Vincente Martinez Named Chief of SEC's Office of Market Intelligence

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Vincente L. Martinez has been named Chief of the Enforcement Division’s Office of Market Intelligence, which collects and evaluates thousands of tips, complaints, and referrals that come into the SEC each year.

Mr. Martinez was one of the first assistant directors in the SEC’s Office of Market Intelligence, which was created in 2010 as part of a major restructuring of the Enforcement Division. He left the SEC in 2011 to become the first director of the whistleblower office at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). He will return to the SEC next month to begin his new role.

“Our Office of Market Intelligence employs next-generation technology and data analysis to inform and drive our enforcement effort and priorities in the years to come,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division. “Vince has the vision and dedication to lead that effort given his talent, commitment, and prior service to the SEC.”

Adam Storch, Managing Executive of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, added, “Vince understands the task at hand and is ready to further leverage the valuable intelligence we get from the public, cultivate our relationships with our regulatory partners, and tackle the increasing sophistication of the schemes victimizing investors.”

Mr. Martinez said, “I am honored and pleased to rejoin the SEC staff and have this opportunity to advance the Office of Market Intelligence’s meaningful contributions to the protection of investors by further developing our ability to proactively identify risks and ferret out misconduct.”

At the CFTC, Mr. Martinez has interacted with whistleblowers and their representatives, developed the CFTC’s policies and procedures for handling whistleblower matters, and worked to raise awareness of the CFTC’s whistleblower program – which was created under the Dodd-Frank Act.

Mr. Martinez previously worked for eight years in the SEC’s Enforcement Division, beginning in 2003 as a staff attorney and later becoming a senior counsel. He served on a task force devoted to pursuing accounting frauds. When he shifted to the Office of Market Intelligence, he played a key role in developing Enforcement Division and SEC-wide policies and procedures for handling tips, complaints, and referrals. He helped cultivate cooperative relationships with other government agencies and self-regulatory organizations. Mr. Martinez received two SEC awards in 2011 (Chairman’s Award for Excellence and Business Operations Award) and an Enforcement Division Director’s Award in 2007.

Prior to joining the SEC staff, Mr. Martinez was a litigator and corporate lawyer in private practice for six years. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.

The Enforcement Division and Mr. Martinez extend their recognition and gratitude for the outstanding contributions of Lori Walsh, who is currently serving as the Acting Chief of the Office of Market Intelligence. Ms. Walsh will continue her leadership role as Deputy Chief of the office, and she will provide an instrumental contribution as the architect of its risk assessment tools and capabilities.