People in the news

Robert Khuzami

Director of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission (since February 2009)

(Alex Wong/
Getty Images)

Why He Matters

A former New York prosecutor, Khuzami has moved rapidly as head of the SEC's enforcement arm to speed the pace of its activities after the agency was sharply criticized for years of ineffectiveness that culminated in its public shaming by Bernard Madoff.

In April 2010, it dramatically stepped up its game by suing Goldman Sachs for fraud during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, targeting the marketing of toxic and complex financial products whose value was derived from faulty home loans.

Read more

Background

At a Glance

Career History: Deutsche Bank, general counsel of the Americas (2004 to 2009); Deutsche Bank, global head of litigation (2002 at 2004); U.S. Attorney at the Southern District of New York (1991 to 2002)
Alma Mater: University of Rochester, 1979; Boston University, J.D.

Web site

Path to Power

A graduate of the University of Rochester in 1979, Khuzami went to Boston University for law school. In 1991, Khuzami joined the Southern District of New York as an assistant district attorney. He stayed for 11 years, spending his last three years as the head of the white-collar crime division during his time as a prosecutor.

In 2002, Khuzami moved to Wall Street, working as global head of litigation at Deutsche Bank before a promotion in 2004 as general counsel of the Americas at Deutsche.

Read more

The Issues

Since taking the helm of the SEC's enforcement arm, Khuzami has instituted several reforms that he hopes will put more bite into the agency's bark.

In July 2009, Khuzami, with SEC Chairwoman Schapiro's support, eliminated a category of managers called "branch chiefs" and reduced the number of employees assigned to "assistant directors." The plan was to return more skilled investigators to case work instead of managing employees. But some enforcement lawyers felt the move would distract investigators from focusing on issues that led to the 2008-2009 financial crisis, according to the Washington Post. And some bureaucratic hurdles continued to present themselves.

Read more

The Network

Khuzami reports to SEC director Mary Schapiro. From 2000 to 2002, Khuzami and Neil Barofsky, the inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, both worked at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

Khuzami passed over veteran agency workers to pluck his own aides from the New York U.S. attorney's office, including deputy Lorin L. Reiser and George S. Canellos.

Campaign Contributions

Khuzami donated $4,300 in 2007, including $2,300 to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz).

Additional Resources