University of Groningen. He is a Salzburg Global Fellow.