Gary Gensler

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This article is about the American public official. For other uses, see Gensler (disambiguation).
Gary Gensler
Gary Gensler official portrait small.jpg
Chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 26, 2009
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Walter Lukken (Acting)
Personal details
Born (1957-10-18) October 18, 1957 (age 55)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Political party Democratic Party
Spouse(s) Francesca Danieli Costaglio 1986–2006
Children Anna
Lee
Isabel
Alma mater University of Pennsylvania
Religion Judaism
[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Gary S. Gensler (born October 18, 1957) is the chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission under President Barack Obama.

Gensler was Undersecretary of the Treasury (1999-2001) and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury (1997-1999) in the United States. Barack Obama selected him to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which has jurisdiction over $5 trillion in trades.[7] Gensler was sworn in on May 26, 2009.

His current term as CFTC Commissioner ended on April 13, 2012, however he may continue as a holdover until someone is nominated and sworn in to replace him or until the end of the current session of Congress.[8][9]

Contents

Early life and education [edit]

Gensler was born in Baltimore, in 1957, the son of Jane (née Tilles) and Sam Gensler.[10] His father was a vending machine operator and was very active in the Baltimore Democratic Party. He has a twin brother, Robert Gensler, who went to the same college and now runs an actively managed fund for T. Rowe Price.[11] He also has a sister Barbra Gensler Skarzynski and two other brothers Kenny Gensler and David Gensler. In 1978, he received a summa cum laude Economics B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. The next year, he earned a Master of Business Administration from Wharton.[12]

Business career [edit]

Gary Gensler joined Goldman Sachs in 1988 and spent 18 years there. He became a partner at the age of 30, youngest in Goldman Sachs history at the time. He later became head of the company’s fixed income and currency trading operations in Tokyo by the mid-’90s, and eventually the company’s co-head of finance.[13]

He also advised the National Football League in its television negotiations in 1990. He helped raise the TV-advertisement-price-per-team to $32 million per year, up from $17 million from the previous contract.

Gensler is the co-author of the 2000 book (with Greg Baer), The Great Mutual Fund Trap. It argues that active trading and investing is an inefficient strategy for individual investors, and that individuals should stick with index and exchange traded funds.

Political career [edit]

Clinton administration [edit]

As the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for domestic finance in the last two years of the Clinton administration, Gensler found himself in the position of overseeing policies in the areas of U.S. financial markets, debt management, financial services, and community development. Gensler advocated the passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, which exempted credit default swaps and other derivatives from regulation. The Senate was expected to examine his views on derivatives regulation during the Senate confirmation hearings.[14]

Senior Adviser to Sarbanes [edit]

He was a Senior Adviser to U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), one of the authors of legislation that eventually became the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, designed to bring greater oversight to the accounting industry and reform of corporate governance.

Obama administration [edit]

Gensler was a senior economic adviser to the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2008 and, after the Democratic Primary, the Obama campaign. He reviewed the Securities and Exchange Commission for the Obama transition team.[2] Obama appointed Gensler to become Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

In March 2009, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) attempted to block his nomination to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. A statement from Sanders’ office said that Gensler “had worked with Sen. Phil Gramm and Alan Greenspan to exempt credit default swaps from regulation, which led to the collapse of AIG and has resulted in the largest taxpayer bailout in US history.” He also accused Gensler of working to deregulate electronic energy trading, which led to the downfall of Enron, and supporting the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which allowed American banks to become “too big to fail.”[15]

In early November, 2011, Gensler stepped aside from the CFTC's investigation of the giant derivatives broker MF Global because of his longstanding ties to Jon Corzine, the CEO of MF Global, for whom Gensler had worked while both were at Goldman Sachs.

In late November, 2011, Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), head of the House Financial Services oversight subcommittee investigating MF Global's collapse, asked Gensler in a letter to explain his personal involvement in supervising MF Global. Neugebauer noted that Corzine reportedly personally lobbied Gensler and his staff this year in opposition to a possible CFTC rule that would have affected MF Global. Neugebauer asked Gensler why he didn't remove himself earlier from MF Global matters, so Corzine wouldn't have been able to lobby him.[16][17]

In November of 2011, Gensler was included on The New Republic's list of Washington's most powerful, least famous people.[18]

Personal life [edit]

In 1986, he married Francesca Danieli Costagliola, a filmmaker and photo collagist. They had three daughters: Anna, Lee, and Isabel. His wife died of breast cancer in June 2006.[19] He currently lives in Baltimore, MD.

