Steven Maijoor is the first Chair of ESMA, and took up office on 1 April 2011. Before taking up this position he was managing director at the Dutch financial markets regulator, the AFM. In that role he prepared and established independent capital market oversight, and his responsibilities included overseeing the integrity of financial markets, prospectuses & public offerings, financial reporting and auditing. As a regulator, Steven has held various international positions, including the Chairmanship of IFIAR (International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators).

Before starting as a regulator, Steven pursued a career in academia. He completed a PhD in economics on the regulation of financial reporting, and was Dean of the School of Business and Economics at the Maastricht University. Steven is now a professor at the VU University Amsterdam.

His calendar, including meetings with external stakeholders, can be found under Key dates.

A large photograph for use by journalists is available in the photo library.

Verena Ross was appointed Executive Director of ESMA following a nomination by the ESMA Board of Supervisors on 22 February 2011, and a subsequent hearing in the European Parliament on 17 March 2011. She took up her new responsibilities at ESMA on 1 June 2011.

Prior to this, Verena Ross held a number of senior posts in the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA). In her last post, which she held from October 2009 until May 2011, Verena Ross was Director of the FSA's International Division reporting directly to the CEO. The Division's responsibilities included: delivering a strategic approach to FSA's international work, coordinating or supporting the FSA's EU and international committee work and providing technical advice on EU and international policy issues. Verena was also a member of the FSA's Executive Committee and the Executive Policy and Risk Committees.
Verena started her career at the Bank of England as an economist covering the East Asian economies before becoming a banking supervisor after studying in Hamburg, Taipei and London (SOAS). From 1998 to 2000 she ran the Executive Chairman's office for Sir Howard Davies during the creation and early years of the UK's single regulator. She was also briefly seconded as an advisor to the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong in 2000.

Her calendar, including meetings with external stakeholders, can be found under Key dates.

A large photograph for use by journalists is available in the photo library.

Carlos Tavares chaired CESR from July to December 2010 and served as Vice-Chairman from February 2009. He has been Chairman of the Comissao do Mercado de Valores Mobiliarios (the CMVM) since October 2005. Before joining the CMVM, Mr Tavares was the head of the Bureau of European policy Advisers to the President of the European Commission, after having been Minister of Economy in the government of José Manuel Barroso. Prior to this, Mr Tavares has occupied a number of governmental positions, such as Member of the EEC Monetary Committee, Secretary of State for the Treasury, member of the EC Economic Policies Coordination Group and Director of the Research Department of the Ministry of Finance. In his professional life, Mr Tavares has held a number of positions within financial institutions, and has also academic experience as a teaching assistant in the field of econometrics and macroeconomics. Mr Tavares studied economics at Oporto University.