The US Securities and Exchange Commission has promoted Catherine Dabney O'Riordan to the role of co-chief of the division of enforcement’s asset management unit.
The specialist unit is focused on misconduct by investment advisors, investment companies and private funds.
O'Riordan succeeds Marshall Sprung, who left the SEC in April, and will be working alongside co-chief of the unit Anthony Kelly.
Previously, O'Riordan was an associate regional director in the SEC’s Los Angeles office. She joined the SEC in 2005 as a staff attorney in LA, and joined the asset management unit when it was created in 2010.
She was also counsel to the director of the division of enforcement, and became an assistant director of the unit in 2012.
O'Riordan has experience in investigating and supervising on enforcement cases, addressing various types of misconduct in asset management. She has also worked on investigations into so-called ‘gatekeepers’, including auditors on private funds, accounting firms looking in to custody issues, and brokers accused of ignoring misappropriation of client assets.
Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC’s enforcement division, said: “Catherine Dabney O'Riordan excellent judgment, deep knowledge of the laws and rules governing the asset management industry, and strong leadership skills position her perfectly to co-lead the nationwide asset management unit.”
O’Riordan added: “I am honored to lead the Asset Management Unit with Anthony Kelly.”
She said: “As someone who joined the unit at its inception, I have seen the talent and dedication of the unit’s staff in policing a vital industry that investors have entrusted with trillions of dollars in assets, and I look forward to continuing to build on the unit’s many successes.”
