The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that David Woodcock will become Director of the Division of Enforcement, effective 4 May 2026. Sam Waldon will continue as Acting Director until that date, with Chairman Paul S. Atkins framing the leadership change alongside a stated enforcement focus on cases that deliver meaningful investor protection and strengthen market integrity. Woodcock joins from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he is a partner in the Dallas and Washington, D.C. offices and chairs the firm’s Securities Enforcement Practice Group. He previously served at the SEC as Director of the Fort Worth Regional Office from 2011 to 2015, during which he oversaw investigations across major areas of the SEC’s enforcement program and established the Financial Reporting and Audit Task Force aimed at improving the detection and prosecution of accounting and false financial statement violations. Woodcock is scheduled to assume the role on 4 May 2026, and Waldon will lead the division on an acting basis until the transition.
U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission 2026-04-08
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission appoints David Woodcock as Director of the Division of Enforcement effective 4 May 2026
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed David Woodcock as Director of the Division of Enforcement, effective 4 May 2026, with Sam Waldon continuing as Acting Director until then. Chairman Paul S. Atkins framed the leadership change within a continued enforcement focus on cases that deliver meaningful investor protection and strengthen market integrity.