Nationality:
United States Education:
A 1977 graduate of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., Chairman Schapiro earned a Juris Doctor degree (with honors) from George Washington University in 1980. Chairman Schapiro was named the Financial Women’s Association Public Sector Woman of the Year in 2000. She received a Visionary Award from the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) in 2008, honoring her as a “champion of economic empowerment.”
Professional Career:
Mary L. Schapiro is the 29th Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Chairman Schapiro was appointed by President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and sworn in on January 27, 2009. She is the first woman to serve as the agency’s permanent Chairman.
Chairman Schapiro’s priorities at the SEC include reinvigorating a financial regulatory system that must protect investors and vigorously enforce the rules; and working to deepen the SEC’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and disclosure while always keeping the needs and concerns of investors front and center.
Prior to becoming SEC Chairman, she was CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) — the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business with the U.S. public. Chairman Schapiro joined the organization in 1996 as President of NASD Regulation, and was named Vice Chairman in 2002. In 2006, she was named NASD’s Chairman and CEO. The following year, she led the organization’s consolidation with NYSE Member Regulation to form FINRA.
Chairman Schapiro previously served as a Commissioner of the SEC from December 1988 to October 1994. She was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, reappointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1989, and named Acting Chairman by President Bill Clinton in 1993. She left the SEC when President Clinton appointed her Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where she served until 1996.
Chairman Schapiro is an active member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). She was Chairman of the IOSCO SRO Consultative Committee from 2002 to 2006.