The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Kate E. Zoladz has been named Regional Director of the Los Angeles Office, effective Dec. 3, 2023. Ms. Zoladz has served as Acting Co-Director since June 2023 and as the Associate Regional Director for Enforcement since October 2019. She joined the agency in 2010.

Ms. Zoladz will lead a staff of more than 160 accountants, attorneys, investigators, litigators, securities compliance examiners, and other personnel involved in the investigation and prosecution of enforcement actions and the performance of compliance examinations focusing on Arizona, Hawaii, Guam, Nevada, and Southern California. 

“I am pleased that Kate will continue to lead our Los Angeles Regional Office in a permanent capacity,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “Kate’s wide-ranging experience in the Los Angeles Office will be an asset to the Commission’s work. I also would like to thank Cindy Eson for her work as Acting Co-Director of the office, and for her continued service to the SEC.”

“During her tenure at the SEC, Kate has not only conducted and led important investigations that have helped further our investor protection mission, but also proven herself to be a thoughtful mentor and leader,” said Gurbir Grewal, the SEC’s Director of the Division of Enforcement. “I look forward to the continued success of our Los Angeles Regional Office with Kate at the helm.”

“Kate is a well-respected leader with a wealth of securities litigation and compliance experience developed over the course of her accomplished career, and I am pleased that she will lead the skilled Los Angeles Examinations team,” said Richard R. Best, Director of the SEC’s Division of Examinations. “Kate is insightful, pragmatic, and passionate about protecting investors, and I am excited to continue working with her and the other members of our Los Angeles Office.”

Ms. Zoladz began working at the SEC's Division of Enforcement as a staff attorney in the Los Angeles Office in 2010 and joined the Division’s Asset Management Unit in 2017. She was promoted to Assistant Regional Director in 2017 and to Associate Regional Director in 2019.

“It is an honor to take on the role of Regional Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Office and a privilege to lead this talented team who are unequivocally committed to protecting investors and ensuring compliance with the federal securities laws,” Ms. Zoladz said.

During her SEC career, Ms. Zoladz has investigated or supervised significant enforcement matters involving a variety of securities law violations, including cases against Pacific Investment Management Company, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and its parent company, and investment advisers in connection with the Division of Enforcement’s Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative. She also played a pivotal role in numerous emergency actions halting ongoing offering frauds and Ponzi-like schemes, such as the action against Integrated National Resources, Inc. dba WeedGenics and certain other defendants.

Prior to joining the SEC staff, Ms. Zoladz practiced securities and complex commercial litigation. She earned her bachelor's degree magna cum laude in international politics from Georgetown University and her law degree summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. After law school, Ms. Zoladz clerked for the Honorable Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.