FINRA named the CEO of regional brokerage firm Janney Montgomery Scott to its board of governors, making it the third recent major career move between Wall Street and one of its chief regulators.
Timothy Scheve was appointed by committee to complete the term of John Thiel, the former head of Merrill Lynch, who left FINRA's board earlier this year.
For his part, Scheve said he was "excited" to serve on the board and support FINRA's regulatory work.
"FINRA performs an important role not only in safeguarding the markets but also facilitating a vibrant securities industry," Scheve said in a statement.
CEO Ron Kruszewski received praise for leading the firm's wealth management unit to a record for revenue, despite costly legal setbacks.
As Vice President, Underwriting Research and Development, Jackie Waas is involved in investigating and developing underwriting innovations, with an emphasis on concept development, research, presenting new ideas, and participating in concept validation activities.
She started her career with RGA in 2018 as Director of Underwriting Services, where she supported direct-to-consumer accelerated offerings, including assisting with the auditing of the e-underwriting program and helping develop digital health scores while supporting the Digital Health Data team.
Prior to joining RGA, Jackie was an Underwriting Business Consultant and automated underwriting systems subject matter expert with Legal & General America for four years after working in an underwriting capacity with the company for nine years. She also had five years of underwriting experience with AXA Equitable and formerly worked as a marketing manager for Steele Rubber Products.
Jackie received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in communications and a minor in psychology from Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina. She is a Certified Fellow of the Academy of Life Underwriting, a Fellow of the Life Management Institute, and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute. She is also an Associate, Reinsurance Administration; Associate, Insurance Agency Administration; and an Associate, Insurance Regulatory Compliance. Jackie also holds the Professional, Customer Service Institute designation, and she is a member of the Association of Home Office Underwriters.
Guizhou Hu is Vice President, VP, Head of Risk Analytics at RGA, where he supports global RGA underwriting initiatives and produces internal and external thought leadership pieces based on RGA's in-depth risk analytics. Before joining RGA in 2018, Guizhou served as Vice President, Chief Decision Analytics, for Gen Re and as a Senior Vice President for BioSignia Inc. Guizhou holds a medical degree from Beijing Medical University and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Cornell University.
Scheve has served as Janney's president and CEO since August 2007. His career path also includes work experience at Legg Mason, and he serves on the board of governors for industry trade group SIFMA.
"FINRA will benefit greatly from Tim's insights regarding the firms and markets we regulate as we advance our mission of investor protection and market integrity," FINRA CEO Robert Cook said in a statement.
Other notable FINRA-Wall Street
To replace Axelrod at FINRA, the regulator last week hired Bari Havlik as executive vice president for member supervision. Havlik previously served as chief compliance officer for Charles Schwab.
In a statement, Havlik said she made the move in part because of her familiarity with FINRA's operations and staff with whom she had gotten to know in her role at Schwab.
Such moves from regulator to Wall Street or the reverse have drawn criticism over the years.
"The revolving door means the cops on the beat and the perps can be confused in the blur," Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate for the nonprofit investor advocacy group Public Citizen, wrote in an email.
In her new job, Havlik will be responsible for leading FINRA's member regulation program, which includes surveillance and examination programs for member firms. FINRA did not make Havlik available for comment. The regulator did not respond to questions on Havlik's appointment.
"If you want true stringent regulations, a compelling argument can be made that these people shouldn't come from the securities industry," says Andrew Stoltmann of FINRA's choice of Havlik, who has spent 36 years in the industry. Stoltmann is president of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association, which has been critical of FINRA's operations in the past.
