SEC Chief of Staff Didem A. Nisanci to Leave Agency

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that SEC Chief of Staff Didem A. Nisanci will leave the agency at the end of this week.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro named Ms. Nisanci as Chief of Staff in March 2009. In that position, Ms. Nisanci has been a senior advisor to the Chairman on policy, management, and regulatory issues. She played an integral role in the SEC’s efforts in the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. She also has served as an SEC deputy to the Financial Services Oversight Council.

“Didem has been a trusted adviser who has always offered solid judgment and wise counsel on critical policy matters,” said SEC Chairman Schapiro. “Didem’s leadership has helped us to reform and improve so much of the way the agency operates. Investors everywhere are better off today because of her public service and commitment to enhancing the integrity of the nation’s securities markets.”

Ms. Nisanci said, "It’s been a great honor to serve at the SEC during such a pivotal and consequential period. I have been fortunate to work with so many talented and dedicated professionals both at the SEC and across the financial regulatory community to advance the Commission’s mission and work on fundamental issues relating to enhancing the integrity, resiliency, and transparency of our financial markets.”

Before coming to the SEC, Ms. Nisanci served as Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment, chaired by Sen. Jack Reed. During her tenure, the subcommittee held hearings examining the financial crisis, over-the-counter derivatives, credit rating agencies, risk management, consolidated supervised entities, and accounting. Ms. Nisanci also served as a lead staff negotiator for key provisions of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Ms. Nisanci earned a B.A. in Economics and Government from Smith College in 1995.