Feb 3, 2016, 12:38 AM
Dr. Eli Cohen
Dr. Eli Cohen (born 10 February 1974) is the 1st and current Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was nominated for the position by the President of EvoCity on 2 February 2016; he was sworn in as Chairman on the same day.
Early Life and Education
Cohen was born in Tel Aviv to a devout Jewish and Zionist family in 1974.
Cohen gained an undergraduate degree in Integrated Human Studies from Kyoto University in Japan. He went on to achieve his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Melbourne in Australia, before receiving a Master of Laws degree in taxation from Oxford University. After graduation from Oxford, Cohen enrolled himself in a PhD course in International Law at the Graduate Institute Geneva; he graduated in 2001 and moved to EvoCity.
Career
Prior to his appointment as Chairman of SEC, Cohen was a partner with the international law firm of Barrett & Chase LLP, specialising in securities law. During his career, his practice included matters pertaining to general corporate and business law, international transactions, investment companies and investment advisers, securities law, and corporate finance. He also focused on issues related to corporate governance, public and private offerings (initial public offerings and secondary market offerings), mergers and acquisitions, mutual funds, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and other aspects of federal and state securities laws and regulations.
Cohen's previous experience includes serving as the general counsel, executive vice president, and corporate secretary of the investment management company ECInvestments, with responsibility for all legal and compliance matters regarding ECI Institutional. He also was ECI's managing director for Israel in the late 2000s.