Mary Schapiro was sworn in as the new chairwoman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, replacing Christopher Cox.

Schapiro comes to the SEC from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, where she was CEO. The first woman to serve as the agency’s permanent chairman, she was appointed by new US president Barack Obama on Jan. 20, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Prior to heading FINRA (created by the merger of NASD Regulation and NYSE member regulation), Schapiro was CEO of NASD Regulation. She previously served as a commissioner at the SEC from December 1988 to October 1994, when she was appointed by then-president Ronald Reagan, and was acting chairman under then-president Bill Clinton in 1993. She left the SEC when Clinton appointed her chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where she served until 1996.

“Seventy-five years after this great agency was founded, the SEC must play a critical role in rebuilding investor confidence, reviving our markets, and rejuvenating our economy,” said Schapiro. “I’m honored and grateful to be entrusted with leading this agency during such an important time – when the SEC must effusively be the investor’s advocate. Working with my fellow commissioners and the agency’s talented staff, we will be committed to reinvigorating a financial regulatory system that must protect investors and vigorously enforce the rules. We will work to deepen the SEC’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and disclosure while always keeping the needs and concerns of investors front and center.”

IE