Election Notice – 12/19/19

FINRA Announces Regional Committee, SFAC and NAC Election Results and Appointments

Published Date:

Executive Summary

FINRA recently held annual elections to fill vacancies on its Regional Committees, Small Firm Advisory Committee (SFAC) and the National Adjudicatory Council (NAC). Additionally, at its December meeting, the FINRA Board of Governors (FINRA Board) also selected individuals to fill several appointed seats on the SFAC and NAC. This Notice lists the individuals recently elected and appointed to the Regional Committees, SFAC and NAC. Questions concerning this Notice may be directed to Jennifer Piorko Mitchell, Vice President and Deputy Corporate Secretary, by email or (202) 728-8949.

Regional Committees

The individuals below were elected or appointed to serve three-year terms on FINRA’s Regional Committees beginning January 1, 2020. The seats noted with an asterisk (*) were either uncontested races or were appointed by FINRA, as there were no candidates for these seats.

West Region Committee
District 1 Representatives*
  • Joseph F. Helmer, President, Caldwell Sutter Capital, Inc. 
  • Laura Liu, Director, Compliance, First Republic Securities Company, LLC
District 2 Representatives*
  • Robert (“Rob”) Jones, Director, Compliance Department, Sorrento Pacific Financial, LLC 
  • Audrey McMahon, Chief Operating Officer, Ares Investor Services LLC
District 3 Representatives*
  • Kent Jeffrey Lund, Interim Chief Compliance Officer & Chief Executive Officer, GVC Capital LLC 
  • Harry Lynn Striplin, Chief Compliance Officer, Paulson Investment Company LLC
Midwest Region Committee
District 4 Representatives
  • Kenneth M. Cherrier, SVP AML Compliance, U.S. Bank Wealth Management, U.S. Bancorp Investments
  • Brett Flansburg, Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer, AEIS, Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
District 8 Representatives*
  • Suzanne L. Bond, Senior Vice President, Inland Securities Corporation
  • Bill Hayden, Chief Compliance Officer, KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc.
South Region Committee
District 5 Representatives*
  • Anthony M. Cognevich, Chief Compliance Officer, Hancock Whitney Investment Services
  • Martin F. Shea Jr., Executive Vice President - General Counsel and Business Development, Vining Spark
District 6 Representatives*
  • Melinda (“Mimi”) G. LeGaye, President and CCO, Moody Securities, LLC
  • John R. Muschalek, Chief Administrative Officer, Hilltop Securities Inc.
District 7 Representatives
  • Harold G. Chaffee, Managing Director / Chief Compliance Officer, National Securities Corporation
  • Carrie Wisniewski, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Bridge Capital Associates, Inc.
New York Region Committee
District 10 Representatives*
  • Miles J. Edwards, Chief Compliance Officer, Bruderman Brothers, LLC
  • Elana R. Feigenblatt, Chief Operations Officer, Cabot Lodge Securities LLC
  • Robert Hackel, Chief Operating Officer, R.F. Lafferty & Co. Inc.
  • James Port, Chief Compliance Officer, Broadbridge Business Process Outsourcing, LLC

Small Firm Advisory Committee

FINRA’s small firms elected the following individual to fill the New York Region seat on the SFAC:

New York Region Representative
  • Jay Gettenberg, Financial and Operations Principal, Sidoti & Company LLC

The FINRA Board also appointed the following individuals to at-large seats on the SFAC:

At-Large Members
  • Jessica Pastorino, President and Chief Compliance
    Officer, M&A Securities Group
  • Jill Ostergaard, Partner and Chief Compliance Officer,
    Exos Securities LLC1

The new SFAC members will serve three-year terms beginning on January 1, 2020.

National Adjudicatory Council

The nominees for the large and mid-size seats on the NAC were uncontested:

Large Firm Member Seat2
  • Joan Schwartz, Chief Legal Officer and Managing Director, BNY Mellon/Pershing
Mid-Size Member Seat3
  • W. Dennis Ferguson, General Securities Principal, Capital Investment Group, Inc.

In addition, there are two new appointed NAC members:

Appointed At-Large Industry Seat
  • Stephanie Peters Mumford, Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Legal Counsel,T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc.
Appointed Non-Industry Member Seat
  • Kevin Connaughton, Adjunct Professor of Finance, Bentley University

Each of the new NAC members were appointed by the Board to four-year terms beginning January 1, 2020.

Endnotes

  1. Ms. Ostergaard was appointed to complete a partial, one-year term concluding on December 31, 2021.
  2. FINRA nominees for the Large Firm and Mid-Size Firm NAC Member seats were uncontested. Therefore, FINRA did not mail ballots and the FINRA Board appointed the nominees to serve four-year terms on the NAC.
  3. See Id.