Chair Atkins

Education

University of Michigan (1951), Cornell University Medical School (1955) - Note: This refers to Robert C. Atkins, not Paul S. Atkins. Information for Paul S. Atkins' education is not provided in the given context.

Full Name

Paul S. Atkins

Current Role

Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Political Stance

Pro-business, conservative, advocate of free-market principles

Key Advocacy Areas

Regulatory clarity, market efficiency, financial innovation, reduced regulatory burdens, transparency, consistency, cost-benefit analysis, crypto and digital assets

1990-XX-XX

1994-XX-XX

2002-XX-XX

2008-XX-XX

2009-XX-XX

2009-XX-XX

2010-XX-XX

2012-XX-XX

2015-XX-XX

2024-11-21

2024-12-04

2025-01-20

2025-03-27

Prior to returning to the SEC, Chairman Atkins was most recently chief executive of Patomak Global Partners, a company he founded in 2009. Chairman Atkins helped lead efforts to develop best practices for the digital asset sector. He served as an independent director and non-executive chairman of the board of BATS Global Markets, Inc.from 2012 to 2015. [...] Chairman Atkins was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as a Commissioner of the SEC from 2002 to 2008. During his tenure, he advocated for transparency, consistency, and the use of cost-benefit analysis at the agency. Chairman Atkins also represented the SEC at meetings of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets and the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Economic Council. From 2009 to 2010, he was appointed a member of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief [...] Before serving as an SEC Commissioner, Chairman Atkins was a consultant on securities and investment management industry matters, especially regarding issues of strategy, regulatory compliance, risk management, new product development, and organizational control.

On December 4, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he intends to nominate Paul Atkins as the new SEC Chair to succeed Gary Gensler, who announced on November 21, 2024 his intention to step down effective January 20, 2025. Atkins, who served as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008 under President George W. Bush, is well known in the securities regulatory community. In a shift away from Gensler’s approach, Atkins is expected to take a lighter regulatory approach to regulation, [...] consistent with his prior tenure at the SEC. During his time as a Commissioner, Atkins emphasized the importance of capital market innovation and reducing regulatory burdens and advanced various reform efforts, such as modifying compliance requirements for smaller companies under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Following the end of his term, Atkins founded Patomak Global Partners, a financial services consulting firm that provides advisory services for banks and investment firms on regulatory and [...] compliance matters, including more recently on issues related to crypto and digital assets. He also Co-Chairs the Digital Chamber of Commerce’s Token Alliance and serves on the Advisory Board of Securitize, a digital asset firm that promotes the use of digital tokens. Atkins is known to be pro-business, conservative, and a strong advocate of crypto and digital assets. In a statement released in support of Atkins, the Investment Company Institute stated that “[h]is distinguished record, years of

Paul Atkins, President Donald J. Trump’s nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as chair, will have his first hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, March 27th. Atkins is not a new face to the SEC. He served as a commissioner from 2002-2008, following his time as a staff member working under Commissioners Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Atkins is currently CEO and Founder of Patomak Global Partners, a financial and cryptocurrency consulting firm. [...] Atkins is nominated to serve out the remaining term of former SEC Chair Gary Gensler, which ends in June 2026, and he would likely be renominated at that time. If Atkins is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the Commission will be comprised of a 3-1 majority, with Atkins joining fellow Republican Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda and Democratic Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw. Both Commissioners Peirce and Uyeda served as legal counsel for Atkins during his time at the SEC. Therefore, we can [...] Given Atkins’ public positions, we expect that his leadership at the SEC will favor market efficiency and innovation, with a special focus on crypto. Atkins’ SEC is expected to take a more laissez-faire approach, scaling back regulation and enforcement, which were more prevalent components of Gensler’s tenure at the SEC. Under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, the SEC is already on the path of deregulation. Acting Chair Uyeda signaled that the agency will step back from defending the SEC climate

Paul S. Atkins is an American businessman who has served as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since April 2025. Atkins also previously served as a commissioner at the SEC from 2002 to 2008. Known for advocating reduced regulatory burdens and promoting financial innovation, Atkins has been a vocal supporter of free-market principles in regulatory policy. ## Early life and education [edit] [...] From 1990 to 1994, Atkins served on the staff of two former chairmen of the SEC, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Under Chairman Breeden, he assisted in efforts to improve regulations regarding corporate governance, enhance shareholder communications, strengthen management accountability through proxy reform, and decrease barriers to entry for small businesses and middle market companies to the capital markets. Under Chairman Levitt, he was responsible for organizing the SEC's individual [...] 1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Paul S. Atkins Sworn In as SEC Chairman". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. April 21, 2025. Retrieved April 22, 2025. 2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Trump taps Paul Atkins to lead SEC, signaling shift on crypto regulation". The Washington Post. 2024. 3. ^ Prentice, Chris (December 5, 2024). "Trump's SEC pick Atkins marks victory for establishment expertise". Reuters. 4. ^ "Trump to nominate Paul Atkins, a cryptocurrency advocate, for SEC chair". CBS News. December 4, 2024.