SEC Appoints Haoxiang Zhu Director of Division of Trading and Markets

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the appointment of Haoxiang Zhu, a professor of finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as Director of the agency’s Division of Trading and Markets, effective Dec. 10, 2021. David Saltiel, who has served as Acting Director of the Division for the past several months, has been appointed as one of the Division’s Deputy Directors and also will continue to lead the Office of Analytics and Research.

Haoxiang Zhu

Mr. Zhu is the Gordon Y. Billard Professor of Management and Finance and Associate Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also serves as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, Finance Department Editor at Management Science, and Associate Editor at the Journal of Finance. Mr. Zhu previously served as an academic expert for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Bank for International Settlements and as a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Working Group on Financial Markets. He earned a BA in mathematics and computer science from the University of Oxford and a PhD in finance from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

"At the center of the SEC’s three-part mission is maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient capital markets," said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. "The work of our Division of Trading and Markets links the investors in our capital markets with those companies seeking to raise money, hire employees, and grow. Haoxiang brings to the SEC deep expertise and commitment to the agency’s efforts to enhance and update our rules to continue to maintain markets that are the envy in the world. I’m excited to welcome him to the agency."

"I thank Chair Gensler for the opportunity to work alongside some of the brightest minds across our government in the Division of Trading and Markets," said Mr. Zhu. "I am excited to help carry out a proactive rulemaking agenda to keep our markets operating efficiently and fairly."

David Saltiel

In addition to being appointed a Deputy Director of the Division of Trading and Markets, Mr. Saltiel will continue to serve as head of the Office of Analytics and Research, a role he has held since 2016. Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Saltiel was chief economist at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. He received his undergraduate degree from Williams College and earned his master’s degree in economics from St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford.

"I thank David for his invaluable counsel and leadership of the Division of Trading and Markets," said Chair Gensler. "David is a trusted colleague, and I’ve come to rely on him regarding issues critical to our markets. I’m excited to continue to work closely with him in his new role."

"I am excited to welcome Haoxiang to the SEC and to work closely with him in my new role," said Mr. Saltiel. "Leading the Division of Trading and Markets has been a profound honor. I’m thankful I get to continue working with such a dedicated and talented group of professionals at the SEC."