William C. Alsover, Jr. Resigns From NASD Board Of Governors, Will Continue To Serve Small Firms In Consulting Capacity

NASD announced that William C. Alsover, Jr., who has represented small firms on NASD's Board of Governors for the last five years, has resigned from his Board seat. At the end of this month, Alsover will begin serving as a consultant to NASD's Member Relations Department, assisting with the expansion of NASD's ongoing outreach to small firms.

Alsover, who was first elected to the Board in 2000, also stepped down from his post as Chairman of the NASD Small Firm Advisory Board. Alsover has served NASD and represented the interests of small firms on NASD's Licensing and Registration Council, its TRACE Bond Committee, its Technology Advisory Committee and the NASD/Industry Mutual Fund Breakpoint Task Force. He is also a past Chairman of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's (SIFMA) Local Firm Committee and served on SIFMA's Investor Education Committee.

Alsover recently retired as Chairman of Centennial Securities Company, Inc., a full-service broker/dealer in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Prior to joining Centennial, Alsover was with Fahnestock & Company. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

NASD's Board of Governors have put a process in place to ensure small firm representation on the Board until a new Board of Governors is established for the new regulatory body that will be created by the consolidation of NASD and the member regulation operations of New York Stock Exchange Regulation.

Alsover's new post is part of NASD's ongoing effort to support small firms. Other recent small firms initiatives include:

Formation of a Small Firms Rules Impact Task Force, established to review NASD rules from a small firm's perspective.
Restructuring the Small Firms Advisory Board, so that half of its 10 members are directly elected by small firms.
Establishment of the NASD Liaison Program that provides small firms a single point of contact in their District Office to answer regulatory questions.

NASD is the leading private-sector provider of financial regulatory services, dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services. NASD touches virtually every aspect of the securities business-from registering and educating all industry participants, to examining securities firms, enforcing both NASD rules and the federal securities laws, and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and registered firms. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.nasd.com.