Mary L. Schapiro (born 1955) is the 29th chairperson of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She was designated as the intended nominee by then-President-elect Barack Obama on December 18, 2008, and formally nominated upon Obama's inauguration into office on January 20, 2009. She was confirmed by voice vote in the Senate on January 26, 2009. She is the immediate past chairperson and CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the securities industry self-regulatory organization for broker-dealers and exchanges in the United States, and served in various roles as a financial services regulator in the administrations of Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan. She is the first woman to chair the SEC .