Jonathan G. Katz

Jonathan G. Katz  - 2023 - 2024

Mr. Katz was Secretary of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission for twenty years, spanning seven SEC Chairmen and four Acting Chairmen.  As Secretary, Mr. Katz coordinated and managed the Commission’s agenda, participated in all Commission meetings, and oversaw the final review and issuance of all SEC regulatory and enforcement documents.  His responsibilities encompassed all aspects of the Commission’s regulatory and enforcement programs, advising Commissioners and staff of the SEC on policy and procedure and past practice.

During his tenure as Secretary, Mr. Katz performed a wide range of special assignments, including the supervision and preparation of draft Commission opinions in sensitive administrative proceedings; overseeing the SEC website; chairing teams to evaluate and select proposals to modernize the SEC EDGAR system; and selected a new building for the SEC headquarters. He oversaw an internal, comprehensive examination of SEC operations that led to the creation of a new office responsible for expanded emphasis on quantitative analysis of markets and led to a major reorganization of an SEC Division. Mr. Katz worked on capital market development and regulation initiatives in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Brazil, Mexico, Korea, and Chile. Before his appointment as SEC Secretary, Mr. Katz was the Director of the SEC Office of Consumer Affairs and Information Services. During his career at the SEC Mr. Katz received numerous awards including the Distinguished Service Award, the Commission’s highest honor. 

Following his retirement in January 2006, Mr. Katz served as a consultant on capital market development and regulation in the United States and internationally. He was a panelist or featured speaker at numerous conferences, wrote several articles on capital markets regulation and contributed chapters to reference texts on securities regulation, and on two occasions testified before the U.S. Congress concerning effective financial regulation. At the request of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, a subsidiary of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Katz wrote three reports that examined the operations of the SEC and offered recommendations on how the SEC could improve its operations. His recommendation to modernize and streamline the process for SEC review and approval of self-regulatory organization rules was enacted into law by the Dodd-Frank Act. Mr. Katz worked with international development organizations, foreign governments and capital markets in Mexico, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, Turkey, South Africa, the Philippines, Syria, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Brazil, China, Lebanon, Barbados, Morocco, Kuwait, Albania, and Tanzania, including participation in seventeen International Monetary Fund (IMF)/ World Bank missions under the Financial Sector Assessment Program.

Mr. Katz received a BA degree in economics from Colgate University and a JD degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. From 2007-2021 he served on the Board of the Association of SEC Alumni, serving as President in 2013- 2014.