Schapiro: The Sheriff of the Economy

Mary Schapiro spent 25 years making sure that wall street firms played by the rules.  I am not going to bother getting into specifics about how she pulled that off, but I imagine whenever they tried something sketchy she gave them this look



and then they pretty much knew that she was in charge.

She was working for the SEC from 1988 to 1994 then left and worked for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (where she became CEO).  Ultimately, she returned to the SEC as the first permanent female Chair of the Securities Exchange Committee (ever), appointed by Barack Obama in 2009:

Quick Barack shout-out

(http://www.cultivatingculture.com/2013/03/14/the-definition-of-a-feminist/)

So... she was really, really good at being chairman of the SEC, especially at a time when the SEC was cleaning up after an economic crash and making record numbers of enforcement actions.

She also made time to appear on the cover of magazines with here equally awesome companions in fixing-how-the-world-financial-system-works, FDIC Chair Sheila Bair and TARP Overseer Elizabeth Warren.


(http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/05/time-cover-new-sheriffs-of-wall-street/)

She has now stepped down from her position and join the "Shadow Regulator" organization Promontary Financial Group as Managing Director and Chairman.

I know, I know: "Shadow Regulator" sounds like some kind of Justice-League-esque collaboration of super heroes (she would pull off a cape if she'd be willing to try), but it's actually an organization that spends its time explaining the new rules that she and her friends put into place.  She changed the economic game so much that now she's getting paid to re-teach everyone how to participate.

Talk about being a world-shaper.


Sources
http://www.sec.gov/about/commissioner/schapiro.htm
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/lmj45gkhg/mary-schapiro-u-s/
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-02/mary-schapiro-out-of-the-sec-and-into-the-shadows