Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) officials have selected Haimera Workie to lead the agency’s Office of Financial Innovation.
The office is an outgrowth of the Innovation Outreach Initiative under FINRA360. It serves as a central point of coordination for issues related to significant financial innovations by FINRA member firms, particularly new uses of financial technology (fintech).
“Innovation continues to pose new opportunities and challenges for our member firms and the broader financial services industry, and it is essential that we as regulators keep pace,” Robert W. Cook, FINRA president and CEO, said. “Under Haime’s leadership, I am confident the Office of Financial Innovation will further FINRA’s long-standing commitment to understanding and addressing these issues through coordinated responses that foster both innovation and investor protection.”
The effort would also enhance FINRA’s ability to identify, understand and foster financial innovation in the markets in a manner that strengthens investor protection and market integrity.
Workie currently serves as a Senior Director at FINRA and previously served as Deputy Associate Director in the Division of Trading and Markets at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Law School.