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Gary Gensler was sworn in as the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on May 26, 2009. Chairman Gensler previously served at the U.S. Department of Treasury as Under Secretary of Domestic Finance (1999-2001) and as Assistant Secretary of Financial Markets (1997-1999). He subsequently served as a Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, Senator Paul Sarbanes, on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reforming corporate responsibility, accounting and securities laws.

As Under Secretary of the Treasury, Chairman Gensler was the principal advisor to Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and later to Secretary Lawrence Summers on all aspects of domestic finance. The office was responsible for formulating policy and legislation in the areas of U.S. financial markets, public debt management, the banking system, financial services, fiscal affairs, federal lending, Government Sponsored Enterprises, and community development. In recognition of this service, he was awarded Treasury’s highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Award.

Prior to joining Treasury, Chairman Gensler worked for 18 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was selected as a partner; in his last role he was Co-head of Finance.

Chairman Gensler is the co-author of a book, The Great Mutual Fund Trap, which presents common sense investment advice for middle income Americans.

He is a summa cum laude graduate from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1978, with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School’s graduate division in 1979. He lives with his three children outside of Baltimore, Maryland.

Michael V. Dunn was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 21, 2004, as a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He was sworn in December 6, 2004, to a term expiring June 19, 2006. On June 16, 2006, Commissioner Dunn was nominated by President Bush to a second term as Commissioner of the CFTC and confirmed by the Senate on August 3, 2006. In a ceremony on August 23, 2006 at the Federal Court House in Des Moines, Iowa, attended by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Commissioner Dunn was sworn in. U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt administered the oath of office.

From January 20, 2009 – May 25, 2009, Commissioner Dunn served as Acting Chairman for the agency.

Commissioner Dunn additionally serves as Chairman and Designated Federal Official of the Commission’s Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC). The AAC was created to advise the Commission on agricultural issues surrounding the trading of commodity futures and options and to serve as a communications link with the agricultural community. Commissioner Dunn is also the Chairman of the Commission’s Forex Task Force. The task force objective is to raise the public’s awareness of fraudulent activity in the retail foreign currency (forex) futures and option markets and to highlight the Commission’s enforcement activities in this area.

Prior to joining the CFTC, Mr. Dunn served as Director, Office of Policy and Analysis at the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) where he managed the two FCA divisions responsible for developing regulations and public policy positions for applicable statutes as well as promoted the safety and soundness of the Farm Credit System (FCS). Prior to this position, Mr. Dunn served briefly as a member of the FCA Board.

Mr. Dunn has also served as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Acting Under Secretary for Rural Economic Community Development, and as Administrator of the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Mr. Dunn has had a long involvement in agricultural credit dating back to the late 1970s, when he was the Midwest Area Director for the FmHA. He has been a loan officer and vice president of the Farm Credit Banks of Omaha and has served as a member of the Professional Staff of the Senate Agricultural Committee, specializing in agricultural credit. At the USDA, Mr. Dunn also served as a member of the Commodity Credit Corporation and Rural Telephone Bank Board. He is a past member of the Iowa Development Commission and has served as the Chairman of the State of Iowa’s City Development Board.

A native of Keokuk, Iowa and a current resident of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Mr. Dunn received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of New Mexico.

Jill E. Sommers was sworn in as a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on August 8, 2007 to a term that expired April 13, 2009. She was nominated on July 20, 2009 by President Barack Obama to serve a five-year second term, and was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 8, 2009.

Commissioner Sommers serves as Chairman and Designated Federal Official of the Commission’s Global Markets Advisory Committee, which meets periodically to discuss issues of concern to exchanges, firms, markets users, and the Commission regarding the regulatory challenges of a global marketplace. She also has the opportunity to frequently attend the Technical Committee meetings of the International Organization of Securities Commissions, the global cooperative body, which is recognized as the international standard setter for securities and derivatives markets.

Commissioner Sommers has worked in the commodity futures and options industry in a variety of capacities throughout her career. In 2005, she was the Policy Director and Head of Government Affairs for the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, where she worked on a number of over-the-counter derivatives issues.

