The Securities and Exchange Commission has named a new Director of Enforcement, after the previous director resigned after only a week in that post.
Effective July 26, 2021, Gurbir S. Grewal will take the helm as Director of the Division of Enforcement, according to the SEC’s June 29 announcement. 
Grewal currently serves as Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, a role he has held since January 2018, when he was confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate after being nominated by Gov. Phil Murphy (D).
Before becoming New Jersey’s Attorney General, Grewal served as Bergen County Prosecutor, the chief law enforcement office of New Jersey’s most populous county. He also was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, where he served as Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit from 2014 to 2016 and oversaw the investigation and prosecution of all major white collar and cybercrimes in the District of New Jersey. He also previously served as an AUSA in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, where he was assigned to the Business and Securities Fraud Unit.
In addition to his work as a federal prosecutor, Grewal worked in private practice, including at Howrey LLP from 1999 to 2004 in Washington, D.C., and from 2008 to 2010 in New York City. While at Howrey, he counseled clients on a range of matters including securities, trademark, antitrust and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues; represented individuals and companies in government investigations and criminal proceedings; conducted internal investigations for public corporations; and conducted civil trials.
Grewal will replace Alex Oh, who resigned April 28 after only a week in that post. At the time, news reports suggested that the underlying cause was Oh’s conduct when she was part of a legal defense team representing ExxonMobil in a lawsuit seeking to hold the company liable for human rights abuses allegedly committed by its security personnel in Indonesia.
“I’m honored and delighted to welcome Attorney General Grewal to the SEC,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. “He has had a distinguished career as New Jersey’s chief law enforcement officer and as a prosecutor at both the local and federal levels. I look forward to working closely with him to protect investors and root out wrongdoing in our markets.”
The SEC Chair also noted that Melissa Hodgman, who has been serving as Acting Director of the Division of Enforcement, will continue to serve as an adviser.
