John McCoach will retire on Dec. 31 after spending six years at the helm of Canada’s largest junior equity market, which caters to small, emerging companies and has become a hotbed for issuers around the world in the resource sector.
Since December, the TSX Venture Exchange has been actively looking for ways to jolt its sleepy market back to life. Now, it will have to look for a new president, too.
John McCoach will retire on Dec. 31 after spending six years at the helm of Canada's largest junior equity market, which caters to small, emerging companies and has become a hotbed for issuers around the world in the resource sector. Mr. McCoach has held executive roles since joining TMX Group Ltd., which owns and operates the Venture, in 2003. He began his career in the securities industry in 1981.
"I would like to acknowledge John's significant contribution to helping build TSXV into the world's premier public venture capital market," Nicholas Thadaney, the president and CEO of global equity capital markets at TMX Group, said Tuesday in a news release.
The rout in commodity prices has crippled the Venture and the companies that list on it. Liquidity has dried up. Listings, financings and issuer value have been steadily falling. In the past five years, the S&P Venture Composite Index has lost 71 per cent of its value. In December, it published a nine-page white-paper detailing its plan for revitalizing the Venture. Senior leaders, including Mr. McCoach, have taken their ideas on the road and held town halls and met with hundreds of clients across the country.
"Over the remainder of the year, John will continue to work on the ongoing implementation of our 'Revitalizing TSXV' initiative and will help ensure an efficient, seamless leadership transition for the company and our clients," Mr. Thadaney added.
TMX Group hasn't yet appointed a successor to Mr. McCoach. The company said a search of internal and external candidates will take place in the coming months.