MSRB picks new board members

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board announced yesterday that it has selected three new board members to four-year terms along with the new chair and vice chair that were announced last week.

The new public members are Ahmed A. Abonamah, the former chief financial officer and director, Department of Finance, City of Cleveland, and Daniel L. Wiles, assistant treasurer and tax collector, County of Los Angeles. The new regulated member is Heather E. Grzanka, executive director, compliance director, fixed income, public finance, JPMorgan Chase & Co., New York.

“We are delighted to welcome our new Board members, who will bring fresh perspective to our important work,” said chair-elect Warren “Bo” Daniels. “Their diverse experience in the field of public finance will be invaluable to MSRB as we work to advance our congressional mandate to protect investors, issuers and the public interest by promoting a fair and efficient municipal securities market.”

Daniel’s leadership is backed up by Jennie Bennett serving as vice chair. The Board includes eight public members and seven regulated members.

The new members were selected from a pool of 48 applicants. 

“We also thank all of the highly qualified candidates who demonstrated their commitment to give back to the municipal market by applying to serve on the MSRB’s Board,” said vice chair-elect Bennett, who is also serves as the chair of the nominating committee. 

Abonamah is easing into a new position as executive vice president and CFO of Rock Entertainment Group and the Cleveland Cavaliers. His resume includes CFO and director, of the Department of Finance, for the City of Cleveland and a stint at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He briefly served as one of the public faces of the SEC’s muni office as its deputy directory before moving to the Office of Credit Ratings and eventually leaving the SEC.

As the assistant treasurer and tax collector for the County of Los Angeles, Daniel L. Wiles oversees the public finance activities of the county, as well as the treasury pool deferred compensation investment teams. Wiles has also served in various public finance-related roles over a 17-year period with Fieldman, Rolapp, and Associates, Inc. 

Heather E. Grzanka manages compliance efforts for the public finance division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Prior to that, Grzanka held fixed income compliance roles as a senior vice president with Jeffries LLC, a director with UBS Investment Bank, and First Albany Capital Inc., where she started her career.