Giovanni Prezioso (December 23, 1957-February 28, 2023) became General Counsel of the US

Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

in April 2002. Prezioso served in that post under three different chairmen;

Harvey Pitt Harvey L. Pitt (born February 28, 1945) is an American lawyer who served as the 26th chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), from 2001 to 2003. History Pitt graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1961. He graduated fr ...

William Donaldson Charles William Donaldson (4 January 1935 – 22 June 2005) was a British satirist, writer, playboy and, under the pseudonym of Henry Root, author of '' The Henry Root Letters''. Life and career Son of Charles Glen Donaldson (1904–1956) an ...

, and

Christopher Cox Charles Christopher Cox (born October 16, 1952) is an American attorney and politician who served as chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a 17-year Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, and member of t ...

. During his tenure the SEC started over 2,000 actions and 100 rules changes. It also implemented the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. He also reduced the backlog of cases awaiting SEC resolution In early 2006, Prezioso stepped down from the post and rejoined his prior law firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (known as Cleary Gottlieb) is an American multinational law firm headquartered at One Liberty Plaza in New York City. Known as a white shoe law firm, Cleary employs over 1,200 lawyers worldwide. History Th ...

, as a partner resident in the firm's Washington, DC office. He was born in Boston to Dr. and Mrs. Fausto Maria Prezioso of Towson, Maryland. Prezioso was a graduate of

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

(A.B., history and literature, ''magna cum laude'', 1979) and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

(J.D., ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'', 1982). In 1987 he married Elizabeth Holladay Mathews, a television producer, at Christ Episcopal Church in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

. Prezioso's bar and other professional activities included service as Chairman of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

’s Subcommittee on Municipal and Governmental Obligations, as a member of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

Rule 431 Committee, and as a member of the Global Documentation Steering Committee sponsored by the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...

. He was a member of the Board of Advisors of the SEC Historical Society. Prezioso was a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia. Prezioso was an Advisory Editor of the ''University of Bologna Law Review'', a general student-edited law journal published by the Department of Legal Studies of the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

References

1957 births 2023 deaths American lawyers Harvard Law School alumni People associated with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Harvard College alumni People from Boston {{US-law-bio-stub