US SEC Appoints Haoxiang Zhu as Director of Division of Trading and Markets

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Friday that it had appointed Haoxiang Zhu as its new Director of the Division of Trading and Markets. According to the press release, he’ll take the new role starting December 10, 2021.

Moreover, David Saltiel has been named as the new SEC’s Deputy Director of the same division. Zhu is the Gordon Y. Billard Professor of Management and Finance and Associate Professor of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He has also been serving as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Zhu earned a BA in mathematics and computer science from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in finance from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. “At the center of the SEC’s three-part mission is maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient capital markets. The work of our Division of Trading and Markets links the investors in our capital markets with those companies seeking to raise money, hire employees, and grow. Haoxiang brings to the SEC deep expertise and commitment to the agency’s efforts to enhance and update our rules to continue to maintain markets that are the envy in the world. I’m excited to welcome him to the agency,” Gary Gensler, SEC Chair, commented on Zhu’s appointment.

Saltiel has been serving as Acting Director of the Division of Trading and Markets. Despite his new role, he will continue working as head of the Office of Analytics and Research. He received his undergraduate degree from Williams College and earned his master’s degree in economics from St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford.

Berkovitz’s Appointment

“I thank David for his invaluable counsel and leadership of the Division of Trading and Markets. David is a trusted colleague, and I’ve come to rely on him regarding issues critical to our markets. I’m excited to continue to work closely with him in his new role,” Gensler said.

Dan Berkovitz, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner, was appointed as SEC General Counsel in September.