Firms Elect John Vaccaro as Large Firm Governor and Jennifer Szaro as Small Firm Governor; James Crowley Re-Elected as Mid-Size Firm Governor

FINRA announced today the results of its election of three Governors to its Board of Governors during the annual meeting of FINRA member firms on Wednesday.

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John Vaccaro (Photo: Business Wire)

The elected Governors include:

• Large Firm Governor — John Vaccaro, Chair and CEO, MML Investors Services; Head of MassMutual Financial Advisors
• Mid-Size Firm Governor — James Crowley, CEO, Pershing Advisor Solutions; Senior Executive Vice President, Global Head of BNY Pershing
• Small Firm Governor — Jennifer Szaro, Chief Compliance Officer, XML Securities

Vaccaro is the Chair and CEO of MML Investors Services, a unit of MassMutual Holding. He is also the Head of MassMutual Financial Advisors and serves as Chair of MassMutual Trust Company. Before joining MassMutual in 2007, he held a variety of positions in the financial services industry, including at The Hartford, WS Griffith, Prudential Financial and Liberty Financial. He is a graduate of Saint Anselm College.

Crowley, who was first elected to the FINRA Board as a Mid-Size Firm Governor in 2021, is the CEO of Pershing Advisor Solutions, and Senior Executive Vice President and Global Head of BNY Pershing. He is also a member of the BNY Executive Committee. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Florida State University and also completed the Securities Industry Institute program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Szaro is the Chief Compliance Officer and a managing equity owner at XML Securities and its affiliated registered investment adviser, XML Financial Group. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Rhode Island and completed FINRA’s Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional Program, then at the Wharton School Executive Education program.

“Congratulations to John and Jennifer for their election, and to Jim for his re-election,” said FINRA Board Chair Eric Noll. “I would also like to express my appreciation on behalf of the entire Board to Tim Scheve and Paige Pierce for their service as a Large Firm Governor and a Small Firm Governor, respectively. Their contributions to the Board have helped support FINRA’s mission of protecting investors and ensuring market integrity.”

“The Board of Governors provides FINRA with critical strategic guidance that helps us fulfill our mission,” said FINRA CEO Robert Cook. “I extend my congratulations to John, Jennifer and Jim and am looking forward to working with them, as well as the rest of the Board, as we advance our work as a self-regulatory organization.”

FINRA is overseen by a 23-member Board of Governors, with the majority or 12 seats designated for public members, 10 seats designated for industry members and one seat reserved for FINRA’s CEO. The industry governor seats include three from large firms, one from mid-size firms, three from small firms, one floor member, one independent dealer/insurance affiliate and one investment company affiliate. FINRA Governors are appointed or elected to three-year terms and may not serve more than two consecutive terms.

More information regarding the Board's operations, including the membership and responsibilities of its committees, is available at www.finra.org/governance.

About FINRA

FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. It regulates one critical part of the securities industry—member brokerage firms doing business in the U.S. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.

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