J. Christopher Giancarlo  Photo courtesy of CFTC.

WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — President Donald J. Trump on March 14 announced his intent to nominate J. Christopher Giancarlo as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Giancarlo was confirmed to be a commissioner at the CFTC by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on June 3, 2014, and was designated as acting chairman of the CFTC on Jan. 20, 2017, following the resignation of Timothy Massad.

 Before entering public service, Giancarlo was executive vice-president of GFI Group Inc., a financial services firm. Prior to joining GFI, he was executive vice-president and U.S. legal counsel of Fenics Software and was a corporate partner in the New York law firm of Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner.

He attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S., where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Government Department Honors. He received his law degree from the Vanderbilt University School of Law.

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, on March 15 released a statement expressing his approval of the nomination, calling Giancarlo “an exceptional member of the CFTC.”

“His experience on the Commission for the last few years and his business background make him well suited for the job,” Roberts said. “He recognizes the important risk management function the markets have for our farmers, ranchers, and end-users.

“During his time at the CFTC, he has literally been out in the field, visiting farm country to better understand their needs, and I encourage him to keep doing so. It is important that he remain committed to protecting the ‘tool box’ and to easing the unnecessarily regulatory burdens of our folks on the ground. I congratulate him on this announcement and look forward to hearing his vision for the CFTC when the Senate Agriculture Committee considers the nomination.”