Mary Schapiro
A steady-handed regulator who took the helm of the SEC in the wreckage of the 2008 financial crisis to rebuild its authority and public trust.
Born 1955 (age 71)·29th Chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission·Birthday: June 19·Baby Boomers
Biography
Mary Schapiro stepped into one of Washington's most daunting jobs at a moment of profound failure. As the new chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission in January 2009, the agency was widely seen as having slept through the frauds and excesses that caused the financial meltdown. A career regulator with a low-key, meticulous style, she had previously led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Her mission was triage: restoring morale, overhauling a culture of missed warnings, and pushing through the dense rulemaking required by the Dodd-Frank Act. Schapiro fortified the SEC's enforcement division, leading to record penalties and the creation of specialized units targeting complex financial instruments. While critics argued reforms didn't go far enough, her tenure stabilized the agency and set the stage for a more aggressive posture against Wall Street misconduct.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Mary was born in 1955, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Mary Was Born
The biggest hits of 1955
#1 Movie
Lady and the Tramp
Best Picture
Marty
#1 TV Show
The $64,000 Question
Mary's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1955Born
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1960Started school
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1968Became a teenager
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Could drive
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1973Could vote
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Turned 21
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1985Turned 30
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 40
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 50
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 60
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 70
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 71 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the first woman to be the permanent Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), appointed by President Barack Obama.
- Oversaw the SEC's implementation of dozens of major rules mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.
- Revitalized the SEC's enforcement division, resulting in a record number of actions and the creation of specialized units for complex fraud.
- Previously served as chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
Did You Know?
She is a certified emergency medical technician (EMT) and volunteered with her local rescue squad in Maryland.
She was the first person to have chaired both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
She began her regulatory career as a staff attorney at the SEC's Division of Investment Management in 1980.
“Markets thrive on transparency and trust; my job is to enforce both.”
