Luis A. Aguilar

Luis A. Aguilar.

Luis A. Aguilar is an American lawyer and former U.S. government official.

He was the Democratic commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from July 31, 2008, until June 2015 (when his term expired). He had been appointed by U.S. President George W. Bush on March 31, 2008, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 27, 2008; he was sworn in as a commissioner on July 31, 2008.

Early life and education

Aguilar was born in Cuba and emigrated to the United States in the 1960s.

He is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, and also received a Master of Laws degree in taxation from Emory University. He had earlier earned a bachelor's degree from Georgia Southern University.

Career

Prior to his appointment as an SEC commissioner, Aguilar was a partner with the international law firm of McKenna Long & Aldridge, specializing in securities law. During his career, his practice included matters pertaining to general corporate and business law, international transactions, investment companies and investment advisers, securities law, and corporate finance. He also focused on issues related to corporate governance, public and private offerings (initial public offerings and secondary market offerings), mergers and acquisitions, mutual funds, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and other aspects of federal and state securities laws and regulations.

Aguilar's previous experience includes serving as the general counsel, executive vice president, and corporate secretary of the investment management company Invesco, with responsibility for all legal and compliance matters regarding Invesco Institutional. He also was Invesco's managing director for Latin America in the late 1990s.

His career also includes tenure as a partner at several national law firms and as an attorney at SEC.

Aguilar's term at the SEC expired in June 2015.^[1]

Board memberships and other activities

He has been active in numerous civic and business associations. From May 2005 to May 2007, he chaired the Latin American Association (LAA), a non-profit organization that has served Georgia's Latino community for over 33 years with comprehensive services that foster healthy, self-sufficient individuals, families and communities. The LAA offers employment, immigration, youth, family, housing, and translation services, as well as English- and Spanish-language classes. In recent years, the LAA has provided services to over 70,000 Hispanics annually.

He has served on various boards, including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Girl Scouts Council of Northwest Georgia, Inc., Georgia Hispanic Bar Association, United States Fund for UNICEF Southeast Regional Chapter, and CIFAL Atlanta, Inc.

He has been active with national organizations, including Hispanic National Bar Association. In 2002, Aguilar was co-chair of the association's annual convention and also served as regional president (for Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi) (2002–2006), chair of its financial committee (2003–2005), and a member of its board of governors (since 2002). In addition, he served as the president of the Hispanic National Bar Foundation (September 2006 – July 2008).

Aguilar serves as sponsor of the SEC's Hispanic Employment Committee and the African American Council.

He has written numerous articles over the years.

Honors

Aguilar was listed in the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 editions of the Best Lawyers in America. He was also named one of Georgia's Super Lawyers 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 as published in Atlanta magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers Magazine. He was listed on the Who's Who in Law in the Atlanta Business Chronicle for 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, and was named one of the most influential foreign-born Atlantans by Atlanta magazine in October 2007.

Aguilar was named by Hispanic Business magazine in 2006 as one of the "100 Influential" Hispanics in the United States. Additionally, he was named Member of the Year in 2005 and the Atlanta Hispanic Businessman of the Year in 1994 by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

He received the MALDEF's "Excellence in Leadership" Award in April 2005. He was also named the 2005 Latino Attorney of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association.

In January 2007, Aguilar received the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service by the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Personal life

He is married to Denise Traylor Aguilar who hails from Roanoke, Alabama.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "SEC Biography: Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar".