[ by Melanie Gretchen ] The FINRA executive team has undergone some changes this year and we thought an update would be helpful.  Fifteen names appear on the FINRA Marquee and C-I will introduce their biographies in a 3-part series, starting today.

Monday, 8/20

• Richard (Rick) Ketchum -  Chairman & CEO
• Stephen Luparello -  Vice Chairman
• Marcia Asquith -  SVP, Corporate Secretary
• Linda Fienberg -  President, Dispute Resolution, FINRA EVP, Chief Hearing Officer
• Susan Axelrod -  EVP, Member Regulation Sales Practice

Tuesday, 8/21

• Tracy Johnson -  SVP, Human Resources
• Bradley Bennett -  EVP, Enforcement
• Howard Schloss -  EVP, Corporate Communications and Government Relations
• Grant Callery -  EVP, General Counsel
• Thomas Selman -  EVP, Regulatory Policy

Thursday, 8/22

• Martin Colburn -  EVP, Chief Technology Officer
• Grace Vogel - EVP, Member Regulation
• Martin Colburn -  Chief Legal Officer
• Gerri Walsh -  President, FINRA Investor Education Foundation VP, FINRA Investor Education
• Todd Diganci - EVP, CFO

.................................................................................................... Richard Ketchum. Chairman and CEO of FINRA. Prior to becoming CEO of FINRA, Mr. Ketchum was CEO of NYSE Regulation from March 2006 to March 2009.  He served as the first chief regulatory officer of the NYSE, a position he began in March 2004.  From June 2003 to March 2004, Mr. Ketchum was General Counsel of the Corporate and Investment Bank of Citigroup Inc., and a member of the unit's planning group, Business Practices Committee and Risk Management Committee. Previously, he spent 12 years at NASD and The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., where he served as president of both organizations. Prior to working at NASD and NASDAQ, Mr. Ketchum was at the SEC for 14 years - 8 of those years as director of the Division of Market Regulation. In October 2010, Mr. Ketchum was appointed by President Obama to serve on the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability - a group established to promote and enhance financial literacy and capability among Americans.  He also serves on the Joint Advisory Committee on Emerging Regulatory Issues, a committee created by the SEC and CFTC to review emerging regulatory issues, starting with the market events coming out of the May 2010 so-called "flash-crash." Mr. Ketchum serves on the Board of Directors of Appleseed, a non-profit network of 16 public interest justice centers in the U.S. and Mexico dedicated to advancing the rule of law, promoting effective government and creating opportunities for individuals' economic advancement. Mr. Ketchum earned his J.D. from the NYU School of Law in 1975 and his B.A. from Tufts Univ. in 1972.  He is a member of the bar in both New York and the District of Columbia. .................................................................................................... Stephen Luparello. Vice Chairman. In this capacity, Mr. Luparello oversees FINRA's regulatory operations, including Enforcement, Market Regulation, Member Regulation and Business Solutions.  Prior to this position, Mr. Luparello served as FINRA's Interim Chief Executive - when Mary Schapiro moved to the SEC. Mr. Luparello began his tenure at FINRA (then NASD) in 1996 as VP of the NASD Office of Disciplinary Policy.  He became head of NASD's Market Regulation Department in 1999, with responsibility for oversight of trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the American Stock Exchange, the OTC equities market, and the corporate and municipal fixed income markets. Mr. Luparello played a critical role in orchestrating the consolidation of NASD and the member regulation, enforcement and arbitration functions of NYSE Regulation to create FINRA in 2007.  He also continues to lead FINRA's regulatory work for markets and exchanges in the U.S. - and in 2010, oversaw the agreement to perform regulatory services for NYSE Euronext's U.S. equities and options markets. From 1994 to 1996, Mr. Luparello was Chief of Staff to the Chair of the CFTC.  Prior to joining the CFTC, he served 4 years as legal counsel to former FINRA CEO Mary Schapiro at the SEC, and as legal counsel in the SEC's Division of Market Regulation. Mr. Luparello serves on the board of the DTCC.  He's a graduate of the Washington and Lee Univ. School of Law and received his undergraduate degree in History from LeMoyne College. .................................................................................................... Marcia Asquith. SVP, Corporate Secretary. As Corporate Secretary, she serves as liaison between FINRA and its Board of Governors, and is responsible for the agenda for Board and Committee meetings as well as FINRA's annual meeting.  She also coordinates the flow of information and material among senior staff and manages the administration of various corporate elections, including those for the District Committees and Board of Governors. Ms. Asquith's tenure at FINRA began in 2001 when she was hired as the Director of Government Relations.  In 2004 she was promoted to VP of Government Relations, and in 2007 was named Deputy Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining FINRA, Ms. Asquith served the Senate Agriculture Committee, where she was Counsel to the Committee and helped write historic legislation on the regulation of futures and commodities.  She has extensive knowledge of SROs and other financial services businesses. Ms. Asquith holds a BA in Economics from Oklahoma State Univ. and a JD from the Marshall Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary. .................................................................................................... Linda Fienberg. President, FINRA DR, Chief Hearing Officer. Ms. Fienberg has executive responsibility for FINRA's dispute resolution and disciplinary hearing programs.  Prior to joining NASD in June 1996, she was a partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Covington & Burling. From 1979 to 1990, she was on the staff of the SEC, where she held several senior staff positions including Executive Assistant to 2 Chairmen, and Associate General Counsel in the General Counsel's Office - 1st for Litigation, then for Counseling and Legislation.  She is a recipient of the SEC's Distinguished Service Award. Ms. Fienberg serves on numerous bar and related committees.  She also was a member of NASD's Task Force on Arbitration Policy for which she served as the reporter, the NASD's Legal Advisory Board, and its National Arbitration and Mediation Committee.  She also has served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Procedures of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and of the Judicial Conference for the District of Columbia Circuit. Ms. Fienberg received a JD degree from the Georgetown Univ. Law Center, where she was a member of the Georgetown Law Journal.  She also received an M.A.T. degree from Wesleyan Univ. and a B.A. degree from Cornell University.  She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. She's also a current member of the boards of directors of the National Partnership for Women and Families and the Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni (ASECA).  She further is a former member of the boards of directors of the Abramson Foundation, the City Lights School, and the Whitman Walker Clinic, non-profit organizations located in Washington, D.C. .................................................................................................... Susan Axelrod. EVP, Member Regulation Sales Practice. In this capacity, she oversees the Sales Practice Department, with responsibility for ongoing surveillance and examinations, both routine and investigative, of FINRA-regulated securities firms. She was appointed to this position in July 2010. Previously, Ms. Axelrod was FINRA SVP and Deputy of Regulatory Operations.  Her responsibilities included assisting in the oversight of Market Regulation, Enforcement and Member Regulation functions at FINRA.  She also played a key role in the integration of NASD and NYSE Member Regulation. Prior to joining FINRA in 2007, Ms. Axelrod was Chief of Staff to the CEO of NYSE Regulation for 3 years. In this position, her responsibilities included overseeing day-to-day operations and acting as a liaison with various business areas including finance, human resources, government relations and communications. Ms. Axelrod joined the NYSE in 1989 as a Staff Attorney in the Division of Enforcement and became an Enforcement Director in 1997. Among the cases she handled were those involving specialist and floor broker misconduct, insider trading, upstairs trading, sales practice violations, and financial and operational compliance issues. She received her J.D. from the Hofstra Univ. School of Law in 1989 and her B.A. from Emory Univ. in 1986. To access the referenced source of this information, go to:  [FINRA Leadership].