FINRA Executives

Robert W. Cook
President and Chief Executive Officer

Robert W. Cook is President and CEO of FINRA, and Chairman of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.

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

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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 BA in Economics from Oklahoma State University and a JD 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

LEGAL

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Robert L.D. Colby
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer

As Chief Legal Officer of FINRA, Robert Colby oversees FINRA’s rulemaking, interpretive and corporate legal functions, as well as FINRA’s Advertising, Corporate Financing and Dispute Resolution Departments, and FINRA’s Hearings and Appellate Offices.

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

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

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

Direct Reports

FINANCE

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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, tax, treasury, financial, human resources and administrative areas including real estate, purchasing, meetings/travel and insurable risk management. In addition, he oversees the organization's strategic plan and enterprise risk management programs, Registration and Disclosure department, investment portfolio, investment consultants and managers. Mr. Diganci also serves as the liaison for the Management Compensation, Finance & Operations, and Investment committees of the FINRA Board and secondarily supports the Audit Committee.

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 the Regulatory Services Agreement with the CBOE.

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 & 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

MARKET REGULATION AND TRANSPARENCY SERVICES

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Thomas Gira
Executive Vice President, Market Regulation and Transparency Services

Thomas Gira is the Executive Vice President of Market Regulation and Transparency Services.

Mr. Gira oversees FINRA's Market Regulation Department, which provides regulatory services to U.S. exchanges, including, among others, NASDAQ's family of U.S. markets, The New York Stock Exchange's family of U.S. markets, the Cboe’s family of U.S. markets, the BOX Options Market, Individual Investors Exchange, and the Miami Securities Exchange’s family of markets. Market Regulation also regulates Trade Reporting Facilities, FINRA's Alternative Display Facility, the over-the-counter market, and corporate and municipal bonds.

By combining FINRA's trading data with data from its client exchanges, Market Regulation conducts comprehensive cross market equity surveillance for U.S.-listed equities and options markets. Market Regulation conducts surveillance for, among other things, manipulative trading algorithms, best execution, trade reporting, order exposure rules for options, OATS, Regulation NMS, short sales, fixed income pricing, Regulation M and order handling.

Mr. Gira also oversees FINRA's Transparency Services Department, which is responsible for the operation of FINRA's trade reporting facilities. These facilities include the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE), the FINRA facility for reporting and disseminating corporate bond, agency debenture and securitized product transactions; the Alternative Display Facility, FINRA's listed equity quote and trade reporting vehicle; the trade reporting facilities, FINRA's joint ventures with the exchanges for printing listed equity trades; and the over-the-counter equity transparency facilities, including the OTC Bulletin Board.

Before joining FINRA in 1992, Mr. Gira was an Associate General Counsel of The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. Prior to that, he was Branch Chief for Options and Derivative Products Regulation within the Division of Market Regulation at the SEC.

Mr. Gira is a graduate of Wake Forest University, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics. He received his law degree from the University of Maryland.

Direct Reports

MEMBER SUPERVISION

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Bari Havlik
Executive Vice President, Member Supervision

Bari Havlik is Executive Vice President for Member Supervision. In this capacity, Ms. Havlik leads FINRA's Member Regulation program, which includes surveillance and examination programs for member firms.

Previously, Ms. Havlik was a Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for The Charles Schwab Corporation. She began her career in financial services in 1982, and has worked for discount brokerage, full service retail and institutional securities firms, as well as bank-affiliated broker-dealers.

Ms. Havlik received her undergraduate degree from DePaul University. She serves on the board of Creativity Explored, a non-profit that gives artists with developmental disabilities the means to create and share their work with the community, celebrating the power of art to change lives. Before relocating to New York, she also served on the board of GirlVentures, a non-profit that inspires girls to lead through outdoor adventure, inner discovery and collective action.

Direct Reports

TECHNOLOGY

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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 M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Direct Reports

INTERNAL AUDIT

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Michael Hourigan
Senior Vice President and Chief Audit Executive

Mike Hourigan is the Senior Vice President and Chief Audit Executive. In this role, he directs FINRA’s independent internal audit function, which is responsible for reviewing all aspects of FINRA’s operations. Internal Audit has a direct reporting relationship to the Audit Committee of the FINRA Board of Governors and an indirect reporting relationship to FINRA’s President and CEO. Internal Audit operates under an Audit Committee-approved charter.

Mr. Hourigan's tenure at FINRA began in 1995, when he was hired as Assistant Director to help establish a financial audit function within the existing Internal Review Department. He was promoted to Audit Director in 1997 and named Vice President and Assistant General Auditor in 2000.

Prior to joining FINRA, Mr. Hourigan worked for 10 years at USLICO Corporation, an insurance and financial services holding company, where he was Vice President and Director of Internal Audit. He began his nearly 40-year accounting and auditing career in public accounting with the firm Keller, Zanger & Co., CPAs.

Mr. Hourigan graduated with honors from the University of South Carolina with Bachelor of Science and Masters of Accountancy degrees.

Direct Reports

ENFORCEMENT

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Jessica Hopper
Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement

Jessica Hopper is Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement, responsible for FINRA’s disciplinary actions across the country. Prior to assuming this role in January 2020, she was Senior Vice President and Deputy Head of Enforcement for four years, and Senior Vice President in charge of the Regional Enforcement program in the 14 FINRA District Offices from 2011 to 2016. Hopper joined FINRA in 2004 and was a Director in FINRA’s Washington D.C. office until 2011.

Prior to joining FINRA, from 2000 to 2004, she was part of Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc.'s Legal & Compliance team, where her responsibilities focused on retail sales compliance. She began her career as a litigation attorney in private practice.

Hopper holds a J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law and earned a B.A. from Hillsdale College.

Direct Reports

OFFICE OF CHIEF ECONOMIST

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Jonathan Sokobin
Senior Vice President and Chief Economist

Jonathan S. Sokobin, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, oversees the Office of the Chief Economist. In this role, he works closely with the Office of General Counsel and other departments in developing new rules, and analyzing the regulatory impact, including costs and benefits, of existing and potential rulemakings. He leads a team of researchers who gather and analyze data on securities firms and markets in order to inform policymaking at FINRA.

Previously, Mr. Sokobin was Acting Deputy Director, 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 as Chief of Analytical Strategy in the Office of Financial Research.

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 former Office of Risk Assessment. From 1998 to 2000, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the SEC.

Mr. Sokobin began his career as a member of the faculty of the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. He received his Ph.D. and MBA in finance from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago, and his bachelor's degree in economics from the Ohio State University.

OFFICE OF THE CEO

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Nathaniel Stankard
Senior Advisor, Office of the CEO

Nathaniel Stankard is Senior Advisor in the Office of the CEO.

Mr. Stankard joined FINRA in 2017. Prior to joining FINRA, he worked for 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 in the Office of 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; coordinated cross-agency staff teams comprised of policy, legal and economic experts; and represented the Chair in negotiations with other agencies and market participants.

His 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 was an associate responsible for complex securities law matters.

Mr. Stankard received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Oberlin College and received his J.D. from Harvard Law School.