Mary Schapiro, the former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission has joined the governing board of the Center for Audit Quality.
Schapiro will serve as one of three independent Governing Board members who come from outside the public company auditing profession.
"Mary's extraordinary record of leadership is matched by her demonstrated commitment to investor protection and sound financial policy," said CAQ executive director Cindy Fornelli in a statement. "The CAQ will benefit immensely from having Mary as one of our independent board members, who provide our organization with indispensable insight, context, and guidance.”
During Schapiro's four years chairing the SEC, from January 2009 to December 2012, the SEC pursued one of the busiest rulemaking agendas in its history, while bringing a record number of enforcement actions. The agency executed a comprehensive restructuring program to improve protections for investors. Upon her departure, President Obama said the SEC became stronger and the financial system “safer and better able to serve the American people—thanks in large part to Mary’s hard work.”
Before becoming SEC chairman, Schapiro served as CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest nongovernmental regulator of securities firms. Earlier, she was Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman and a commissioner of the SEC. She began her career at the CFTC, serving first as a trial attorney and later as counsel and executive assistant to the chairman.
Schapiro was the first woman to serve as SEC chairman, and the only person to have served as chairman of both the SEC and the CFTC.
“The public company auditing profession plays a critical role in protecting investors in our capital markets, and the CAQ plays a key role in focusing on continuous improvements to audit quality,” said Schapiro. "Following in the footsteps of my good friend, the late Harvey Goldschmid, I look forward to working alongside my fellow Governing Board members to help the CAQ carry out its important mission."
Schapiro serves on the boards of Promontory Financial Group, General Electric Co., the London Stock Exchange Group, and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, she received a JD from George Washington University.
