Christopher W. Flint, president and CEO of ProEquities Inc. in Birmingham, Ala., was elected to a three-year large-firm seat on the Finra Board of Governors, defeating incumbent Andrew Duff, former chairman and CEO of Piper Jaffray Companies, according to a new release issued by Finra.
Flint joins two other large-firm governors as representatives on the board.
There are 174 large-firm Finra members eligible to vote in the Board of Governors election. Candidates for the seat are required to employ at least 500 persons. However, candidates nominated by the nominating committee are automatically on the ballot, while all other big-firms candidates must qualify to run in the election by submitting a petition with the signatures of at least 10% of those 174 firms, which Flint did.
Flint has more than 23 years of experience in the financial services industry, working in sales technology, compliance, operations and distribution. In addition to serving as president and CEO of ProEquities Inc., Flint is senior vice president, distribution companies, for Protective Life Insurance Co.
Duff currently services on the board of directors of Piper Jaffray & Co., the primary broker-dealer subsidiary for Piper Jaffray Companies. Duff joined Piper Jaffray in 1980.
A Piper Jaffray spokeswoman told Financial Advisor she would forward the magazine’s request for comment to Duff, who did not immediately respond to it.
Flint responded for comment through a spokesman. “Based on the feedback I received during the petition process and throughout the election cycle, I believed that a majority of voting members’ views were consistent with mine,” Flint said. “I think they felt confident in voting for me because they knew they would have fair, objective and accurate representation with me in this Board position.”
Flint said he ran on several key issues, including an end to rulemaking by enforcement. He also said he wanted to help create a level regulatory playing field between the broker-dealer and RIA sectors, while ensuring the protection of investors.
“I want to help to shape the process in such a way that the end result is an increased level of clarity and transparency for both investors and the firms who offer advice and related solutions,” he said.
FSI President & CEO Dale Brown said the group was proud to endorse Flint. ”One of our top goals is to make the value of the independent model to investors better understood by all stakeholders," he added. "Having now helped our third petition candidate secure a Finra Board seat in the last four years, we’re more confident than ever that strong progress is being made toward this goal.”