Erik Gerding, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s division of corporation finance, will depart the agency, effective Dec. 31, according to a Dec. 13 announcement.
Upon Gerding’s departure, Cicely LaMothe, the division’s deputy director for disclosure operations, will serve as acting director. The SEC did not disclose Gerding’s future plans.
He joined the SEC in October 2021 as a deputy director in the division of corporation finance, and led legal and regulatory policy. He became the division’s director in February 2023.
During his tenure, Gerding led the division as it recommended rules to the commission on climate-related disclosures for investors; cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance and incident disclosure by public companies; and special purpose acquisition companies, according to the SEC announcement.
“During his time of service, we’ve adopted important reforms regarding corporate governance to better promote trust in the markets,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. “We’ve adopted important reforms to enhance investors’ access to full, fair and truthful information, a founding principle of our securities laws. I wish him very well in his next pursuits. I also want to thank Cicely for stepping up as acting director and for being a long-standing leader within the division.”
Prior to joining the SEC, Gerding was a law professor at the University of Colorado Law School, where he focused on securities law, corporate law and financial regulation, the SEC said.
