December 2, 2019
New York, NY (December 2, 2019) --- Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP today announced that J. Christopher “Chris” Giancarlo, former Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), will join the firm as senior counsel in the New York office. As Chairman and Chief Executive of the CFTC, Mr. Giancarlo oversaw regulation of the futures, options and swaps derivatives markets, including a focus on regulatory guidance for emerging technologies such as blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. During his tenure, he oversaw the first bitcoin futures products entering the marketplace and applied a “Do No Harm” regulatory approach towards blockchain technology.
“As a leading voice on the regulation of emerging technologies, Chris brings knowledge, experience and public and private sector relationships that will be invaluable to our clients in the financial services, technology and commodities sectors,” said Willkie Chairman Steven Gartner. “His legal and corporate background, unparalleled knowledge of the global derivatives markets and their intersection with emerging technologies, combined with his longstanding relationships across the firm, make him a natural fit for Willkie.”
“I have spent three and a half decades advising and building global businesses and regulatory frameworks in the junction of trading markets, technology and law,” said Mr. Giancarlo. “Today, I am thrilled to join a firm that is a center of excellence in all three areas. I look forward to working with the firm’s attorneys and clients in building the digital financial markets of tomorrow.”
Mr. Giancarlo served as Chairman and Chief Executive of the CFTC from August 2017 to July 2019. He was first nominated as a CFTC Commissioner by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the US Senate in June 2014. He was subsequently nominated as CFTC Chairman by President Donald Trump and again unanimously confirmed by the US Senate in August 2017. He departed the CFTC in July 2019 following the expiration of his five-year term. As CFTC Chairman, Mr. Giancarlo also served as a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Committee (FSOC), the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, and the Executive Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and participated in meetings of the Financial Stability Board (FSB).
Mr. Giancarlo has testified often before the US Congress and EU Parliament and is a frequent guest on broadcast radio and television, including Bloomberg TV, CNBC, Fox Business and the BBC, as well as podcasts such as “Unchained” and “CoinDesk.” He has written and spoken extensively on public policy, legal and other matters involving technology and the financial markets, including authoring numerous white papers, articles and op-eds. He was also a founding Co-Editor-in-Chief of eSecurities, Trading and Regulation on the Internet (Leader Publications). Mr. Giancarlo has over 45,000 followers on Twitter as @giancarloMKTS where he was dubbed by the online cryptocurrency community as “CryptoDad.”
Prior to entering public service, Mr. Giancarlo served as the Executive Vice President of financial services firm GFI Group Inc., where he led GFI’s transformation from privately held partnership to an initial public offering and many corporate acquisitions. He also previously served as Executive Vice President and US Legal Counsel of Fenics Software. Mr. Giancarlo was also a corporate partner in the New York law firm of Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner, a founding partner at Giancarlo & Gleiberman, and an associate in the London office of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle. Mr. Giancarlo serves as a board member of the American Financial Exchange (AFX), the sponsor of Ameribor and Ameribor Futures and a member of the advisory board to The Chamber of Digital Commerce, a trade group focused on US blockchain and crypto policy. He is a founding board member and former Chairman of the Wholesale Markets Brokers Association (Americas). He was also a member of the Leadership Board of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Giancarlo holds a JD from Vanderbilt University School of Law and a BA, Phi Beta Kappa, from Skidmore College. He is a member of the Bar of the State of New York. In May 2019, the City of London Corporation awarded Mr. Giancarlo “The Freedom of the City,” an honor dating back to the Middle Ages. In 2017, Mr. Giancarlo was named “Person of the Decade” by the French American Academy of New Jersey for his service as Chairman of the Board.
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is an international law firm of more than 700 attorneys with offices in New York, Washington, Houston, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Brussels, Milan and Rome. The firm is headquartered in New York City at 787 Seventh Avenue. Tel: 212.728.8000.
“As a leading voice on the regulation of emerging technologies, Chris brings knowledge, experience and public and private sector relationships that will be invaluable to our clients in the financial services, technology and commodities sectors,” said Willkie Chairman Steven Gartner. “His legal and corporate background, unparalleled knowledge of the global derivatives markets and their intersection with emerging technologies, combined with his longstanding relationships across the firm, make him a natural fit for Willkie.”
“I have spent three and a half decades advising and building global businesses and regulatory frameworks in the junction of trading markets, technology and law,” said Mr. Giancarlo. “Today, I am thrilled to join a firm that is a center of excellence in all three areas. I look forward to working with the firm’s attorneys and clients in building the digital financial markets of tomorrow.”
Mr. Giancarlo served as Chairman and Chief Executive of the CFTC from August 2017 to July 2019. He was first nominated as a CFTC Commissioner by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the US Senate in June 2014. He was subsequently nominated as CFTC Chairman by President Donald Trump and again unanimously confirmed by the US Senate in August 2017. He departed the CFTC in July 2019 following the expiration of his five-year term. As CFTC Chairman, Mr. Giancarlo also served as a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Committee (FSOC), the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, and the Executive Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and participated in meetings of the Financial Stability Board (FSB).
Mr. Giancarlo has testified often before the US Congress and EU Parliament and is a frequent guest on broadcast radio and television, including Bloomberg TV, CNBC, Fox Business and the BBC, as well as podcasts such as “Unchained” and “CoinDesk.” He has written and spoken extensively on public policy, legal and other matters involving technology and the financial markets, including authoring numerous white papers, articles and op-eds. He was also a founding Co-Editor-in-Chief of eSecurities, Trading and Regulation on the Internet (Leader Publications). Mr. Giancarlo has over 45,000 followers on Twitter as @giancarloMKTS where he was dubbed by the online cryptocurrency community as “CryptoDad.”
Prior to entering public service, Mr. Giancarlo served as the Executive Vice President of financial services firm GFI Group Inc., where he led GFI’s transformation from privately held partnership to an initial public offering and many corporate acquisitions. He also previously served as Executive Vice President and US Legal Counsel of Fenics Software. Mr. Giancarlo was also a corporate partner in the New York law firm of Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner, a founding partner at Giancarlo & Gleiberman, and an associate in the London office of Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle. Mr. Giancarlo serves as a board member of the American Financial Exchange (AFX), the sponsor of Ameribor and Ameribor Futures and a member of the advisory board to The Chamber of Digital Commerce, a trade group focused on US blockchain and crypto policy. He is a founding board member and former Chairman of the Wholesale Markets Brokers Association (Americas). He was also a member of the Leadership Board of the Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness of the US Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Giancarlo holds a JD from Vanderbilt University School of Law and a BA, Phi Beta Kappa, from Skidmore College. He is a member of the Bar of the State of New York. In May 2019, the City of London Corporation awarded Mr. Giancarlo “The Freedom of the City,” an honor dating back to the Middle Ages. In 2017, Mr. Giancarlo was named “Person of the Decade” by the French American Academy of New Jersey for his service as Chairman of the Board.
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is an international law firm of more than 700 attorneys with offices in New York, Washington, Houston, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Brussels, Milan and Rome. The firm is headquartered in New York City at 787 Seventh Avenue. Tel: 212.728.8000.
