Two of the top executives at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are leaving the derivatives regulator ahead of the imminent change in the U.S. federal government.
The CFTC announced Friday that the director of its division of enforcement, Ian McGinley, will leave the agency on Jan. 17 — just ahead of CFTC chair Rostin Benham’s recently announced departure.
McGinley served as the derivatives regulator’s head of enforcement since February 2023, leading its actions in the crypto sector and tackling misconduct in emerging areas, such as carbon markets.
“Ian led the division of enforcement to two groundbreaking years, raising the bar to historical heights, which I am confident will deter future misconduct and continue to prioritize victim compensation,” Behnam said in a release.
Prior to joining the CFTC, McGinley was a partner in private practice. He also served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York for more than 10 years.
He will leave the agency just ahead of Benham, who announced earlier this week that his last day at the CFTC will be Feb. 7. Benham joined the agency in 2017 as a commissioner and later became chair.
Benham’s counterpart at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, is scheduled to leave the federal securities regulator on Jan. 20. His replacement, former SEC commissioner-turned-lobbyist, Paul Atkins, has already been nominated by the incoming U.S. president Donald Trump.
The SEC’s former head of enforcement, Gurbir Grewal, departed the agency last year, before the U.S. federal election.