U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday he will nominate Timothy Massad to serve as the new head of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Massad will replace the outgoing CFTC chairman, Gary Gensler. Massad comes to the derivatives regulator from the U.S. Treasury Department, where he has been assistant secretary for financial stability.
He joined Treasury in 2009. Before that, he was a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He joined the firm as an associate in 1984 and became a partner in 1992. Massad received an A.B. from Harvard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
In response to the news, Judd Gregg, CEO, and Kenneth Bentsen, Jr., president, of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) released a statement congratulating Massad.
“Timothy Massad has an impressive background in law and public service at the U.S. Treasury. Should he be confirmed, his combination of legal expertise and industry knowledge will benefit the CFTC as it continues its important and challenging work to implement the new regulatory framework under Dodd-Frank,” they said.