Mary L. Schapiro

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Mary L. Schapiro is an American financial services regulator who has served in various high-level positions across multiple administrations. She is best known for her role as the 29th chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 2009 to 2012, becoming the first woman to serve as the agency's permanent chairman.
== Background ==
Schapiro's career in financial regulation spans several decades and administrations. Schapiro worked for the Futures Industry Association (FIA) as general counsel and senior vice president from 1984 to 1988.
She began her career at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a trial attorney and later served as counsel and executive assistant to the chairman.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan appointed Schapiro as a CFTC commissioner. She was reappointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1989 and later named acting chairman by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
Schapiro served as chairman of the CFTC from 1994 to 1996, appointed by President Clinton. She is the only person to have chaired both the SEC and CFTC.
From 1996 to 2006, Schapiro held various leadership positions at the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), including president of NASD Regulation. In 2006, she became chairman and CEO of NASD and led its consolidation with NYSE Member Regulation to form the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in 2007.
== Background ==
 
Before becoming SEC chairman, Schapiro was chief operating officer of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business with the U.S. public. Schapiro also served as chairman of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, the largest foundation in the U.S. dedicated to investor education.
Schapiro joined the organization in 1996 as president of NASD Regulation, was named vice chairman in 2002, and in 2006 became NASD's chairman and COO. In 2007, NASD was merged with elements of the member firm oversight components of New York Stock Exchange Regulation to create FINRA. 
NYSE Regulation's three divisions (Market Surveillance, Enforcement, and Listed Company Compliance) regulate equities and options trading and listing compliance for the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Arca, and NYSE Alternext US.
Before assuming her present duties, Schapiro in 1994 was appointed by President Clinton as chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). 
Prior to assuming the CFTC chairmanship, she served for six years as a commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission. She was appointed in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan, reappointed by President Bush in 1989 and named acting chairman by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
Schapiro was a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and was chairman of the IOSCO SRO Consultative Committee from 2002 until 2006.
=== SEC Chairmanship ===
President Barack Obama appointed Schapiro as SEC chairman in January 2009, and she was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. During her tenure, which lasted until December 2012, Schapiro led the agency through one of its most challenging periods following the 2008 financial crisis.
Schapiro took over as head of the SEC after it was accused of failing to detect reckless investments by many of Wall Street's largest financial institutions. She led the agency as it brought civil charges against some of those large banks.
In her testimony before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on January 16, 2009, Schapiro said the SEC should be "reinvigorated" and "have a laser-like focus on fraud and investor protection."
Among her first acts as chairman, Schapiro freed enforcement officials from the need to get SEC approval before negotiating settlements with companies and established an accelerated process for authorizing subpoenas and depositions. This was in line with her strategy to turn around what many saw as a legacy of red tape inherited from the previous chairman Christopher Cox. 
She pushed for self-funding, in which the agency would pay for its activities through industry fees, as part of the Dodd-Frank overhaul soon after she took over as chairman. She said the move would have given the SEC greater latitude in setting its budget, provided it some freedom from congressional oversight of its purse strings, and enabled it to hire staff more quickly. Congress, however, decided not to include self-funding in Dodd-Frank.
In August of 2010, she introduced reform that focused on anticipating crisis rather than reacting to complaints. The new strategy eliminated a whole layer of management. It also gave staff members the power to initiate investigations, issue subpoenas and start settlement negotiations without having prior approval from commissioners appointed by the president. 
Under Schapiro's leadership, the SEC:
* Brought a record number of enforcement actions, including 735 in fiscal year 2011 and 734 in fiscal year 2012.
* Returned more than $6 billion to harmed investors.
* Implemented significant market structure reforms to address issues revealed by the 2010 "flash crash."
* Presided over one of the busiest rulemaking periods in the agency's history, including the implementation of many Dodd-Frank Act provisions.
* Underwent a comprehensive restructuring to improve its effectiveness in investor protection.
Schapiro left the SEC on Dec. 14, 2012.
=== Post-SEC Career ===
After leaving the SEC, Schapiro joined the board of directors of General Electric Company in 2013. She also became vice chairman of the Advisory Board of the Promontory Financial Group.
She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College and a member of the boards of directors of Duke Energy and Kraft Foods. She also serves on the Rand Corporation's LRN-RAND Center of Corporate Ethics, Law and Governance Advisory Board.
Schapiro served as a non-executive director of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) from July 1, 2015, until her resignation in October 2018
== Education ==
Schapiro graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1977. She earned her Juris Doctor degree (with honors) from George Washington University in 1980.
== Awards ==
In 2000, Schapiro was named the Financial Women's Association Public Sector Woman of the Year, and in 2005, she was inducted, as part of the inaugural class, into the Futures Industry Association's Futures Hall of Fame, which was established in 2005 to commemorate outstanding contributions to the global futures and options community. 
== References ==	
category:Regulators
Category:MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Category:CFTC
Category:NASD
Category:NASD Regulation
Category:NASD Regulation - Former Employees
Category:FINRA
Category:FINRA - Former Employees
Category:SEC
Category:Former CFTC Chairmen
Category:Futures Hall of Fame Members
Category:Former SEC Commissioners
Category:Former SEC Chairmen