FINRA Executives

Robert W. Cook
President and Chief Executive Officer

Robert W. Cook is President and CEO of FINRA.

From 2010 to 2013, Mr. Cook served as the Director of the Division of Trading and Markets of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Under his direction, the Division's professionals were responsible for regulatory policy and oversight with respect to broker-dealers, securities exchanges and markets, clearing agencies and FINRA. In addition, the Division reviewed and acted on proposed rule filings from self-regulatory organizations, including the securities exchanges and FINRA, and was responsible for implementing a range of initiatives and studies generated by the Dodd-Frank and JOBS Acts. He also directed the staff's review of equity market structure.

Immediately prior to joining FINRA, and before his service at the SEC, Mr. Cook was a partner at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, LLP, based in Washington, DC. His practice focused on the regulation of securities markets and market intermediaries, including securities firms, exchanges, alternative trading systems and clearing agencies. During his years of private practice, Mr. Cook worked extensively on broker-dealer regulation, advising large and small firms on a wide range of compliance matters.

Mr. Cook earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1992, a Master of Science in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management from the London School of Economics in 1989, and an A.B. in Social Studies from Harvard College in 1988.

BOARD AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Marcia E. Asquith
Executive Vice President, Board and External Relations

Marcia Asquith, Executive Vice President, Board and External Relations, oversees the Office of the Corporate Secretary, as well as the offices of Investor Education, Member Relations and Education, Government Affairs, Corporate Communications and International.

Ms. Asquith's tenure at FINRA began in 2001 when she was hired as the Director of Government Relations. In 2004, she was promoted to Vice President of Government Relations and in 2007 she was named Corporate Secretary. She was subsequently promoted to Senior Vice President.

Prior to joining FINRA, Ms. Asquith served for seven years as Counsel to the Senate Agriculture Committee under Chairman Richard Lugar.

Ms. Asquith holds a B.A. in Economics from Oklahoma State University and a J.D. from the College of William & Mary School of Law. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the College of William & Mary School of Law Foundation.

Direct Reports

MEMBER SUPERVISION

Ornella Bergeron
Senior Vice President and Acting Head of Member Supervision

Ornella Bergeron is Senior Vice President, Risk Monitoring and Acting Head of Member Supervision. Ms. Bergeron is responsible for leading FINRA’s Risk Monitoring Program, which is a member firm’s primary contact point at FINRA. Through its ongoing and proactive monitoring, Risk Monitoring enables FINRA to implement a risk-based program that effectively focuses its resources and regulatory responses on risks of concern. To focus expertise of staff and in recognition of member firms different business lines, the Risk Monitoring team is organized around the following business models: Retail, Diversified, Carrying and Clearing, Capital Markets, and Trading & Execution. Ms. Bergeron and her team serve FINRA by providing a consistent awareness and analysis of member firms which includes the assessment of financial, operational, business conduct, and trading risks. They are also responsible for coordinating with FINRA’s Examination Program Management team on the strategy and execution of examinations for member firms.

Prior to this role, Ms. Bergeron was a Unit Leader in the Risk Oversight and Operational Regulation group of Member Supervision. She was responsible for the regulatory supervision as well as financial and operational examinations of approximately 200 of FINRA’s largest member firms. She has been with FINRA since its inception in 2007. Prior to joining FINRA, Ms. Bergeron spent 19 years in the Division of Member Firm Regulation at the New York Stock Exchange in Risk Monitoring management and examination roles.

Ms. Bergeron serves on internal committees governing changes to Member Supervision’s Risk Monitoring program. She serves as a FINRA representative on the Large Firm Advisory and Clearing Firm Committees.

Ms. Bergeron holds a BBA in Finance from Iona College.

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LEGAL

Robert L.D. Colby
Chief Legal Officer, FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority)

As Chief Legal Officer of FINRA, Robert Colby oversees FINRA's rulemaking, interpretive, and corporate legal functions, as well as FINRA's Appellate Office, Office of Financial Innovation, and Departments of Advertising, Corporate Financing, and Dispute Resolution.

Previously, Mr. Colby was a partner in the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where he advised on regulatory and compliance matters for financial institutions and markets.

Before joining Davis Polk, Mr. Colby served as Deputy Director in the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets. In that capacity, he was responsible for the regulation of broker-dealers, markets, and clearing organizations. Before serving as Deputy Director of the Division, Mr. Colby was Chief Counsel, and Chief of the Market Structure Branch.

Mr. Colby received his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School and his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Bowdoin College.

