Washington, D.C., November 4, 2021 – SIFMA today announced Guowei Zhang has been appointed as managing director and head of capital policy, and Bill Thum has been appointed as managing director of the Asset Management Group and associate general counsel.

Gouwei will work on prudential issues and capital policy.  He will also manage the capital and liquidity forums under SIFMA’s Prudential Standing Committee.

Bill will join the SIFMA Asset Management Group (AMG) and will be responsible for the entirety of the AMG’s work in the regulatory policy space regarding the buy-side’s use of derivatives.

“We are pleased to welcome Guowei and Bill to SIFMA’s team,” said SIFMA president & CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. “Guowei’s experience in capital policy will be a tremendous asset to SIFMA’s efforts advocating for balanced prudential standards that strengthen our markets without impeding economic growth.  Bill’s decades of experience across the sell-side and buy-side will greatly enhance SIFMA AMG and its work in the derivatives regulatory space to advance member goals.”

“SIFMA is thrilled to welcome two outstanding new hires with a deep understanding of the capital markets and the issues of importance to our members,” said SIFMA chief operating officer Joseph Seidel.

About Guowei Zhang:

Guowei is a seasoned banking capital policy expert, with twelve years of experience at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), focused on banking capital policy development, analysis and compliance examination. His areas of expertise include risk identification, analysis and capital adequacy policy and he has worked extensively on different components of Basel standards and implementation, including those related to crypto assets, climate risk, FRTB, CVA and Basel III reforms.

Guowei received his Bachelor’s in Management Information Systems from Tsinghua University in China and received a M.S. in Computer Science, a M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a PhD. in Finance from the University of Houston in Texas.

About Bill Thum:

Bill joins after 11 years as a principal at Vanguard in the Office of General Counsel where he served as global head of legal coverage for Vanguard’s derivatives trading. His team handled all regulatory and transaction management responsibilities across fixed income and equity derivatives, repos and securities lending, TBAs, and index licensing contracts.  While at Vanguard, he was appointed to the CFTC’s Market Risk Advisory Committee subcommittee on clearing and risk focusing on CCP capital and skin-in-the-game. Bill has been active as a member of SIFMA AMG for more than a decade, leading its Steering Committee for several years.

Prior to Vanguard, Bill served as a partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, where he advised clients through the global financial crisis and helped tailor documentation across fixed income and equity derivatives, and prime brokerage.  Prior to joining Fried Frank, Bill was Executive Director and Head of Institutional Securities Documentation – Americas at Morgan Stanley, managing a legal team supporting derivatives trading for US and emerging markets clients.

Bill received his JD from American University, Washington College of Law and his BA in Economics and International Relations from Bucknell University. He is admitted to the bar in New York and Pennsylvania.

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SIFMA is the leading trade association for broker-dealers, investment banks and asset managers operating in the U.S. and global capital markets. On behalf of our industry’s nearly 1 million employees, we advocate for legislation, regulation and business policy affecting retail and institutional investors, equity and fixed income markets and related products and services. We serve as an industry coordinating body to promote fair and orderly markets, informed regulatory compliance, and efficient market operations and resiliency. We also provide a forum for industry policy and professional development. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org.