WASHINGTON, DC — Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam today announced key personnel positions at the agency, appointing Vincent McGonagle as the new director of the Department of Market Oversight (DMO) and Ann Wright as director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs appointed . In addition, Gretchen Lowe, currently Chief Counsel of the Division of Enforcement, will serve as Executive Director.
“Given the challenges the agency faces and an ever changing and evolving market structure, I am delighted that Vince has agreed to take on this important function at this critical time. DMO will benefit from Vince’s years of experience and dedication to the agency,” said Chairman Behnam. “As Congress considers legislation and the agency’s annual budget, Ann’s experience and years of service will be a key asset to the CFTC. I also hold Gretchen Lowe in high esteem for serving in an acting role at the time.”
Vincent McGonagle, Director of Market Surveillance
Vincent McGonagle is the Deputy Principal Director of the Enforcement Division, where he has also served as Acting Director since October 2020. In his current role as acting director, Mr. McGonagle is responsible for leading a team of attorneys, investigators, economists, surveillance analysts, and other professional associates who investigate and prosecute alleged violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC rules.
As a career civil servant and government official, Mr. McGonagle has spent 25 years with the CFTC, including a variety of leadership positions. He led the Division of Enforcement on two other occasions on an acting basis – from October to December 2010 and from February to April 2017 – and also led DMO twice – from October 2013 to January 2017 as a director and from August on an acting basis to September 2019.
During his tenure as Acting Director of DMO in 2019, Mr. McGonagle oversaw a number of key rulemakings and provided guidance and guidance to the department’s offices in addressing time-sensitive and complex market issues. While leading the department from 2013 to 2017, Mr. McGonagle oversaw market surveillance, compliance review, registration and rule review, and contract market product review programs via trading facilities and swap data storage. He also oversaw multiple rulemakings, testified twice before Senate panels, and led the transition of swap trading to a regulated market, including the first-ever permanent registration of SEFs.
From 2002 to 2013, he served as senior deputy director of the Division of Enforcement, where he initiated the first regulatory investigation into LIBOR and other global interest rate benchmarks and thereafter oversaw the CFTC’s landmark manipulation enforcement cases
conduct and misreporting in relation to these benchmarks. Mr. McGonagle joined the agency as an associate in 1997 after 11 years in private practice. He has a BA in Economics from LaSalle University and a JD from Pepperdine University School of Law.
Ann Wright, Director of the Office of Legislation and Intergovernmental Affairs
Ann Wright is Director in the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. In her role, she serves as the Chief Advisor to the Chairman on matters before the US Congress and serves as the Commission’s official liaison with members of Congress, federal agencies and the administration.
Ann has been Deputy Director of the Office since November 2014. Prior to joining the CFTC, Ann served under Secretary Tom Vilsack in the United States Department of Agriculture in the Obama administration as assistant undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs and as assistant assistant secretary for the Office of Congressional Relations. In addition to her work in the Executive Branch, Ann has more than 10 years of United States Senate experience, including time working for former Majority Leader Harry Reid on matters before the Senate Agriculture Committee. Her combined experience in government has given her the opportunity to lead in a variety of roles, gaining expertise and insight into the relationship between the legislative and executive branches of government. Ann is a graduate of Illinois State University with a degree in Political Science.
Gretchen Lowe, Assistant Director of Enforcement
Gretchen Lowe will serve as executive director of the division. She is currently the department’s Chief Counsel. During her tenure, Ms. Lowe has directed many of the CFTC’s most complex enforcement actions, including the Commission’s recent actions against banks and other institutions for manipulation and misreporting of global benchmark interest rates such as LIBOR, actions against energy companies for attempted manipulation and misreporting of natural gas price indexes, and acts that engage in manipulative trading in the palladium and platinum futures markets.
Prior to her appointment as Chief Counsel, Ms. Lowe served as Acting Director of the Enforcement Division from 2013-2014 and as Assistant Director for over 11 years, overseeing the investigation and prosecution of numerous cases. Ms. Lowe also served as counsel to the director, advised on programmatic legal and policy issues, and was a senior litigator specializing in cases of manipulation and trade practice.
Ms. Lowe began her legal career as a trial attorney at Piper & Marbury (now DLA Piper). Ms. Lowe graduated with honors from the University of Rochester and received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.
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