Benette L. Zivley Sworn In As Texas Securities Commissioner

Feb 28
2011

Benette L. Zivley was sworn in today as the sixth Securities Commissioner in Texas history and pledged to build upon the Texas State Securities Board's 53-year record of vigilant oversight of the securities industry.

"We have an awesome responsibility - to protect Texas investors - and we have had resounding success,"Zivley said at his swearing-in ceremony. "But as the capital markets become more complex, and as states take an even larger role in preventing fraud and prosecuting wrongdoers, we will strive to find new ways to protect the public and continue to restore investors' faith."

Judge Lawrence Meyers, the senior judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, administered the oath of office to Zivley, a 12-year veteran of the State Securities Board. Zivley has previously served as Director of the Inspections & Compliance Division (2003-2011) and as an attorney in the Enforcement Division (1999-2003).

Zivley served as a Child Support Officer with the Office of the Texas Attorney General from 1990-1996 and in 1998 he was a law clerk with the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas.

Mr. Zivley graduated with cum laude honors and received his Juris Doctor from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston in 1999. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from Sam Houston State University in 1990.

Mr. Zivley is a member of the State Bar of Texas and serves on the Broker-Dealer Operations Project Group of the North American Securities Administrators Association, or NASAA. He is the recipient of the 2009 NASAA Distinguished Service Award.

Zivley is nationally known for his work in securities law. He served as lead counsel for Texas and the North American Securities Administrators Association in multi-state cases that resulted in the buyback of billions of dollars in auction rate securities for investors.