Mr. Robert Colby

ASECA is proud to announce that Robert Colby has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 William O. Douglas Award. This prestigious award is presented to an SEC alumnus who has made significant contributions to the development of the federal securities laws or has served the financial and SEC community with distinction. Mr. Colby will be honored at the Annual ASECA Dinner in Washington, D.C. on May 19, 2025.

Robert Colby had an impressive 27-year career with the SEC, where he played a key role in shaping and implementing investor protection policies, as well as rules and interpretations governing broker-dealers, securities markets, and clearance and settlement systems.  At the SEC, Mr. Colby served for 17 years as Deputy Director of the Division of Trading and Markets; prior to that he was Chief Counsel of the Division and Chief of the Division’s Branch of Market Structure. Mr. Colby began his career at the SEC as a staff attorney.

Mr. Colby currently is the Chief Legal Officer of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).  In this role, he oversees FINRA's rulemaking, compliance, litigation, and corporate legal functions, as well as its appellate office and the departments of advertising regulation, corporate financing, and dispute resolution. Prior to joining FINRA, Mr. Colby was a partner at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, where he provided counsel on regulatory and compliance matters for financial institutions and markets.

Please join us in congratulating Mr. Colby and save the date for the 30th Annual ASECA Dinner on May 19, 2025.