The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has named Steven J. Levine as the Associate Director for the Investment Adviser/Investment Company examination program in its Chicago office.  He will oversee the IA/IC examination program in nine Midwestern states, with a staff of approximately 65 examiners, accountants, and attorneys.

Mr. Levine joined the investment adviser and investment company examination program in Chicago in 2010 and has served as one of its two acting Associate Directors since March 2013.  He started his SEC career in the Enforcement Division of the SEC’s Chicago office in 2000.  As a senior trial counsel, he played a significant role in the SEC’s fraud case against Lord Conrad Black for diverting assets from the public company parent of the Chicago Sun-Times, and its pay-to-play case charging three individuals, including former Chicago Treasurer Miriam Santos.

“Steven brings outstanding energy and experience that will help us continue to strengthen our risk-based supervision of investment advisers and investment companies,” said Andrew Bowden, Director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, which oversees the national examination program.

David Glockner, Director of the Chicago Regional Office, added, “In addition to his experience and expertise in the regulation of investment advisers and investment companies, Steven brings a level of creativity and passion to the IA/IC examination program that will serve investors well and complement the work of Chicago’s talented IA/IC examination staff.”

Mr. Levine said, “I look forward to working in this new role with the Chicago Regional office’s outstanding IA/IC examination staff to build on our strong track record of protecting investors and enforcing the securities laws.”

Mr. Levine is a graduate of Cornell University and Yale University Law School.  He spent three years in private practice in New York City, and served as a senior trial attorney with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Chicago for six years before coming to the SEC.