UNITED STATES: Harvey Pitt, a former chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, passed away on Tuesday, as per a statement from the director of the SEC Historical Society.
Pitt, who was chosen by President George W. Bush to head the SEC in 2001, was in charge of overseeing the closing of financial markets following the September 11, 2001, attacks. He had previously served in a variety of capacities at the organisation, including general counsel and staff attorney. In 1977, the year before he left the organisation, he was given the SEC’s award for meritorious service.
The five current SEC Commission members stated in a statement that “it was one of his greatest dreams to come back later in his career to chair the agency.”
In 2003, he quit and left the organisation once more after receiving criticism for appointing a former FBI director engaged in an accounting controversy to lead the newly established Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. After WorldCom and Enron failed to regain investor confidence, the accounting watchdog was established.
At the time, Roel Campos, a fellow SEC commissioner, stated, “There has unquestionably never been anyone who loved this agency more than Chairman Pitt.”
Pitt ascribed his departure from the agency to the politicisation of the organisation following the Enron scandal in a 2005 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, and he emphasised the work the commission had done to adopt new laws under the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
According to the SEC’s website, Pitt was a graduate of the City University of New York and St. John’s University School of Law. At various points, he served as an educator at the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University.
Most recently, Pitt established and oversaw the Washington-based consulting and legal firm Kalorama Partners. According to a statement from Jane Cobb, executive director of the SEC Historical Society, he died on Tuesday. He was 78 years old. “Over the years, Harvey has been extremely generous with his time and sage advice,” stated former SEC commissioner Michael Piwowar.
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