Gary Gensler to step down from SEC as Donald Trump is sworn in as US President
GARY Gensler, Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is to step down the moment Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States begins.
Gensler has been in the post since 2021 and has repeatedly locked horns with Wall Street and cryptocurrency giants.
The SEC confirmed this evening that its 33rd Chair would step down from the Commission effective at 12pm on January 20, 2025 - the same time the inauguration begins.
Gensler began his tenure on April 17, 2021, in the immediate aftermath of the GameStop market events.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission is a remarkable agency,” said Gensler.
“The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike. The staff comprises true public servants. It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of everyday Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world.
“I thank President Biden for entrusting me with this incredible responsibility. The SEC has met our mission and enforced the law without fear or favor. I’ve greatly enjoyed working with my fellow Commissioners, Allison Herren Lee, Elad Roisman, Hester Peirce, Caroline Crenshaw, Mark Uyeda, and Jaime Lizárraga. I also thank Congress, my colleagues across the US government, and fellow regulators around the world.”
About Gary Gensler
Chair Gensler was formerly Chair of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, leading the Obama Administration’s reform of the $400 trillion swaps market. He also was senior advisor to US Senator Paul Sarbanes in writing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) and was undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance and assistant secretary of the Treasury from 1997-2001.
In recognition for his service, Chair Gensler was awarded the Alexander Hamilton Award, the US Treasury’s highest honor. He is a recipient of the 2014 Frankel Fiduciary Prize.
Before joining the SEC, Chair Gensler was professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, co-director of MIT’s Fintech@CSAIL, and senior advisor to the MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative. From 2017-2019, he served as chair of the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission.
Earlier in his career, Chair Gensler worked at Goldman Sachs, where he became a partner in the Mergers & Acquisition department, headed the firm’s Media Group, led fixed income & currency trading in Asia, and was co-head of Finance, responsible for the firm's worldwide Controllers and Treasury efforts.
A native of Baltimore, Chair Gensler earned his undergraduate degree in economics in 1978 and his MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1979. He has three daughters.
