Scott O'Malia Appointed Chief Executive Officer of International Swaps and Derivatives Association
July 23 2014 - 3:00AM
Business Wire
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA)
today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Scott
O’Malia as Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, Mr. O’Malia will also
serve as a director of the Association. The appointment, which is
effective as of August 18, brings to ISDA an experienced leader in
global derivatives policy issues with public and private sector
experience.
Mr. O’Malia previously served as a Commissioner of the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), a position to which he was sworn
in on October 16, 2009. Prior to his tenure at the CFTC, Mr.
O’Malia held senior staff positions in the U.S. Senate, which
included serving as Senior Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator
Mitch McConnell (R-KY), now the Senate Minority Leader. Mr. O’Malia
also co-founded the Washington office of Mirant Corp., where he
worked on rules and standards for corporate risk management and
energy trading among wholesale power producers. He earned his
bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
“I am delighted that Scott O’Malia is joining ISDA as we
continue our important work in ensuring safe, efficient global
derivatives markets,” said Stephen O’Connor, ISDA’s chairman.
“Scott is a respected leader on many key issues affecting our
markets, including the need for international cooperation in
derivatives rule-making. The Board is excited and confident that
Scott is the right person to lead the industry and ISDA through the
many structural changes -- including margin, capital, clearing,
trade execution and reporting rules and regulations -- that are
reshaping the global derivatives markets.”
Mr. O’Malia said, “The need by thousands of companies around the
world to manage and hedge their business and financial risks via
derivatives remains as important as ever. ISDA’s role is to ensure
derivatives markets help to fulfill this promise. It is a role that
remains vital and relevant and I look forward to working with
ISDA’s board, staff, members and external constituencies to address
the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
Mr. O’Malia succeeds Robert Pickel as ISDA’s CEO. Mr. Pickel
announced in April he was stepping down as CEO after nearly 17
years with ISDA. Following that announcement the ISDA Board of
Directors conducted a comprehensive global search for a successor
to Mr. Pickel.
“Scott O’Malia is among the most respected people in financial
policy circles today,” said Mr. Pickel. “He will be a tremendous
asset to ISDA in the years ahead.”
Scott O’Malia: Summary Biography
Scott O’Malia served as a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (CFTC) from October 2009 to July 2014. Prior to
that, he served as the Staff Director to the U.S. Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. From
2003 to 2004, Mr. O’Malia served on the U.S. Senate Energy and
National Resources Committee under Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.),
as Senior Policy Advisor. From 1992 to 2001, he served as Senior
Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.), now
the Senate Minority Leader. During his career, Mr. O’Malia also
co-founded the Washington office of Mirant Corp., where he worked
on rules and standards for corporate risk management and energy
trading among wholesale power producers.
In his time at the CFTC, Mr. O’Malia promoted the use of
technology to more effectively meet the agency’s oversight
responsibilities and advocated for the CFTC to adjust and adapt to
its evolving mission after the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act. He
reestablished the long-dormant CFTC Technology Advisory Committee
(TAC) and urged for the creation of the Office of Data and
Technology (ODT). His efforts also include championing swap
execution facilities (SEFs) as innovative, flexible and transparent
platforms that will encourage the trading of swaps on exchange; the
establishment of an interdivisional staff working group to reform
the CFTC’s swaps data recordkeeping and reporting procedures; and
preserving the essential price discovery and hedging functions of
the futures and swaps markets for end-users.
Mr. O’Malia also emphasized the importance of international
cooperation and harmonization with foreign jurisdictions to
effectively and efficiently regulate the global futures and swaps
markets, in accordance with the principles set forth by the
G-20.
Born in South Bend, Indiana and raised in Williamston, Michigan,
Mr. O’Malia earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of
Michigan.
About ISDA
Since 1985, ISDA has worked to make the global over-the-counter
(OTC) derivatives markets safer and more efficient. Today, ISDA has
over 800 member institutions from 64 countries. These members
include a broad range of OTC derivatives market participants
including corporations, investment managers, government and
supranational entities, insurance companies, energy and commodities
firms, and international and regional banks. In addition to market
participants, members also include key components of the
derivatives market infrastructure including exchanges,
clearinghouses and repositories, as well as law firms, accounting
firms and other service providers. Information about ISDA and its
activities is available on the Association's web site:
www.isda.org.
ISDA® is a registered trademark of the International Swaps and
Derivatives Association, Inc.
ISDA New YorkLauren Dobbs, +1 212 901 6019ldobbs@isda.orgorISDA
LondonNick Sawyer, +44 203 088 3586nsawyer@isda.orgorISDA Hong
KongDonna Chan, +852 2200 5906dchan@isda.org