Washington, D.C., February 27, 2013
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has appointed Ethiopis Tafara as Vice President and General Counsel, with the goal of helping the organization build on its innovative work to create opportunity in the poorest countries and regions.
Tafara, whose appointment is effective April 1, has been Director of International Affairs at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the past decade. He comes to IFC with significant legal experience, and a record of success in promoting regulatory cooperation in international capital markets.
“Ethiopis knows how to build international consensus on ways to tackle some of the most important challenges in financial markets,” said IFC CEO Jin-Yong Cai. “His creativity and experience will help strengthen our ability to promote sustainable private sector development in emerging markets.”
“As the largest global development institution focused on the private sector, IFC has a vital role to play in promoting prosperity in developing countries,” Tafara said. “I look forward to joining an organization that is doing so much to create opportunity and improve lives in these countries.”
In his work at the SEC, Tafara has advised the institution on all international legal and policy issues that affected SEC regulatory, supervisory, and enforcement programs. This includes work with the private sector on a wide range of issues, including capital-raising, over-the-counter derivatives regulation, accounting and audit, and credit ratings.
He also oversees an extensive technical assistance and capacity-building program focused on helping strengthen regulation and oversight in emerging markets. He is the SEC’s principal representative dealing with international policymakers, regulators, and international institutions—including the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the Financial Stability Board. He also serves as Vice Chairman of the IOSCO Board and Chairman of the Monitoring Group of the Public Interest Oversight Board.
Before joining the SEC, Tafara worked at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission as counsel to the Chairman, and in the Chief Counsel’s Office of the Division of Enforcement. He started his legal career in the Brussels office of the international law firm Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton.
Tafara, a U.S. citizen, holds a law degree from Georgetown University. He is also a graduate of Princeton University.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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