The FINRA Board of Governors elected John Brennan as its new chairman last week. Brennan, an ex-chief executive and currently chairman emeritus and senior adviser at Vanguard Group, will start his new role on August 15. Robert W. Cook, an ex-division director at the SEC, will start as chief executive of FINRA around the same time.
The moves come as the result of Rich G. Ketchum retiring this summer as chairman and chief executive of the regulatory authority.
At the FINRA annual conference in May, Brennan was questioned by investor advocates about whether FINRA can effectively police brokers. He called industry oversight “fabulous.”
“The idea that self-regulation doesn’t work is specious in my view,” said John Brennan. “I know we’ve made progress in terms of investor protection, market integrity because of the engagement of the industry.”
He also responded to critics who claim that brokers do not have enough say in the organization’s decisions, stating “Members have a loud voice.”
Brennan has been serving as the lead governor of the FINRA board since 2011. He became a member of the board of governors of the NASD in 2007 and remained on the board as it merged with the New York Stock Exchange Regulation in 2007 to create FINRA.
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