Scott D. O’Malia, formerly a commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has been named chief executive of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.
He succeeds Robert Pickel, who is stepping down as chief executive after nearly 17 years with the trade group for the $600 trillion derivatives industry
Mr. O’Malia, a member of the commission since 2009, announced his intention to step down on Monday. Previously, he had served as the senior legislative assistant to Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky. He also co-founded the Washington office of the Mirant Corporation, where he worked on rules and standards for corporate risk management and energy trading among wholesale power producers.
“I am delighted that Scott O’Malia is joining I.S.D.A. as we continue our important work in ensuring safe, efficient global derivatives markets,” said Stephen O’Connor, the chairman of the association. “Scott is the right person to lead the industry and I.S.D.A. through the many structural changes — including margin, capital, clearing, trade execution and reporting rules and regulations — that are reshaping the global derivatives markets.”
He is leaving the C.F.T.C. just as the regulator has regained the full strength. Last month, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Timothy G. Massad as chairman of the commission, as well as the nominations of two other commissioners, Sharon Y. Bowen and J. Christopher Giancarlo. Mr. O’Malia was one of the two Republican commissioners on the five-member commission.
Mr. O’Malia was often critical of new Dodd-Frank rules being pushed through by Mr. Massad’s predecessor, Gary Gensler. In voting against new requirements for swap dealers in 2012, Mr. O’Maila said, “I believe the commission has failed to carefully and precisely identify a clear baseline against which the commission measured costs and benefits and the range of alternatives under consideration in this rule.”
I.S.D.A. has also been a vocal critic. In December, the group, along with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, sued the agency in the Federal District Court in Washington over its cross-border swaps rules.