The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the appointment of Kathleen M. Hutchinson as the new Director of the Office of International Affairs (OIA). The OIA is the department responsible for advising the Commission on international policy, coordinating with regulatory authorities around the world to facilitate cross-border oversight and enforcement, and providing technical assistance.
Hutchinson had served as Acting Director of the OIA since January 2025. Her career at the SEC began in 2003 as a staff attorney in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (now the Division of Examinations), before joining the OIA in 2008. Within the office, she has held several leadership positions, including Associate Director and Deputy Director, and has served twice as the office’s Acting Director.
“Kathleen has demonstrated a deep commitment to public service and to our mission for more than two decades. I greatly appreciate her willingness to take on the permanent leadership of the Office of International Affairs. She has successfully led numerous international initiatives alongside our counterparts abroad, and I have complete confidence in her continued leadership and guidance on international policy and cooperation,” said Paul S. Atkins, Chairman of the SEC.
For her part, Kathleen Hutchinson said: “The extraordinary talent of the team in the Office of International Affairs makes it a true privilege to work every day in service of investors and our markets. Advancing the SEC’s international priorities through collaboration with foreign counterparts—on policy and supervisory matters, as well as enforcement and technical assistance—is essential to enabling the SEC to fulfill its mission. I am grateful to Chairman Atkins for this opportunity and look forward to continuing to work with the Commission, my colleagues at the SEC, and international authorities to address the regulatory challenges facing global markets today.”
Hutchinson holds a Juris Doctor and a master’s degree in International Relations from the Washington College of Law and the School of International Service at American University, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University. She began her legal career in private practice at law firms in Washington, D.C., and New York.
