Kelly L. Gibson Named Acting Deputy Director of Division of Enforcement

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Kelly L. Gibson, currently the Director of the Philadelphia Regional Office, has been named the Acting Deputy Director of the Division of Enforcement.

"Kelly is a proven leader and a talented lawyer," said SEC Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee. "As Associate Regional Director and then as Head of the Philadelphia office, she has built an impressive record of success on behalf of investors and the agency. She is a perfect fit to help lead the division."

"I am so pleased that Kelly has agreed to take on this role working with all the talented individuals in the division, as we build on our successes in the critical work of protecting investors and market integrity,” said Melissa Hodgman, Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “As a tireless advocate and an inspirational leader with a strong sense of judgment, fairness, and mission, she is a great addition to our team."

Ms. Gibson said, “It’s been a true honor to serve with the extraordinary staff in the Philadelphia Regional Office for the past 13 years. I am thrilled to now have the opportunity to work with my colleagues across the Division to advance the SEC’s mission and to support the incredible efforts they make on behalf of investors each and every day.”

Prior to starting in the Acting Deputy Director role, Ms. Gibson served as the Director of the Philadelphia Regional Office since February 2020, overseeing a staff of approximately 160 enforcement attorneys, accountants, and investigators who enforce the federal securities laws nationwide, and examiners who perform compliance inspections in the Philadelphia region. Ms. Gibson joined the SEC in 2008 as a staff attorney in the Division of Enforcement in the Philadelphia office, and joined the Market Abuse Unit when it was established in 2010. She was promoted to Assistant Regional Director in 2013 and to Associate Regional Director in 2017.

During her career with the SEC, Ms. Gibson has investigated or supervised dozens of enforcement matters involving a variety of securities law violations, including cases against:

• Dozens of defendants charged with taking part in a $100 million international scheme to profit from stolen nonpublic information about corporate earnings announcements;
• Defendants who allegedly engaged in a Ponzi-like scheme raising more than $345 million from over 230 investors across the United States;
• A Pennsylvania investment adviser charged with operating a $100 million investment advisory fraud; 
• A Pakistani trader, a Bulgarian trader, and a Virginia-based mechanical engineer who each allegedly sought to manipulate stocks through false regulatory filings;
• BP p.l.c., which paid a $525 million penalty for allegedly making fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions in its SEC filings relating to the amount of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent leak;
• Several defendants who were charged with affinity frauds against Amish and Mennonite community members and African immigrants; and
• Insider traders, including an investment banker who allegedly tipped a professional football player in advance of corporate acquisitions; investment banker who allegedly tipped his father about future mergers and acquisitions deals; and accountant and her friend, whom she allegedly tipped with confidential information in advance of quarterly performance announcements.

Before joining the SEC staff in 2008, Ms. Gibson worked as a litigation associate for the law firm of Ballard Spahr LLP in Philadelphia. She earned her law degree with honors from Villanova University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degree with high honors from Rowan University. Ms. Gibson received the SEC’s Analytical Methods award in 2016