FINRA Announces Governor Elections

WASHINGTON – FINRA announced today the election of three Governors to its Board of Governors:

• Timothy C. Scheve, President and Chief Executive Officer of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, was elected by large firms as a Large Firm Governor, one of three representatives of large firms on the Board. Scheve joined the FINRA Board of Governors in April, when he was appointed to fill an unexpired term.
• FINRA mid-size firms re-elected Brian J. Kovack, Co-Founder & President of Kovack Securities, Inc., as the Mid-Size Firm Governor. Kovack was first elected to the Board in 2015, and serves as its sole mid-size firm representative.
• FINRA small firms elected Paige W. Pierce, Senior Vice President of Larimer Capital Corp., as one of three small firm representatives on the Board of Governors. Pierce is a former chair of the FINRA Small Firm Advisory Committee (SFAC).

The newly elected Governors join CalSTRS Chief Executive Officer Jack Ehnes as the newest members on the FINRA Board. Ehnes was appointed as a Public Governor in June to complete an unexpired term, which concluded at today’s Annual Meeting. At its July Board meeting, the Board’s Nominating and Governance Committee re-nominated and the Board re-appointed Ehnes to a full term on the Board, which begins today. CalSTRS – the California State Teachers' Retirement System – provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits for California's more than 930,000 pre-kindergarten through community college educators and their families.

“I am pleased to congratulate Tim and Paige on their elections to the Board, and to congratulate Brian on his re-election,” said FINRA Chairman William H. Heyman. “I also look forward to continuing to work with Jack as he begins his first full term on the Board.”

“Our new and returning Board members bring valuable perspectives that will help us improve FINRA’s operations and advance our mission,” said FINRA CEO Robert W. Cook. “I welcome the new Board members and look forward to their contributions to ensuring the highest standards of investor protection.”

FINRA is overseen by a 24-member Board of Governors, the majority of whom are public members. The industry governors include three from large firms, one from medium-size firms, three from small firms, one floor member, one independent dealer/insurance affiliate and one investment company affiliate. FINRA Governors are appointed or elected to three-year terms and may not serve more than two consecutive terms.

FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. It regulates one critical part of the securities industry – brokerage firms doing business with the public in the United States. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.