Walter Ricciardi Named Head of SEC's Boston District Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2004-41

Washington, D.C., March 29, 2004 - The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today the selection of Walter G. Ricciardi as District Administrator of the Commission's Boston District Office. Ricciardi joins the Commission from the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP in New York, where he currently serves as Litigation Practice Group Leader in the Office of the General Counsel. Ricciardi will assume his new post on April 19. Mr. Ricciardi succeeds Peter H. Bresnan, who has served as Acting District Administrator on an interim basis since November 2003. Bresnan has concurrently served as Deputy Chief Litigation Counsel in the Division of Enforcement at SEC Headquarters in Washington, and now will resume that position on a full-time basis.

The Boston District Office operates both enforcement and regulatory programs in a six-state area, and is part of the SEC's Northeast Region.

Chairman William H. Donaldson said, "Mr. Ricciardi is joining the Commission staff at a critical time. His legal and management experience in the private sector will bring an important perspective to our work, as we continue to focus on anticipating new risks to investors. On behalf of the Commission, I welcome him to our team and I look forward to working with him."

Stephen M. Cutler, Director of the Division of Enforcement, said, "For many years, we've seen Walter's considerable talents from across the table. I'm very pleased that he's agreed to bring those talents - and his do-the-right-thing approach to law practice - to the Commission. The Commission and the Boston District Office will benefit from his terrific legal skills, intelligence, and management abilities." Cutler added, "I'd also like to express my deep gratitude to Peter Bresnan for leading the Boston office over the last five months while he continued to carry his substantial responsibilities as Deputy Chief Litigation Counsel in Washington."

Ricciardi said, "I am delighted to be joining the outstanding team of examination and enforcement professionals in the Boston District Office. I look forward to working with them in accomplishing the SEC's mission."

Ricciardi began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Charles R. Richey, United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. He then became an associate in the law firm of Hughes Hubbard & Reed in Washington, D.C. After four years in private practice, Ricciardi joined the Office of the General Counsel of the accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand, where, between 1984 and 1998, he served as counsel, Assistant General Counsel, Associate General Counsel, and Deputy General Counsel for Litigation. Upon Coopers & Lybrand's merger with Pricewaterhouse in 1998, Ricciardi assumed his current position as Leader of the Litigation Practice Group. During his career with Coopers & Lybrand and then PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ricciardi has been responsible for representing the firm and its personnel in connection with securities litigation, SEC and other governmental investigations and proceedings, and criminal investigations. Ricciardi also is a member of the Board of Partners and Principals of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he serves on the admissions, governance, partner affairs, and management evaluation and compensation committees. More recently, Ricciardi was elected to the Global Oversight Board of the global organizations of the PWC firms.

Ricciardi received his A.B. from Columbia College in 1975 and his J.D., cum laude, from New York University in 1978. He served as Note and Comment Editor of the New York University Law Review.

Contact: SEC Office of Public Affairs
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