The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will have a new boss. The United States Senate voted to confirm Dr. Heath Tarbert as the new Chair of the CFTC. The full US Senate voted overwhelmingly 85-9 to confirm Tarbert.
The outgoing chair, Christopher Giancarlo, had nothing but praise for Tarbert.
“I would like to extend enthusiastic congratulations to Dr. Heath Tarbert on the Senate passage of his nomination to be the next Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He is highly qualified to lead the agency.
“During my time of service, it has been a priority to transform the CFTC into a 21st Century regulator for today’s digital markets. With Dr. Tarbert’s confirmation, I know the agency is in safe hands to continue this transition. As he completes his current obligations as Acting Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, I have committed to stay on as Chairman until Monday, July 15, 2019 when Dr. Tarbert will take up the Chairmanship.
“With the end date for my service in sight, there is still much to do on important matters before the agency. I want to thank my fellow Commissioners and our Commission staff for their support and attention to the many complex matters affecting trading markets overseen by the CFTC.”
Besides his work as the US Treasury, Tarbert has spent time at the law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell. He was also a clerk at the US Court of Appeals and from 2009-2010, he spent time as a special counsel on the US Senate Committee on Banking as they negotiated the bill which turned into Dodd/Frank.
From 2010-2013, Tarbert was a partner at the law firm partner, at the law firm of Weil Gotshal & Manges, where he led the Financial Regulatory Reform Working Group. The CFTC regulates the derivatives market in the US; the CFTC consists of five commissioner, including the chair.
