Jim Reese

Jim Reese is Executive Vice President, Examinations. In this role, Mr. Reese leads the Exam Program’s strategic direction and execution and drives continuous improvement while supporting and empowering member firm compliance through shared observations and findings. Mr. Reese’s focus is on modernizing Examinations’ regulatory approach through the integration of advanced technology, analytics, and intelligence-led strategies in strong partnership with his Regulatory Operations colleagues.

For the past three years, Mr. Reese led the Strategic Intelligence and Analytics team, driving the use of analytics and data across FINRA and bringing together intelligence teams and subject matter experts to further share risk and threat intelligence internally and with member firms. Among other FINRA wide initiatives, his efforts led to the creation of the Model Risk Oversight unit and he also co-led FINRA’s development of regulatory responses to broker-dealer/investment adviser and retail investor trends.

Prior to joining FINRA in May 2022, Mr. Reese was the Chief Risk and Strategy Officer for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations. In that role, he led a multidisciplinary unit of staff responsible for enhancing the division’s ability to identify and target firms and practices that present the greatest risks to investors, markets and capital formation. During his 23-year tenure at the SEC, he served in a variety of roles analyzing risk to investors and the markets. He earned a B.A. in Business from Virginia Wesleyan University and is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).