Ms Schapiro is currently the CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business with the US public. She previously served as an SEC Commissioner from 1988 to 1993. Mr Obama's announcement said the following about Mary Schapiro:

Mary is known as a regulator who's both smart and tough – so much so that she's been criticized by the same industry insiders who we need to get tough on. For years, she's used her position to educate investors about market risks, warn seniors and employers about retirement scams, and call for increased regulation of mortgage brokers long before this housing crisis hit. I know that Mary will provide the new ideas, new reforms, and new spirit of accountability that the SEC desperately needs so that fraud like the Madoff scandal doesn't happen again.

Click for:

• Mr Obama's Announcement (PDF 111k)
• Biography of Ms Schapiro from the FINRA website (PDF 30k)