FINRA Announces Passing of Thomas Gira, Executive VP, Market Regulation and Transparency Services

WASHINGTON – With great sadness, FINRA today announced that Thomas Gira, Executive Vice President of Market Regulation and Transparency Services, passed away on Saturday, June 20. He was 58.

“Tom was a beloved and devoted husband and father, as well as a tremendous leader, colleague and friend, and we are enormously heartbroken by his passing. We extend our most sincere condolences to Tom’s family, who are in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” said President and CEO Robert Cook.

“Tom leaves behind an extensive and exemplary legacy of accomplishment over the course of his tremendous career in the securities industry, including nearly three decades at FINRA. He was well known for his expertise in securities markets regulation, built over the course of his lifetime commitment to protecting investors and the integrity of markets,” Cook added. “Tom was also highly regarded for his integrity and thoughtful character, his gentle and soft-spoken demeanor, and his keen wit and genuine regard for everyone with whom he worked.”

Under Gira’s leadership, FINRA's Market Regulation Department grew to conduct cross-market surveillance of all U.S. equities markets and nearly half of U.S. options markets. The department also performs trading compliance examinations of FINRA-registered firms and provides regulatory services to U.S. exchanges.

More recently, Gira assumed leadership of FINRA’s Transparency Services Department and helped guide that team through significant milestones in delivering increased market transparency to investors, including the reporting of U.S. Treasury securities to FINRA’s Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE). Gira was also at the forefront of leading FINRA’s work in support of the Consolidated Audit Trail. These and other essential regulatory services that Gira supported are vital to FINRA’s mission to protect investors and strengthen the integrity of the markets.

Before joining FINRA in 1992, Gira was an Associate General Counsel of The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. Prior to that, he was Branch Chief for Options and Derivative Products Regulation within the Division of Market Regulation at the SEC.

Gira was a graduate of Wake Forest University, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics. He received his law degree from the University of Maryland.

About FINRA

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.