[ by Howard Haykin ]

Mary Schapiro, former SEC Chairman, brought in Carlo di Florio to head the Agency's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE").  Mr. di Florio's predecessor, Lori Richards, stepped down in August 2009.  Ms. Richards had served as Director of OCIE since it was created by Chairman Arthur Levitt in May 1995.  OCIE Associate Director-Chief Counsel John Walsh served as Acting Director.

[ C-I Note:   Just want to take this opportunity to thank, Ms. Lori Richards, once again, for her excellence service as Director of OCIE.  She was very popular and always approachable, and forever, will be remembered for delivering the annual 'Top Ten OCIE Priorities' list at each year's SIA C&L Annual Conference.  Ms. Richards and her list were always effective for several reasons:  (i)  it was presented in a clear and concise manner;  (ii) Ms. Richards directly addressed the issues, listing out absolute and critical compliance issues facing broker-dealers and other financial institutions - it was the 'real deal';  (iii)  Ms. Richards never camouflaged her message by reciting a "kitchen sink of secondary issues" as some regulators do - e.g., should priority lists really contain over 30 or more issues?  -  and,  (iv)  Ms. Richards was a wonderful communicator, and always was in touch with her audience  - not easy when you're dealing with compliance and legal professionals.]

Mr. di Florio Arrives with Big 4 Accounting Experience.   Prior to joining the SEC, Carlo di Florio was a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), serving in its Financial Services Regulatory Practice.  He was one of PwC's national leaders in corporate governance, enterprise risk management and regulatory compliance and ethics.  He used those skills to strengthen the policies and control procedures of his firm's clients, and played a leading role in defining new industry standards - including the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) Enterprise Risk Management standard and the Open Compliance and Ethics Guidelines (OCEG).

Mr. di Florio has extensive experience leading independent reviews and advising clients on regulatory expectations and industry leading practices across capital markets, investment management, banking and other financial services sectors and regulatory regimes.

In addition to helping financial institutions strengthen corporate governance and regulatory compliance programs, Mr. di Florio also has played a leading role in numerous high-profile engagements where PwC was retained to investigate corporate fraud, corruption, conflicts of interest and money laundering.  In this regard, Mr. di Florio has directed international teams and engagements across numerous jurisdictions around the world.

His education background reads as follows:  a Master of Laws (LL.M) with distinction from Georgetown Law, a JD from Penn State, and a BA in Political Economy from Tulane.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro had this to say upon Mr. di Florio's arrival:  “A strong inspections and examinations unit is instrumental to the SEC’s investor protection efforts. Investors rely on our examiners to ensure that their financial professionals comply with the la.  Carlo brings the energy, insight, and experience necessary to ensure that we keep pace with the rapid changes in the industry and continue to build upon the reforms of the past year.”

To access the source document, go to:   [SEC PR 10-1, 1/4/10].