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Gary Gensler". Times Topics. New York Times. April 7, 2010. Retrieved 2012-03-05. 
  2. ^ a b "Gary Gensler: A U-Boat Sent into the CFTC?". The truth about the MF Global Bankruptcy. December 3, 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-05. 
  3. ^ "Gary Gensler: Executive Profile & Biography". Businessweek. Retrieved 2012-03-05. 
  4. ^ Committee on Finance, United States Senate (January 20, 1999). [http%3A%2F%2Ffinance.senate.gov%2Flibrary%2Fhearings%2Fdownload%2F%3Fid%3D6a07e906-d688-4a4f-97b9-c2fcf96f346f&ei=tRJVT8nZCePn0QH7tOzQCw&usg=AFQjCNFYszutjU1iSn65-AvhHeUR21I6yQ&sig2=zxZHOSBzwfMbl_XZOisI5Q "Nominations of Susan G. Esserman, Timoth F. Geithner, Gary S. Gensler, Edwin M. Truman, and David C. Williams"] Check |url= scheme (help). Hearing (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office). ISBN [[Special:BookSources/01605484019|01605484019 [[Category:Articles with invalid ISBNs]]]] Check |isbn= value (help). S. Hrg 106-11. Retrieved 2012-03-05.  One hundred sixth Congress, First session
  5. ^ "Danieli, Francesca". Baltimore Sun. June 29, 2006. Retrieved 2012-03-05. "on Tuesday, June 27, 2006, FRANCESCA DANIELI (nee Costagliola). Beloved Wife of Gary Gensler of Brooklandville, Maryland. Beloved and Cherished Mother of Anna, Lee & Isabel of Brooklandville, MD. Loving Sister of Marisa Costagliola of Columbia, MD., Antonia Burns-Cambridge, MD and Rose Rubin of Falls Church, Virginia. Beloved Daughter of Francesco Costagliola-(Capt. Retired) and the late Agnes Costagliola" 
  6. ^ "Francesca Danieli, 52, collage artist". Baltimore Sun. July 05, 2006. Retrieved 2012-03-05. 
  7. ^ "Gensler Said to Be Obama’s Choice for Commodity Panel". December 26, 2008.  Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "Decision-Matter of: Commodity Futures Trading Commission". Controller General of the United States. February 11, 2013. 
  9. ^ "Terms of Office". U.S Commodity Futures Trading Commission. February 11, 2013. 
  10. ^ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/baltimoresun/obituary.aspx?pid=159937879
  11. ^ Wiseman, Paul (2009-11-23). "CFTC chief Gary Gensler is out to police financial Wild West". Usatoday.Com. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  12. ^ "Gary Gensler". The Washington Post. 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  13. ^ "Obama Nominates Gary Gensler To Head CFTC(link dead)". December 26, 2008.  Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  14. ^ "CFTC Pick Worked to Exempt Credit Swaps". December 19, 2008.  Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  15. ^ "Senator Sanders Blocking Key Obama Nomination". March 23, 2009.  Unknown parameter |org= ignored (help)
  16. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jneMvH1UkTdP-Gaybj2gfSRXXbVg?docId=bda6a127c82e431f9428c5163b3c382e. Retrieved 2011-11-30 Associated Press.[dead link]
  17. ^ Doering, Christopher (November 29, 2011). "Lawmaker presses CFTC on MF Global collapse". Reuters. Retrieved 2012-03-05. 
  18. ^ The Editors (2011-11-03). "Washington's Most Powerful, Least Famous People". The New Republic. Retrieved 2011-10-25. 
  19. ^ Washington Post: "Filmmaker and Honored Photo Collagist Francesca Danieli, 52" By Patricia Sullivan July 2, 2006

External links [edit]

Political offices
Preceded by
Walter Lukken
Acting		 Chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
2009–present		 Incumbent
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