Direct Reports

OFFICE OF HEARING OFFICERS (OHO)

Maureen Delaney
Senior Vice President and Chief Hearing Officer

Maureen Delaney is Senior Vice President and Chief Hearing Officer. As the Chief Hearing Officer, she oversees FINRA’s Office of Hearing Officers (OHO), an office of impartial adjudicators who preside over disciplinary and expedited actions commenced by FINRA’s Enforcement Department. OHO also handles disciplinary matters for approximately 20 other exchanges and self-regulatory organizations under Regulatory Service Agreements. Ms. Delaney has been the Chief Hearing Officer since 2017 and, before that, served for eight years as a Hearing Officer.

Before joining FINRA, Ms. Delaney was a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, an associate at a mid-sized law firm, and an Assistant State’s Attorney in Maryland. Ms. Delaney is a Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional through the FINRA Institute at Wharton, University of Pennsylvania. She is also a Fulbright Scholar who taught courses in South America pertaining to the United States legal system.

She holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Delaware and a J.D. from the Washington College of Law, American University.

FINANCE

Todd Diganci
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer

Todd Diganci is Executive Vice President—Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. In this capacity, he is responsible for providing financial and administrative leadership for the organization. Specifically, he provides direction and oversight on all accounting, investments, tax, financial and administrative areas including real estate, business continuity planning and insurable risk management. In addition, he oversees the organization’s strategic planning and enterprise risk management programs and its Credentialing, Registration, Education and Disclosure (CRED) operations. Mr. Diganci also serves as the liaison for the Finance & Operations and Investment Committees of the FINRA Board.

Since joining FINRA in 1995, Mr. Diganci has played a critical role in transforming and shaping the organization where it stands today. He has led several key transactions from a financial and human resource perspective, including the unprecedented private placement of The NASDAQ Stock Market, which raised over $1.6 billion in proceeds; and the consolidation of NASD and the member regulation, enforcement and arbitration functions of NYSE Regulation to create FINRA in 2007. He also co-led negotiations with NYSE-Euronext for FINRA to perform full market regulation services for the exchange. Most recently, Mr. Diganci oversaw the creation of FINRA CAT, the subsidiary of FINRA that is the Plan Processor for the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), and currently serves on the FINRA CAT Board of Directors.

Mr. Diganci started his career with Marriott International. During his 10 years at Marriott, Mr. Diganci oversaw 150 operations worldwide, generating revenues in excess of $1 billion. He also played an essential role in role in spinning off Host-Marriott from Marriott International into a successful public offering in 1993.

Mr. Diganci received his bachelor's degree in accounting and computer information systems and an MBA from Drake University. Mr. Diganci is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University's Business School. He currently serves on the Board of the SIFMA Investor Education Foundation.

Direct Reports

INTERNAL AUDIT

Denise Dombay
Senior Vice President and Chief Audit Executive

Denise Dombay joined FINRA in June 2020 as the Senior Vice President and Chief Audit Executive. In her role, she leads the organization’s Internal Audit function, which reports directly to the Audit & Risk Committee of the Board of Governors and provides assurance regarding FINRA’s internal control environment.

Ms. Dombay has over 30 years of experience in corporate audit and client service positions. She started her career in client services as an audit partner at Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young. From 2008 to 2015, she worked at Marriott International as Chief Audit Executive and in senior Finance roles.

Prior to joining FINRA, Ms. Dombay spent several years developing and running her own swim school, pursuing her passion for swimming and education. She graduated with honors from The George Washington University (GWU) with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

She serves on the Board of the Capital Area Food Bank, which partners with over 450 non-profit organizations in the DC area to ensure everyone has access to good, healthy food. She is also a member of the Athletic Advisory Council at GWU.

Direct Reports

MARKET & REGULATORY SERVICES

Stephanie Dumont 
Executive Vice President and Chief Market Services Officer

Stephanie Dumont is FINRA's Chief Market Services Officer. In her role, Ms. Dumont oversees Transparency Services; Credentialing, Registration, Education and Disclosure (CRED); Regulatory Services Management, which is responsible for FINRA’s Regulatory Services Agreement (RSA) relationships; and Strategic Regulatory Engagement, which manages a mix of regulatory and market data services.

Before assuming her current position, Ms. Dumont was Executive Vice President, Market Regulation and Transparency Services. In that role, she led FINRA’s extensive oversight of the securities markets through examinations of member firms and automated surveillance that assesses billions of market events each day. She also led FINRA’s efforts to bring transparency to the equity and bond markets.

Previously, Ms. Dumont was Senior Vice President and Director of Capital Markets Policy for FINRA's Office of General Counsel, where she led the development and interpretation of FINRA rules for market regulation, and provided legal and policy advice to FINRA management and staff. Ms. Dumont also supported the policy, rulemaking and regulatory reporting functions of FINRA's market transparency facilities and provided legal counsel for FINRA's participation in various National Market System Plans.

Prior to joining FINRA, Ms. Dumont was Director of Compliance for a compliance consulting firm. Ms. Dumont began her career as an investigator for NASD's Market Regulation Department.

