Gensler voted in as CFTC chairman

Gary Gensler, US President Barack Obama's choice for chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), was confirmed by the US Senate on May 19 by 88 votes to six.

Gensler served as undersecretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001, after a two-year stint as assistant secretary. He was also a partner at Goldman Sachs for a decade from 1988, where he served in various capacities, including as co-head of finance, responsible for controllers and treasury worldwide. After his time at the Treasury, he was a senior adviser to senator Paul Sarbanes, chairman of the Senate banking committee, and was involved in the drafting of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, designed to improve corporate accounting controls after the Enron scandal.

He will replace Michael Dunn, who has held the chairmanship since November 2004 and retained it on an interim basis until Obama's choice was confirmed by the Senate.

Senator Tom Harkin, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, said the appointment was "a step in the right direction" towards regulatory reform for over-the-counter derivatives.

"I am hopeful that he [Gensler] will lead effectively in reforming and restoring regulation of trading in futures and other derivatives contracts," Harkin added.

See also: CFTC names temporary chief
Obama names next heads of SEC and CFTC
Geithner calls for law change to force OTC derivatives clearing