Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Gary Gensler today announced that Office of International Affairs (OIA) Director Jacqueline H. Mesa is leaving the agency for other pursuits. Chairman Gensler also announced that current Division of Clearing and Risk Deputy Director Sarah E. Josephson will take over immediately following Ms. Mesa’s departure. Both changes will take place on May 10.
“Jackie has done an exceptional job representing the Commission internationally and promoting global Swaps market reform. She has been instrumental in building close working relationships with our counterparts overseas,” said Chairman Gensler. “I am thrilled that another talented leader of our agency, Sarah Josephson, will take on these duties. She also has been an excellent representative of the Commission abroad, and will ensure a seamless transition as we continue working with international regulators on market reforms that protect the public.”
Ms. Mesa has served as the agency’s Director of OIA since 2006 and has been with the agency for 15 years. She led a broad array of initiatives designed to enhance coordination and cooperation with foreign authorities. She has been the lead advisor to the Commission on international issues and cross-border regulatory matters, most recently regarding implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act).
Ms. Mesa also represented the CFTC in international organizations such as the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Ms. Mesa served as chairman of IOSCO’s Committee 7 on Commodity Derivative Markets that developed principles for the Supervision of Commodity Derivative Markets and Principles for Oil Price Reporting Agencies. Under Ms. Mesa’s leadership, the OIA has increased its duties, working with foreign regulators to achieve consistent laws across borders and developing arrangements with foreign counterparts for cooperative supervision.
Ms. Mesa said, “I thank Chairman Gensler, the Commissioners and prior CFTC Chairs for whom I served for the honor to represent the Commission abroad. I am lucky to have worked with dedicated staff throughout the agency and colleagues from around the world on new and challenging issues. It was an experience for which I will always be grateful.”
Ms. Mesa has served in various roles in the Commission since 1998, and she served as a trial attorney and Assistant Chief Counsel, International, in the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement. Prior to joining the CFTC, Ms. Mesa was an assistant attorney general in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. She received her JD at University of Missouri and her Bachelor’s degree at Rhodes College.
As a Deputy Director in the Division of Clearing and Risk, Ms. Josephson has been responsible for overseeing the implementation of the CFTC’s first mandatory clearing determinations. She has played a leading role in the CFTC’s Dodd-Frank rulemaking process, including work on rules related to swaps clearing and business conduct standards for swap dealers. In 2011, Ms. Josephson served as counsel to Chairman Gary Gensler.
Over the past several years, Ms. Josephson has worked with domestic and international authorities to coordinate the Regulation of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives. She served on a joint project by the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) and IOSCO’s Technical Committee to establish new international standards for payment, clearing, and settlement systems. Ms. Josephson worked with international counterparts in establishing the OTC Derivatives Regulators’ Forum, a group formed in 2009 to provide international financial regulators, including market regulators, central banks, and banking supervisors, with a means to cooperate, exchange views, and share information related to clearinghouses and trade repositories for OTC derivatives. Ms. Josephson also has represented the CFTC on the OTC Derivatives Working Group and the OTC Derivatives Supervisors Group to coordinate global regulators on common reforms for OTC derivatives markets.
Before joining the CFTC, Ms. Josephson served as a law clerk for Judge Myron H. Bright on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and was an associate at Mayer Brown LLP. She received her J.D. with honors from Georgetown University Law Center in 2001 and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in 1998, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