Ms. Dumont earned her B.S. in Finance and Management from the University of Virginia and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. She also earned her LL.M, with distinction, in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center.

Direct Reports

TECHNOLOGY

Steven Randich
Executive Vice President and CIO, Technology

Steven J. Randich, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO), oversees technology at FINRA.

Previously, Mr. Randich served as Co-CIO at Citigroup, and CIO and Global Head of Technology for Citigroup's Institutional Clients Group. Prior to joining Citigroup, he was Executive Vice President of Operations and Technology and CIO at NASDAQ, where he was responsible for all aspects of NASDAQ technology, including applications development and technology infrastructure.

From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Randich served as Executive Vice President and CIO for the Chicago Stock Exchange. He was responsible for all technology, trading-floor and back-office operations, and business product planning and development. Prior to joining the Chicago Stock Exchange, Mr. Randich was a Managing Principal at IBM Global Services and a Manager at KPMG.

Mr. Randich has an undergraduate degree in computer science from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Direct Reports

REGULATORY OPERATIONS

Greg Ruppert
Executive Vice President and Chief Regulatory Operations Officer

Greg Ruppert is FINRA's Chief Regulatory Operations Officer. In this role, Mr. Ruppert leads FINRA’s Regulatory Operations (RegOps) organization, which consists of Member Supervision, a cohesive group of programs that protect investors and safeguard market integrity through surveillance and oversight of Member Firms and Registered Representatives; Market Oversight, which oversees and regulates trading of exchange-listed, unlisted and fixed income securities for compliance with FINRA rules and the federal securities laws; and Enforcement.

Previously, Mr. Ruppert was Executive Vice President of Member Supervision, where he set the strategic direction of the Membership Application Program, Risk Monitoring Program, Firm Examination Program, and Investigative Programs of the organization. Mr. Ruppert joined FINRA in 2020 as the Executive Vice President of FINRA’s National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Program (NCFC) within Member Supervision. In his prior role, Mr. Ruppert oversaw FINRA’s National Cause Program, Financial Crimes Surveillance, and Specialized Investigative Units covering vulnerable adults and seniors, anti-money laundering and fraud, high-risk representatives, and cybersecurity. He was also responsible for the creation of FINRA’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

Prior to joining FINRA, from 2014 to 2020, Mr. Ruppert was a Senior Vice President in Charles Schwab Corporation’s Risk Management department. In that role, he led teams responsible for several of the key operational and compliance risk areas across the enterprise. He also served as the Board-appointed Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Officer and the Corporate Responsibility Officer for the corporation. Prior to joining Schwab, Mr. Ruppert spent more than 17 years with the U.S. Government, achieving the rank of Senior Executive Service. Mr. Ruppert’s career as a Special Agent in the FBI included investigator and leadership roles specializing in complex corporate and securities cases, financial crimes, terrorism, and cyber.

Mr. Ruppert is on the Board of Directors of the non-profit organization CalTrout. Previously, he was on the board of the non-profit organization GirlVentures and served as President of the board.

Mr. Ruppert has a J.D. from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law and a B.A. from the University of the Pacific. He returned to his alma mater as a Professor of Practice in the School of Engineering and Computer Sciences for many years.

Direct Reports

REGULATORY ECONOMICS AND MARKET ANALYSIS

Jonathan Sokobin
Executive Vice President and Chief Economist

Jonathan S. Sokobin, Executive Vice President and Chief Economist, leads the Regulatory Economics and Market Analysis (REMA) department, which brings together the Office of the Chief Economist and the Office of Financial Innovation to create a single team delivering industry analysis, regulatory impact assessments and quantitative research on the regulation of securities markets. In this role, Mr. Sokobin works closely with departments throughout FINRA to inform FINRA’s rulemaking and regulatory policy agenda, identify emerging regulatory risks, develop new methods to identify and measure harms and benefits to investors and strengthen FINRA’s surveillance, examination and enforcement programs. Mr. Sokobin is also the Chair of the non-profit FINRA Investor Education Foundation Board of Directors.

Previously, Mr. Sokobin was Acting Deputy Director and Chief of Analytical Strategy, leading the Research Center in the Office of Financial Research at the U.S. Treasury Department. He joined the U.S Treasury Department in 2011.

Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Mr. Sokobin was Acting Director of the SEC's Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation. He joined the SEC staff in 2000 and held various positions, including Deputy Chief Economist and Director of the Office of Risk Assessment. From 1998 to 2000, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the SEC.
 

Direct Reports

ENFORCEMENT

Bill St. Louis
Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement

Bill St. Louis is an Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement. In this role, Mr. St. Louis manages and directs FINRA’s Enforcement national operations. He also leads the development of FINRA’s national enforcement policies and procedures, and oversees the prosecution of firms and individuals for disciplinary action.

