FINRA members will be holding elections to fill one LARGE FIRM vacancy and one SMALL FIRM vacancy on the National Adjudicatory Council (NAC).  Successful candidates will serve 3-year terms beginning in January 2018.

FINRA’s Nominating Committee selected the following nominees: (i) Belinda Blaine for the Large Firm NAC seat; (ii) Timothy Henahan for the Small Firm NAC seat.

Individuals who wish to be candidates for the vacant seats should submit their names and credentials to FINRA’s Nominating Committee by 10/5/17.

BACKGROUND.    The NAC is appointed by the FINRA Board of Governors to review all disciplinary decisions issued by FINRA hearing panels and presides over disciplinary matters that have been appealed to or called for review by the NAC. The NAC also reviews statutory disqualification matters, considers appeals of membership proceedings, exercises exemptive authority and acts in other proceedings as set forth in the Code of Procedure.

COMPOSITION OF THE NAC.   The NAC comprises 15 members – 7 industry members and 8 non-industry members. The 7 industry members include 2 Small Firm, 1 Mid-Size Firm, 2 Large Firm and 2 at-large Industry Members.

NOMINEE:  BELINDA BLAINE.    An MD and the CCO of Morgan Stanley’s U.S. swap dealers, Ms. Blaine is also Head of Compliance Regulatory Policy and Strategy for Morgan Stanley’s Americas institutional securities business. Before joining Morgan Stanley’s London office in 2002 as Executive Director in the Legal Division, Ms. Blaine held several positions at the SEC, including Counsel to Chairman Levitt and Associate Director of the Division of Trading and Markets. Ms. Blaine served on the FINRA Market Reg’n Committee from 2014-2017 and is currently a member of the SIFMA Compliance and Regulatory Policy Committee. She’s a member of the California bar and previously served as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law’s LLM program. 

NOMINEE:  TIMOTHY HENAHAN.    President and CEO of the Rocky River, OH-based securities firm of Baker & Co - a general securities dealer offering a wide variety of financial products and services, including financial planning, investment advisory and brokerage. Mr. Henahan has been an active volunteer in the financial industry since 1992. His participation in the regulatory process includes service to NASD and FINRA, having served: (i) as a member of the NASD District 8 Business Conduct and Nominating Committees and the Small Firm Rules Impact Task Force; (ii) on the NAC in 1999 and from 2005 to 2008, and as Chair of the Statutory Disqualification Committee from 2007 to 2008; (iii) as a member of numerous NAC and SD subcommittees since his NAC term ended. His other activities and associations include SIFMA, STA, Bond Club of Cleveland and the Cleveland Association for Business Economics.