Rumors fly over who’ll be next Finra CEO

Industry insiders are speculating about the next chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc., and names are beginning to surface.

Industry insiders are speculating about the next chief executive of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc., and names are beginning to surface.
Those being bandied about as potential replacements for Mary Schapiro, who now heads the Securities and Exchange Commission, include Rick Ketchum, CEO of NYSE Regulation Inc.; Annette Nazareth, a former member of the SEC; and Douglas Shulman, commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.
That was the talk this morning in San Antonio among executives who attended the annual meeting of the Atlanta-based Financial Services Institute Inc.
Last Friday, Finra, which oversees nearly 5,000 brokerage firms, named Stephen Luparello its senior executive vice president for regulatory operations, interim chief executive.
Both Mr. Ketchum and Mr. Shulman have deep ties with Finra and its predecessor, NASD.
Before joining NYSE in 2004, Mr. Ketchum had spent a combined 12 years at NASD and Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. of New York.
He served as president of Nasdaq and as president of NASD.
Mr. Shulman joined NASD in 2000 before leaving for the IRS last year.
Some observers say it would be good for Finra to find an outsider to lead it. Mr. Ketchum is viewed as having the best credentials, even though it would be tough to view him as an outsider because of his past positions at NASD and Nasdaq.