The SEC has announced that SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro will step down from her position on December 14, 2012. Chairman Schapiro was appointed SEC Chair in January 2009, in the wake of the Madoff revelations. During her tenure the SEC brought an increased number of enforcement actions and also engaged in a large number of rulemakings mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act.
Immediately following the SEC’s announcement, the White House announced that the President will designate SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter as Chair upon Chairman Schapiro’s departure. Commissioner Walter was appointed Commissioner in July 2008, and previously served as Acting Chairman of the SEC during January 2009. Her term at the SEC ends in June 2013, and media reports indicate that the White House plans to nominate a permanent SEC Chairman prior to the end of Commissioner Walter's term.
The statement issued by the White House reads,
"I want to express my deep gratitude to Mary Schapiro for her steadfast leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission. When Mary agreed to serve nearly four years ago, she was fully aware of the difficulties facing the SEC and our economy as a whole. But she accepted the challenge, and today, the SEC is stronger and our financial system is safer and better able to serve the American people – thanks in large part to Mary's hard work.
"I am also pleased to designate Elisse Walter as SEC Chairman after Mary's departure. I'm confident that Elisse's years of experience will serve her well in her new position, and I'm grateful she has agreed to help lead the agency."
White House statement: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/11/26/statement-president-obama-departure-sec-chairman-mary-schapiro
SEC announcement: http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2012/2012-240.htm