Is SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro’s departure this month prompting other high-profile officials to leave the agency?
Within the last two days, three top executives at the agency have announced their planned departures: Robert Cook, of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets; Meredith Cross, who heads the Division of Corporation Finance; and the agency’s general counsel, Mark Cahn.
Cook and Cahn announced their planned departures on Wednesday, while Cross said she was leaving on Tuesday. While no departure time was announced for Cook, the SEC says that Cook will remain with the commission for a “transitional period” in order to help ensure continuity in the division’s functions. Cross, however, plans to depart by year-end and return to the private sector, as does Cahn, who will also return to the private sector.
Since joining the SEC in January 2010, Cook has led the division’s broad regulatory policy program that includes oversight of securities exchanges and markets, broker-dealers, clearing agencies, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.