FINRA announced today that it has promoted Nathaniel Stankard to Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff to the CEO for Regulatory Operations, effective immediately. In this new role, Stankard will be responsible for providing strategic direction on the integration of FINRA’s regulatory operations, and for helping advance FINRA’s unified approach to regulatory policy.

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Nathaniel Stankard (Photo: Business Wire)

Stankard had been Senior Vice President and Senior Advisor to President and CEO Robert Cook, to whom he will continue to report. He will work closely with FINRA’s chief legal officer and the heads of FINRA’s Member Supervision, Market Regulation and Transparency Services, and Enforcement departments to enhance FINRA’s regulatory operations, further develop FINRA’s integrated regulatory program and prepare FINRA for industry and market developments that may require a regulatory response. Stankard will also continue to provide strategic and policy advice to Cook on other aspects of FINRA’s regulatory mission.

“Achieving FINRA’s mission of investor protection and market integrity depends on coordinated, comprehensive responses to the risks facing investors and markets across all of our operations,” said Cook. ”Nathaniel’s proven leadership abilities, collaborative approach and deep experience across regulatory operations, policy and the securities industry make him ideally suited to take on this newly created position and work with the leaders of our Member Supervision, Market Regulation and Enforcement groups as they continue integrating and enhancing FINRA’s regulatory programs.”

Stankard joined FINRA in 2017. Prior to that, he worked for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for seven years. He first served as the Counsel to the Director of the Division of Trading and Markets and later as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy in the Office of Chair Mary Jo White, where he managed the rulemaking agenda of the Commission; advised the Chair on a diverse range of complex legal and policy matters; coordinated cross-agency staff teams comprised of policy, legal and economic experts; and represented the Chair in negotiations with other agencies and market participants.

His financial industry background also includes time working at Morgan Stanley, where he was an Executive Director in what is now the Global Sustainable Finance Group, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he was an associate responsible for complex securities law matters.

Stankard received a B.A. in Economics from Oberlin College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

“FINRA plays a critical role in protecting investors, and our success in that mission depends on the exceptional, tireless efforts of our people,” said Stankard. “I am proud of what our regulatory operations do every day to safeguard investors and ensure market integrity, and I look forward to working with my colleagues across FINRA to further strengthen our ability to advance that mission as one unified team.”

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.

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