FINRA Elects Three Governors to its Board

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced on Tuesday that three governors had been elected to its board. This includes Brian Kovack, co-founder and President of Kovack Securities, who has been re-elected. He was first elected to the board in 2015.

The other two governors are Timothy Scheve, CEO of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, and Paige Pierce, Senior Vice President of Larimer Capital Corp. The latter is a former chair of the US financial regulator’s Small Firm Advisory Committee (SFAC).

Scheve was elected to the position of 'Large Firm Governor'. He originally joined the board in April this year to fill an unexpired term. Pierce will serve as a small firm representative. Kovack, on the other hand, will serve as the regulator’s sole mid-size firm representative.

FINRA’s Board of Governors is made up of 24 members. Of these, three are appointed by large firms, one by medium-sized firms and three by small firms. In addition, there is a single floor member, one independent dealer/insurance affiliate and one investment company affiliate.

Scheve, Pierce and Kovack will each serve a three-year term. FINRA governors can't serve more than two consecutive terms, so this will be Kovack's last.

FINRA reappoints Jack Ehnes to Board

The newly-elected governors join Jack Ehnes, the CEO of CalSTRS. Ehnes was appointed as a public governor in June this year. He joined the watchdog to complete an unexpired term, which concluded at Tuesday’s annual meeting, and appointed to a full term in July.

Commenting on the elections, FINRA Chairman William Heyman said: “I am pleased to congratulate Tim and Paige on their elections to the Board and to congratulate Brian on his re-election. I also look forward to continuing to work with Jack as he begins his first full term on the Board.”

The CEO of FINRA, Robert Cook, added: “Our new and returning Board members bring valuable perspectives that will help us improve FINRA’s operations and advance our mission. I welcome the new Board members and look forward to their contributions to ensuring the highest standards of investor protection.”