Prior to that, Ms. Sommers worked in the Government Affairs Office of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), where she was instrumental in overseeing regulatory and legislative affairs for the exchange. During her tenure with the CME, she had the opportunity to work closely with congressional staff drafting the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000.

Commissioner Sommers started her career in Washington in 1991 as an intern for Senator Robert J. Dole (R-KS), working in various capacities until 1995. She later worked as a legislative aide for two consulting firms specializing in agricultural issues, Clark & Muldoon, P.C. and Taggart and Associates.

A native of Fort Scott, Kansas, Ms. Sommers holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kansas. She and her husband, Mike, currently reside in the Washington, DC area and have three children ages 8, 7, and 6.

Bart Chilton was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2007. In 2009, he was nominated by President Obama and reconfirmed by the U.S. Senate. His career spans 25 years in government service—working on Capitol Hill in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, and serving the Executive Branch during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama Administrations.

Prior to joining the CFTC, Mr. Chilton was the Chief of Staff and Vice President for Government Relations at the National Farmers Union where he represented average family farmers. In 2005, Mr. Chilton was a Schedule C political appointee of President Bush at the U.S. Farm Credit Administration where he served as an Executive Assistant to the Board. From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Chilton was a Senior Advisor to Senator Tom Daschle, the Democrat Leader of the United States Senate, where he worked on myriad issues including, but not limited to, agriculture and transportation policy.

From 1995 to 2001, Mr. Chilton was a Schedule C political appointee of President Clinton where he rose to Deputy Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman. In this role, Mr. Chilton became a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES)—government executives selected for their leadership qualifications to serve in the key positions just below the most senior Presidential appointees. As an SES member, Mr. Chilton served as a liaison between Secretary Glickman and the Federal work force at USDA.

From 1985 to 1995, Mr. Chilton worked in the U.S. House of Representatives where he served as Legislative Director for three different Members of Congress on Capitol Hill and as the Executive Director of the bipartisan Congressional Rural Caucus.

Mr. Chilton previously served on the Boards of Directors of Bion Environmental Technologies and the Association of Family Farms.

Mr. Chilton was born in Delaware and spent his youth in Indiana, where he attended Purdue University (1979—1982). He studied political science and communications and was a collegiate leader of several organizations.

Scott O’Malia was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 8, 2009 as Commissioner of the CFTC, he was sworn in on October 16, 2009. He is currently serving a five-year term that expires April 2015.

Born in South Bend, Indiana and raised in Williamston, Michigan, Commissioner O’Malia learned about commodity prices firsthand growing up on a small family farm. As a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, he brings both his agricultural background and experience in energy markets, where he focused his professional career.

Before starting his term at the CFTC, Commissioner O’Malia served as the Staff Director to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, where he focused on expanding U.S. investment in clean energy technologies, specifically promoting low-cost financing and technical innovation in the domestic energy sector.

From 2003 to 2004, Commissioner O’Malia served on the U.S. Senate Energy and National Resources Committee under Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) as Senior Policy Advisor on oil, coal, and gas issues. From 1992 to 2001, the Commissioner served as Senior Legislative Assistant to Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), now the Senate Minority Leader. During his career, O’Malia also founded the Washington office of Mirant Corp., where he worked on rules and standards for corporate risk management and energy trading among wholesale power producers.

In his time at the CFTC, Commissioner O’Malia has advanced the use of technology to more effectively meet the agency’s oversight responsibilities and has reestablished the long dormant CFTC Technology Advisory Committee (C-TAC). As Chairman of the newly reinstated Committee, Commissioner O’Malia intends to harness the expertise of the C-TAC membership to establish technological ‘best practices’ for oversight and surveillance considering such issues as algorithmic and high frequency trading, data collection standards, and technological surveillance and compliance.

Commissioner O’Malia earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Michigan. He and his wife, Marissa, currently live in Northern Virginia with their three daughters.

 

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