Election Notice - 12/30/2024

FINRA Announces SFAC, Regional Committee and NAC Election Results and Appointments

Published Date:

Summary

FINRA recently held annual elections to fill vacancies on the Small Firm Advisory Committee (SFAC) and the Regional Committees, and, at its December meeting, the FINRA Board of Governors (FINRA Board) appointed several individuals to fill vacancies on the SFAC and the National Adjudicatory Council (NAC). This Notice lists the individuals recently elected and appointed to the SFAC, Regional Committees and NAC.

Additionally, as discussed below, FINRA will soon hold an election to fill one small firm seat and one large firm seat on the NAC.

Questions concerning this Notice may be directed to Jennifer Piorko Mitchell, Vice President and Deputy Corporate Secretary, via email or at (202) 728-8949.

Small Firm Advisory Committee

FINRA’s small firms elected the following individuals as the North Region and West Region Representatives on the SFAC:

  • North Region Representative: Karolina Pajdak, Chief Compliance Officer, R. Seelaus & Co., LLC
  • West Region Representative: Brian D. Buehler, President & Chief Executive Officer, Triton Pacific Securities, LLC

The following individuals were also appointed to the SFAC:

  • At-Large Member: Andrew Kurian, Chief Compliance Officer, Hedgebay Securities, LLC
  • South Region Representative: Paula Heffron, Chief Compliance Officer, Stonecrest Capital Markets, Inc.

The new SFAC members, other than Ms. Heffron, will serve three-year terms beginning on January 1, 2025. Ms. Heffron was appointed to complete a partial term that runs until December 31, 2026.

Regional Committees

For FINRA’s Regional Committee elections, all districts, except the New York Region/District 10, had two seats up for election. The New York Region/District 10 had four vacancies. The election results are listed below, and these individuals will serve three-year terms on the Regional Committees beginning January 1, 2025.

Vacancies remain for the South Region (District 6) and the West Region (Districts 2 and 3) and FINRA is seeking individuals to fill these positions. Qualified individuals interested in these seats should complete the indication of interest form on FINRA’s website or email the Office of the Corporate Secretary to be considered.

Seats that will be filled by appointment are noted below with an asterisk (*).

Midwest Region
District 4 Representatives
  • Kimberly Chapman, Chief Compliance Officer, Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services 
  • Margaret A. Dubil, Director of Surveillance, Stifel, Nicolaus, & Company, Incorporated
Midwest Region
District 8 Representatives
  • Taylor Kerley, Director of Corporate Compliance, Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated 
  • Thomas Sarko, Chief Compliance Officer, Core Financial, LLC
New York Region
District 10 Representatives
  • Peter A. Garcia, Head of Business Development and Controls, North America, Rabo Securities USA, Inc.
  • Brenda Hinton, Chief Compliance Officer, Nasdaq Capital Markets Advisory LLC
  • David L. Hunt, Chief Compliance Officer, Palico LLC
  • Anthony Savarese, Head of U.S. Compliance, XTX Execution Services LLC
North Region
District 9 Representatives
  • Michael P. Doherty, Chief Compliance Officer, Susquehanna Securities, LLC
  • Steven Trigili, Chief Compliance Officer, Garden State Securities, Inc.
North Region
District 11 Representatives
  • John Klocek, Chief Compliance Officer, Loomis Sayles Distributors, L.P. 
  • Alina Monisov, Director of Compliance, U.S. Boston Capital Corporation
South Region
District 5 Representatives
  • Nicole Sylvester Brinkerhoff, Compliance, Carty & Company, Inc.
  • Robert Keenan, Chief Executive Officer, St. Bernard Financial Services, Inc.
South Region
District 6 Representatives* 
  • Trisha Hancock, Chief Compliance Officer, Invesco Distributors, Inc.
  • One Seat Open - To be filled by appointment
South Region
District 7 Representatives
  • Christy Lee, FINOP - Principal Financial Officer, Millennium Advisors, LLC
  • Jim R. Webb, Chief Executive Officer, American Global Wealth Management, Inc.
West Region
District 1 Representatives
  • Jaya Price, Compliance Officer, Qatalyst Partners LP
  • Jason Rives, Chief Executive Officer/Chief Compliance Officer, Figure Securities, Inc.
West Region
District 2 Representatives*
  • Ken Muraoka, Sr. Managing Director and Head of Compliance Shared Services, Cetera Advisor Networks LLC
  • One Seat Open - To be filled by appointment
West Region
District 3 Representatives*
  • MacGregor B. Maitland, Chief Risk Officer, Steward Partners Investment Solutions, LLC
  • One Seat Open - To be filled by appointment

National Adjudicatory Council 

The Board appointed the following individuals to fill two non-industry seats on the NAC for four-year terms beginning January 1, 2025. 

  • Julius Drelick – Retired
  • Gina-Gail Fletcher – Professor, Duke University School of Law

In addition, as discussed in Election Notice 11/7/2024, the FINRA Nominating & Governance Committee nominated the following individuals for upcoming vacancies for a large firm seat and a small firm seat. The petition period for other individuals to try to become candidates for these seats ended on December 23, 2024. The petition candidates will be announced in early January when the election begins; the election will run for 30 days and will conclude in early February.  

FINRA Nominees:

  • Large Firm Member Nominee: Richard Kuhlman, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
  • Small Firm Member Nominee: Trinity Lee, President and Executive Director, Heim, Young & Associates, Inc.