Before his appointment as Head of Enforcement, Mr. St. Louis led FINRA’s National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Program (NCFC) within Member Supervision. In that role, he oversaw FINRA’s National Cause Program, Financial Crimes Surveillance, and specialized investigative units covering anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, crypto-assets, high-risk representatives, and vulnerable adults and seniors. He also oversaw FINRA’s Membership Application Program.

Prior to leading NCFC, Mr. St. Louis was Senior Vice President and Firm Group Leader for FINRA member firms assigned to the Retail and Capital Markets firm groupings. In that capacity, he was responsible for managing the Risk Monitoring Program teams for these firms, which includes the assessment of business conduct, financial, operational and trading risks. Mr. St. Louis was previously the Regional Director of FINRA’s Northeast Region and Director of FINRA’s New York District Office. He also held senior roles in FINRA’s Enforcement Department, including serving as the Regional Chief Counsel for FINRA’s North Region.

Mr. St. Louis earned an undergraduate degree from Baruch College and a law degree from New York University School of Law. Prior to law school, he worked for several years in the compliance department of a New York-based broker-dealer.

Direct Reports

OFFICE OF THE CEO

Nathaniel Stankard
Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff

Nathaniel Stankard is Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff. In this role, he works closely with the CEO to execute FINRA’s enterprise strategy and enable more effective and efficient operations across the organization. He also advises on regulatory policy.

Mr. Stankard joined FINRA in 2017 as Senior Advisor to the CEO, playing a key role in FINRA’s strategic planning and policy initiatives. Most recently, he was Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff to the CEO for Regulatory Operations, leading initiatives to better integrate the strategy and technology of FINRA’s regulatory programs. 

Mr. Stankard previously worked at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for seven years. He first served as the Counsel to the Director of the Division of Trading and Markets and later as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy for Chair Mary Jo White, where he managed the rulemaking agenda of the Commission; advised the Chair on a diverse range of complex legal and policy matters; and represented the Chair in negotiations with other agencies and market participants.

Mr. Stankard’s financial industry background also includes Morgan Stanley, where he was an Executive Director in what is now the Global Sustainable Finance Group, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he advised financial institutions and markets on regulatory and compliance matters.

Mr. Stankard received a B.A. in Economics from Oberlin College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

MARKET OVERSIGHT

Feral Talib
Executive Vice President and Head of Market Oversight

Feral Talib is Executive Vice President and Head of Market Oversight in FINRA’s Regulatory Operations (RegOps) organization. Mr. Talib leads FINRA’s extensive oversight of the securities markets through examinations of member firms and automated surveillance that assesses billions of market events each day.

Before assuming his current role, Mr. Talib was an Executive Vice President and the Head of Surveillance and Market Intelligence in FINRA’s Market Regulation and Transparency Services (MRTS) department, with responsibility for leading FINRA’s market surveillance programs.

Mr. Talib was previously the Global Head of Market Surveillance at BNP Paribas Group. In that role, he had strategic leadership of all market surveillance activities within the firm’s Corporate & Institutional Bank (CIB), Investment and Protection Services, as well as the Commercial, Personal Banking and Services business lines, operating in 64 countries.

Before that, Mr. Talib was the Global Head of Market Surveillance at BNP Paribas CIB. He also held other roles at BNP Paribas CIB, including Americas Head of the Market Integrity Domain and Americas Head of Capital Markets and Financial Security Surveillance.

Prior to BNP Paribas, Mr. Talib was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs, where he held a variety of leadership roles, including overseeing its Market Surveillance and Investigations group.

Mr. Talib holds degrees in Economics and International Relations from Brown University.

Direct Reports

PEOPLE SOLUTIONS

Rainia L. Washington
Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer

Rainia L. Washington is Executive Vice President – Chief Human Resources Officer. In this role, she leads FINRA's People Solutions team, overseeing the organization's talent recruitment, training and development, compensation and benefits, and employee relations.

Ms. Washington joined FINRA in June 2020 from Lockheed Martin Corporation, where she held a variety of Human Resources positions during her 26-year career with the company. Most recently, Ms. Washington was Lockheed Martin’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, responsible for developing and executing global strategies that cultivated and maintained a culture of inclusion for the company’s 110,000 employees worldwide. She led the company’s Executive Inclusion Council in partnership with the CEO and senior executive leadership.

Ms. Washington currently serves on the Great Minds in STEM Board of Directors and has served on the Society of Women Engineers Board of Directors, INROADS Board of Directors, Georgia Diversity Council Board of Directors, and the University of Pennsylvania Engineering Board. She is actively involved in her community through various organizations, including Wiley Tutoring Program, Big Brother Big Sister Program and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.

Ms. Washington received a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Organizational Development from Pennsylvania State University.

Direct Reports