Bill Rice is retiring from his position as chairman and chief executive officer of the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC).

At the end of September, Bill Rice will step down after having completed two consecutive five-year terms as chairman and CEO of the ASC. In a press release issued on Sept. 9, the regulator indicated that Tom Cotter, who is currently vice-chairman, has been appointed to serve interim chairman and CEO effective Oct. 1, 2015.

Prior to joining the ASC in 2015, Cotter was partner in the business law group at McCarthy Tétrault in Calgary. He has also been an instructor and guest lecturer at the University of Calgary faculties of Law and Management, and an instructor for the bar admission course at the Legal Education Society of Alberta. He received his LLB from the University of Calgary and was called to the Alberta bar in 1992.

"The appointment of Mr. Cotter to interim Chair is part of the orderly transition and appointment of a new Chair and Chief Executive Officer, the process of which was delayed earlier this year due to provincial elections," reads the ASC statement. "The Governance Committee of the Commission is overseeing the executive search process, with the responsibility for appointing a permanent Chair and CEO ultimately resting with the Minister of Finance, Alberta."