The U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is stepping up its reliance on analytics.

FINRA said Wednesday it has created a new Office of Advanced Data Analytics, which will look to more effectively refine its use of data, and make FINRA a more efficient regulator. It will focus on improving how FINRA analyzes and utilizes the data it currently gathers from firms.

The new unit will be headed by Erozan Kurtas, who is joining the U.S. self-regulatory organization as head of advanced data analytics and senior vice president, and will report to both FINRA chairman and CEO, Richard Ketchum, and executive vice president for regulatory operations, Susan Axelrod. In this newly created role, Kurtas will have overall responsibility for enhancing FINRA’s data analytics capabilities. The new unit will work closely with various departments, particularly sales practice and member regulation.

Kurtas is currently assistant director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) quantitative analytics unit within its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE). At the SEC, Kurtas led the development of a system that allowed its examiners to systematically analyze large amounts of trading data to detect insider trading, improper allocation of investment opportunities and other misconduct.

“It is critical for regulators to use 21st-century data analytics in order to keep up with 21st-century markets. Building on his pioneering work at the SEC, Erozan and his team will develop cutting-edge data analytics tools to help FINRA better utilize the data we collect in order to fulfill our mission of protecting investors and ensuring the integrity of our markets,” said Ketchum.

Before joining the SEC in 2010, Kurtas was a visiting scientist at Arizona State University, and has also worked at Standard & Poor’s, Seagate Technology and Quantum Corp. He has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Ph.D. and MSc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Northeastern University.