The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has named Wenchi Hu and Christian Sabella as Associate Directors in the Division of Trading and Markets’ Office of Clearance and Settlement.

“Wenchi and Christian bring an excellent blend of experience and expertise into their new positions,” said Stephen Luparello, Director of the Division of Trading and Markets. “Their skills and abilities complement each other in a way that will well serve investors and the agency.”

As Associate Director, Risk and Supervision, Ms. Hu will oversee supervision of registered clearing agencies, which has expanded to include firms that clear securities-based swaps.  Ms. Hu, formerly an Assistant Director in the Office of Clearance and Settlement, joined the SEC in 2011 as a senior special counsel in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations and later moved to the Office of Derivatives Policy in the Division of Trading and Markets.  

Ms. Hu said, “I am honored to take on this new role and I look forward to continuing to work together with my talented and dedicated colleagues to help advance the agency’s mission.”

As Associate Director, Regulation, Mr. Sabella will lead a team that develops recommendations for Commission policy and rulemaking regarding clearing agencies, transfer agents, security-based swap data repositories and a variety of other financial market infrastructure.  He joined the SEC in 2011 as a branch chief in the division’s Office of Trading Practices and was a special counsel to the division director from July 2013 to April 2015.

“I am humbled to take on this new role and would like to express my deep respect and appreciation for my colleagues in the division and throughout the agency,” said Mr. Sabella.  “I look forward to continuing with them the critical work the Commission performs on behalf of our markets, investors, and the public interest.”

Ms. Hu is a graduate of the University of California-Berkeley School of Law and earned master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Harvard Law School.  She previously was managing director and senior counsel at Rabobank Nederland in New York and was an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP.

Mr. Sabella has a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame. He began his legal career as an associate with Shearman & Sterling LLP.