SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has selected Renee Jones as the Director of Corporate Finance and John Coates as General Counsel.
Jones is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Boston College Law School. Previously, she represented private and public companies on corporate and securities matters at Hill & Barlow law firm.
Jones is a member of the American Law Institute and has served as the Co-Chair of the Securities Law Committee of the Boston Bar Association. She received an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard University.
Coates has served as the SEC’s Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance since February 2021. Before joining the SEC, he served as the John F. Cogan Professor of Law and Economics at Harvard University, where he also was Vice Dean for Finance and Strategic Initiatives.
Previously, Coates was a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, specializing in mergers and acquisitions and financial institutions. During his prior service on the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee, he chaired the Investor-as-Owner Subcommittee. Coates received his Bachelor of Arts with the highest distinction from the University of Virginia and his law degree from New York University Law School.
Gensler said that Joines brings deep expertise in corporate governance and securities law to the Division of Corporation Finance:
“Her leadership will be invaluable as the Division facilitates disclosure under our current rules and undertakes rule modernization to meet the challenges of today. I am pleased to welcome Renee to the SEC and look forward to working with her.”
He said that he has come to rely upon Coates’s deep expertise and judgment, traits that are essential in the role of General Counsel.
Both appointments are effective June 21, 2021.