Firms Elect Two Industry Governors to FINRA Board of Governors, New Public Governor Appointed
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced the results of voting that took place at its 2013 Annual Meeting today in Washington, DC. In accordance with FINRA By-Laws, firms elected two Governors, one from among the small firms and one from among the large firms. FINRA also named a new public Governor to its Board of Governors. Governors are appointed or elected to three-year terms and may not serve more than two consecutive terms.
Governors Elected
- Small Firm Governor: Robert Keenan, Chief Executive Officer of St. Bernard Financial Services
- Large Firm Governor: James D. Weddle, Managing Partner, Edward Jones
Newly elected, Mr. Keenan will serve as a small firm Governor. Elected in 2010, Mr. Weddle has served as the large firm Governor for the past three years.
Governors Appointed
One individual was named to the Board as a public Governor:
- Public Governor: Shelly Lazarus, former chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather
Ms. Lazarus replaces FINRA Board member Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, who had served as a public Governor on the Board since FINRA's inception in 2007.
Governors Re-Appointed
Four individuals were also recently re-appointed to the Board, including three public members.
Investment Company Affiliate
- John J. Brennan, The Vanguard Group, Inc.
Public Governors
- William H. Heyman, The Travelers Companies, Inc.
- John W. Schmidlin, Retired
- Gary H. Stern, Former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Richard Ketchum, FINRA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Congratulations to the Governors. I welcome our two new Governors, Shelly Lazarus and Robert Keenan, as they join this talented and diverse Board of Governors. Shelly brings with her a wealth of expertise and business acumen that will serve FINRA and our constituents well. I look forward to welcoming Robert in his new role as small firm Governor. I also thank Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson and Jed Bandes for their years of dedication and service to FINRA as they leave the Board."
FINRA is overseen by a 22-person Board of Governors, with 11 seats held by Public Governors and 10 by Industry Governors. FINRA's CEO has the remaining seat. Large firms, consisting of 500 or more registered persons, and small firms, consisting of 150 registered persons or fewer, each have three seats on the Board. Medium-sized firms – those with 151 to 499 registered persons – NYSE floor members, independent dealer/insurance affiliated firms and investment companies each have one seat.
FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business – from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms, writing rules, enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws, informing and educating the investing public, providing trade reporting and other industry utilities, and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and firms. For more information, please visit www.finra.org.