Transition Watch: Obama picks Schapiro to head SEC

President-Elect Barack Obama has selected veteran regulator Mary L. Schapiro to serve as the chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, reports The Washington Post.

Schapiro, a Wall Street regulator for 20 years with a reputation for tenacity, is likely to push the SEC to become more aggressive in policing the financial industry and advocating the agency’s interests as lawmakers push for an overhaul of the financial regulatory structure, according to former officials and colleagues.

President Ronald Reagan appointed her as a commissioner at SEC, where she served for six years and eventually was named acting chairwoman by President Bill Clinton. He later made her the chief of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

She would be the first woman to chair the SEC on more than an interim basis, the newspaper said.