The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that YJ Fischer, the Director of the Office of International Affairs (OIA) since August 2021, will leave her role on Jan. 20, 2025.
“I want to thank YJ for her leadership of the Office of International Affairs,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “She has been a trusted advisor to and diplomat for this Commission in our relationships with regulators around the globe. I wish her very well in her next pursuits.”
As Director for International Affairs, Ms. Fischer led the Commission’s work in foreign jurisdictions to advance the agency’s mission. During her tenure, OIA improved international enforcement cooperation in key jurisdictions, particularly regarding witness testimony, and access to audit workpapers and other financial records. OIA also addressed long-standing challenges to SEC examinations of market participants located overseas, systematized cooperation with counterparts during market stress events, and helped implement the requirements of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, ensuring that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board could fully inspect and investigate public company auditors in China and Hong Kong. Finally, OIA grew its technical assistance program for foreign officials by expanding into remote programming and broadening the curriculum to address capital formation as a vehicle for fueling economic growth and prosperity.
“It has been an honor to work with such a talented and dedicated team over the past few years,” said Ms. Fischer. “OIA comprises the highest caliber public servants, and I am proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”
Prior to her arrival at the SEC, Ms. Fischer spent two decades conducting complex negotiations in foreign markets from both public and private sectors. During the Obama administration, she served at the U.S. State Department, where she launched a public-private infrastructure partnership to salvage a critical dam in Iraq, participated in UN-led negotiations for the Syrian conflict, and helped implement the Iran nuclear agreement. In the private sector, she worked on international policy at YouTube, oversaw global market entry for several start-ups, and secured multi-million-dollar government research and development investments. Earlier in her career, she practiced law at Kirkland and Ellis.
Ms. Fischer holds a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from Columbia University. She is the recipient of awards including the State Department’s Meritorious Honor Award and the Kirkland & Ellis Pro Bono Service Award. She is a commissioned Kentucky Colonel, the highest title of honor bestowed by the Governor of Kentucky for the Commonwealth’s ambassadors of goodwill and fellowship around the world.
