OCIE Director Marc Wyatt to Leave SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Marc Wyatt, Director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, will leave the agency next month to return to the private sector.

Mr. Wyatt joined the SEC in December 2012 as a senior specialized examiner and co-founded the Private Fund Unit within OCIE. He was named Deputy Director in October 2014 and served as Acting Director in April 2015 before being named Director in November 2015. 

“OCIE has benefited greatly from Marc’s leadership and vision,” said SEC Acting Chairman Michael Piwowar. “His efforts on enhancing our risk based exam program and the organizational changes he has put in place will leave a lasting mark on the Commission.”

“It has been an honor to serve alongside the outstanding OCIE team who work tirelessly to improve compliance, prevent fraud, monitor risk, and inform policy,” said Mr. Wyatt.  “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the Commissioners and staff across the SEC to execute on our mission.”

Mr. Wyatt worked with OCIE leadership and staff on a number of initiatives and accomplishments during his tenure, including:

• In each year, Commission staff significantly increased its examinations, including over 2,400 examinations in fiscal year 2016, a 20 percent increase over fiscal year 2015 and a seven year high in examinations conducted. 
• By the end of fiscal year 2016, OCIE completed a reallocation of resources within the examination program that, along with focused hiring, resulted in increasing the size of the investment adviser and investment company examination staff by more than 20 percent as compared to the prior year in response to rapid industry growth. 
• OCIE created the Office of Risk and Strategy which combined the various quantitative teams and risk professionals across OCIE into one unit to significantly increase technology-based approaches to identify risks among SEC registrant populations.
• OCIE formed the FINRA and Securities Industry Oversight Team, or FSIO, to enhance oversight of a key industry self-regulatory organization.
• OCIE established the Technology Controls Program, or TCP, and its Cyberwatch unit to monitor for significant events and outages related to Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity.

Before coming to the SEC, Mr. Wyatt was a principal and senior portfolio manager of a global multi-strategy hedge fund. Prior to that, he was a senior investment banker in the U.S. and U.K.  Mr. Wyatt is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He graduated from the University of Delaware with a B.S. in economics and holds an M.B.A. from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. 

Upon Mr. Wyatt’s departure, Pete Driscoll, OCIE’s Chief Risk and Strategy Officer, will become the acting director. Mr. Driscoll was previously OCIE’s managing executive from 2013 through early 2016. He joined the Agency in 2001 as a staff attorney in the Division of Enforcement in the Chicago Regional Office and was later a Branch Chief and Assistant Regional Director in OCIE. Prior to the Agency, Mr. Driscoll began his career with Ernst & Young LLP and held several accounting positions in private industry. He received his B.S. in Accounting and law degree from St. Louis University.  He is licensed as a certified public accountant and is a member of the Missouri Bar Association.