Q&A with HALO Co-Chair Kevin Guerrero

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the SEC is spotlighting Kevin Guerrero, co-chair of the SEC’s Hispanic and Latino Opportunity, Leadership and Advocacy Committee (HALO). In this Q&A, we’ll learn more about Kevin, his role as assistant director in the Division of Enforcement and his insights on the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month

Q. Can you share a little about your background and what drew you to the SEC?

A. Between college and law school, I worked as a financial reporter, primarily for Dow Jones Newswires. Headlines and stories had to be written extremely quickly. Our management would often compare the timeliness of our stories in seconds against the work of our competitors.

It was exciting and gratifying for a number of reasons, not least of which was the immediate stock price reaction to my stories. One of my early, weekly responsibilities, however, was a little less glamorous: photocopying certain types of SEC filings that were only available in paper format from the SEC reading room. I then wrote stories about salient facts from those reports. I developed a nuanced understanding of the different types of SEC filings, how to read them, and their importance to investors.

At the time I began law school, the Enron scandal was unfolding. The swift response by the DOJ and the SEC to that and other corporate scandals convinced me that I, too, wanted to wear the “white hat” for the government. I applied a couple of times to the SEC’s Enforcement Division. While clerking on the federal district court in Phoenix for then-Chief Judge Stephen M. McNamee – an excellent judge and a better man – I received an offer of employment.

Q. Why did you decide to join HALO and what has been most rewarding in your role as co-chair?

A. The SEC has been fantastic about providing opportunities, resources, and support for employee affinity groups. I initially joined for networking and mentoring opportunities, but ended up loving it for the sense of community it provides. Working with and learning from our leader and fellow HALO co-chair, Juanita Hernandez, has been a plus too. She is a force of nature.

As a co-chair, I have helped organize coffee chats, which we call, “cafecitos,” speaking engagements, and Hispanic Heritage Month events. What has been most rewarding, however, has been the opportunity to mentor and support other HALO members, and, in turn, receive their mentoring and support.

Q. What unique perspectives do you bring to your role as HALO co-chair that you may draw upon to help enhance diversity, equity and inclusion both internally at the agency and externally in the community that we serve?

A. My father was born from immigrant Mexican parents into a large family. After serving in the United States Army during the Vietnam War, he went to law school, following in the footsteps of some of his brothers. He had to combat overt racism throughout his military, legal and business careers. Despite it all, neither my father nor mother revealed any bitterness. He has a great sense of humor and my mother has a kind soul. Both advocated the importance of living ethically. My father and mother have always been my heroes. They taught me not to tolerate intolerance no matter the repercussions, and how to be the change I wanted to see. Their example will always inform my perspective and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion within the SEC and in serving the investing public.

Diversity in all its incarnations is essential to maintaining a vibrant, engaged workforce dedicated to serving the investing public. Former SEC Commissioner Roel Campos rightly asked how the SEC expected to resonate with juries, for example, if it did not reflect the broad investing public whose interest it proposed to represent in this country.

Q. At the SEC, we emphasize the importance of mentorship, sponsorship and internships as conduits for creating personal and professional opportunities. Is there a person, experience or event that was pivotal to helping you get to where you are today?

A. I have been fortunate throughout my academic and legal career that so many people were willing to help me get to where I am today. I will mention a few.

Donna Nagy, my securities law professor, inspired me to appreciate the logical cohesion of securities law. In my third year of law school, I wrote a paper for one of her securities law seminars and then submitted it to a writing competition sponsored by the Association of Securities and Exchange Commission Alumni. I won third place, which included a cash prize and a trip to Washington, D.C., for the awards ceremony ahead of the SEC Speaks conference. In addition to benefiting from her instruction and scholarship, Professor Nagy provided invaluable assistance when I initially applied to work in the Division of Enforcement.

At the SEC, LeeAnn Gaunt and Ivonia Slade in the Public Finance Abuse Unit demonstrated by example how to be magnanimous and effective leaders. They established for me and others supportive and nurturing environments in which I felt empowered to identify risks in the marketplace and then conduct investigations to address those risks. I did this with a series of cases concerning retail order period abuse in the primary market for municipal bonds by “flippers” and related parties. LeeAnn and Ivonia also provided me with an opportunity to lead the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative, a successful, voluntary Enforcement Division program offering favorable settlement terms to municipal participants that self-reported certain violations. These people and experiences were pivotal to landing me where I am today.

Q. What barriers have you encountered on your career path, and what advice might you give to help others overcome similar barriers?

A. While I have had many excellent opportunities throughout my career, I have faced at times many of the issues that, sadly, have proven to be insurmountable barriers for so many others, like prejudice and favoritism. I do not have a magical solution to these intractable problems. I think what helped me end up where I am today was identifying, early in law school, what I wanted to do and then undertaking to build out a resume that demonstrated the experiences, skills, and knowledge that would be valued by my future employers. Hard work, discipline, and mastery of the relevant law and industries helped me break into and compete in a crowded legal field.

As discussed, I had thoughtful and connected mentors to provide guidance on handling invisible and insidious barriers. I also cannot underscore enough the importance of developing and nurturing a wide and relevant network to identify opportunities to keep advancing in your career, even if it does not seem to be the direct route you originally planned.

Q. What has been your proudest moment at the SEC?

A. I am fortunate to have participated in a number of meaningful investigations and litigations such as the data-driven initiative that I developed to investigate executive trading pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 plans, which resulted in a recently-filed enforcement action against a health care executive.

It is hard to choose a single proudest moment, but I often think back to a project I was assigned early on in my SEC career. I designed and executed an SEC-administered distribution of approximately $300,000 that had been deposited into the registry of a federal court. The majority of the distributed amount went to one severely-handicapped individual, who had invested his life savings in what turned out to be a fraud. We were able to return almost all his money to him. He later wrote me a letter, thanking me for my work on the distribution. I still have the letter.