Accountablity Guru Oxley Takes D.C. to Wall Street

Bob Greifeld, Nasdaq's president, left, with Michael Oxley, who has joined the exchange as a vice chairman. He will work to make the culture of Washington more transparent to clients. (By Daniel Acker -- Bloomberg News)

Former representative Michael G. Oxley, known for his role in crafting landmark corporate accountability legislation, will join the Nasdaq Stock Market to counsel its 3,200 listed companies on the ways of Washington.

Oxley, 63, an Ohio Republican who chaired the Financial Services Committee until he retired last year, was named non-executive vice chairman. He will play a significant role in shaping the exchange's public policy agenda, said Bob Greifeld, Nasdaq's president and chief executive, in making the announcement.

"We on a somewhat ad hoc basis have tried to develop our policy positions and communicate that to the community down in D.C.," Greifeld said. "Mike will clearly bring additional structure, additional process to it, and additional experience and insight in terms of how we can best serve our companies in that regard."

Oxley said he plans to go on a national listening tour to meet with corporate chief executives. He retired from Congress in 2006 after 25 years of service.

"I don't see myself necessarily as a lobbyist," he said. "Nasdaq has some very effective people that work in Washington, and to the extent that I can help them in advice and so forth, that would be my goal."

Oxley, who joined the Washington office of the law firm Baker & Hostetler on March 12, will also maintain an office in New York, the company said. He will report to Greifeld.

Some characterized the pairing of Oxley and Greifeld as ironic. Oxley is co-author of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, whose anti-fraud provisions and disclosure requirements Greifeld has criticized as a drag on the competitiveness of U.S. markets.

But corporate governance and exchange experts said Nasdaq's decision to bring Oxley on board makes sense in light of its efforts to expand globally.

Last month, the exchange failed in its highly publicized bid to acquire the London Stock Exchange, and Greifeld has made clear that he would continue to "pursue other opportunities." On Tuesday, the exchange appointed a new Asia manager to drive its effort to get Asian companies to list on the Nasdaq.

"I'm sure they heard people express concerns about Sarbanes-Oxley there," said Benn Steil, director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. "How better to address such concerns than to say, 'Mike Oxley actually works with us. Would you like to speak to him about your concerns?' "

Oxley's appointment comes as federal regulators and legislators are debating the benefits of Sarbanes-Oxley. Passed in 2002 after the Enron and WorldCom scandals, some business groups have complained the law goes too far, resulting in increased audit fees and more shareholder lawsuits.

Yesterday, both Greifeld and Oxley said they supported the principles of the law but said aspects of how it is implemented could be refined. This week, Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said his agency has the authority to tinker with Sarbanes-Oxley.

Steil said Oxley is well-positioned to influence the tweaking. "He can't himself enforce the interpretation," Steil said. "But the SEC would be more comfortable in backing an interpretation if one of its primary authors" was backing it.