Skip to main content
News Release

Michelle Ong (202) 728-8464

FINRA Appoints Michael Solomon Senior Vice President of Examinations

WASHINGTON—FINRA announced today that it has appointed Michael Solomon as Senior Vice President of Examinations. Solomon will assume this role on June 6 and report to Greg Ruppert, Executive Vice President and Head of Member Supervision.

Solomon will be responsible for overseeing the strategic direction and execution of FINRA’s national Examination Program, assuming responsibilities previously held by Thomas Nelli, who retired from FINRA in March 2022.

“Michael is a seasoned professional with a long-demonstrated commitment to FINRA’s mission. His significant experience both as a regulator and in the industry makes him uniquely qualified to lead our Examination program.” said Ruppert. “We are happy he is back at FINRA and are excited to have him join the Member Supervision senior leadership team.”

“I am thrilled to return to FINRA and work with such a talented team of professionals who are dedicated to investor protection and making sure the broker-dealer community operates fairly and honestly,” said Solomon. “I look forward to taking on this role to help ensure FINRA's examinations are efficient, help enhance industry practices and root out misconduct.”

Solomon was most recently the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Rockefeller Financial LLC.  Prior to joining Rockefeller, Mr. Solomon spent seven years as the Senior Vice President and Northeast Regional Director for FINRA, where he had responsibility for the Examination and Surveillance Programs in the region and oversaw a staff of 350 people in FINRA’s five northeast offices. Prior to his tenure at FINRA, he had senior legal and compliance roles at several global financial services firms, including Jefferies, UBS and Merrill Lynch. Michael was also a trial counsel in the NYSE Enforcement Division and began his legal career as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan where he investigated and prosecuted violent street crime, narcotics trafficking, fraud, and organized crime.

About FINRA

FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. It regulates one critical part of the securities industry—brokerage firms doing business with the public in the United States. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.