Sheila C. Bair has worked in the nation's capital in senior positions in government and financial services for more than 30 years.
Sheila served as Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) during one of the nation’s most turbulent economic eras in history, from 2006 to 2011. With the collapse and upheaval of US and global markets as well as venerable financial institutions, Chairman Bair worked to bolster public confidence and financial system stability.
Prior to her Chairmanship at the FDIC, Sheila served as the Dean's Professor of Financial Regulatory Policy at the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and as an Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the US Department of the Treasury. She spent five years as a Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the New York Stock Exchange and, from 1991 to 1995, she served as a Commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, appointed by President George Bush then re-appointed by President Bill Clinton. Sheila was also a staff member to Senator Robert Dole (R KS) and served as a Counsel to the Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole.
Sheila's distinguished career has established her as an ardent advocate and innovator of policies to end the doctrine of too-big-to-fail and taxpayer bailouts. She has been lauded for her fierce advocacy of the public interest in articles and editorials in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Financial Times, and The New Yorker. Twice during the financial crisis, Forbes ranked her as one of the most powerful women in the world. She is the recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award and the Consumer Federation of America's Philip Hart Public Service Award.
Today, she continues her public interest advocacy as an author, speaker, and regular financial news commentator. She is Chair of the independent, non-partisan Systemic Risk Council to monitor and encourage regulatory reform of US capital markets focused on systemic risk. In her position at DLA Piper, Sheila is focusing attention on international financial regulatory concerns, and is working closely with the firm’s pro bono initiatives to promote causes that are of particular interest to her globally.
