SEC Appoints Judge Margaret Ryan as Director of Enforcement

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has named Judge Margaret “Meg” Ryan as the new Director of the Division of Enforcement, effective September 2, 2025. She succeeds Acting Director Sam Waldon, who will return to his previous role as Chief Counsel for the Division.

SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins praised Judge Ryan’s appointment, noting her decades of legal experience as both a judge and practitioner. “She is fulfilling a critical role,” Atkins said. “Judge Ryan will lead the Division guided by Congress’ original intent: enforcing the securities laws, particularly as they relate to fraud and manipulation.”

Judge Ryan, currently a senior judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and a lecturer at Harvard Law School, has an extensive career that includes service as a U.S. Marine Corps officer, law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and partner at major law firms.

In accepting the role, Judge Ryan said: “It is my honor to join the Commission as Director of the Division of Enforcement. I look forward to… taking action on behalf of investors harmed by those who break the securities laws and providing an effective deterrent against fraudulent and manipulative activities in our financial markets.”

Read the official SEC press release here: SEC Press Release 2025-108