The Security Traders Association has selected Wall Street veteran and former STA chairman John Giesea as its new president, effective November 1.

The STA is a professional trade organization that works to improve the ethics, business standards and working environment for its members, who are engaged in the buying, selling and trading of securities.

Giesea will assume the additional title of chief executive officer in February 2002 upon the retirement of Lee Korins, STA’s current president and CEO. Giesea has served as the senior executive vice president and director of equity capital markets for Advest Inc. of Hartford, Connecticut. From 1967 to 1990, he held positions with Kidder, Peabody in New York and San Francisco, including senior vice president and head of Nasdaq trading.

In addition to his professional experience, Giesea held numerous positions with STA and its affiliates and served on a number of Nasdaq committees. He served as STA’s chairman in 1995, president of STA’s New York affiliate in 1990 and president of its San Francisco affiliate in 1976.

“The combination of John’s more than three decades of professional experience coupled with his service on many industry committees and boards gives John a command of the issues affecting our industry that few possess,” said Korins. “He is well-known and highly respected among Wall Street professionals and is the perfect choice to represent the interests and opinions of STA’s 7,000 members among lawmakers, regulators and industry decision makers.”

“The mood among our members continues to be somber in the aftermath of the vicious attacks on the World Trade Center. We all lost many close friends in this tragedy and for those who survived, life will never be the same. STA will continue to do everything it can to help our members get through the enormous grief that undoubtedly will linger for some time to come,” said Giesea.

“But even as we continue to grieve, vast change continues to take place in the securities industry. Some of them, such as decimalization, have put a significant squeeze on industry profits. The industry must adapt to these changes in a way that provides a fair opportunity for profitability, while enabling our members to continue to do their jobs effectively. Helping our members operate in the new environment and molding future changes with their best interests in mind will be among my top priorities.”