Thomas J. Benison

Thomas J. Benison

Thomas J. Benison is Chief Negotiator for International Agreements at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In his role, Mr. Benison serves as the chief spokesperson for the agency in connection with the development, negotiation, and monitoring of international agreements, memoranda of understanding, and other arrangements.

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Thomas J. Benison is Chief Negotiator for International Agreements at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In his role, Mr. Benison serves as the chief spokesperson for the agency in connection with the development, negotiation, and monitoring of international agreements, memoranda of understanding, and other arrangements. He also provides advice and counsel to Chairman Heath Tarbert on international market and regulatory matters.

Mr. Benison is a financial markets professional with more than 25 years of experience, during which he has specialized in derivatives markets and regulation. Prior to joining the CFTC, he spent 20 years as an executive at JPMorgan in a variety of roles within credit trading, structured credit project management, and markets business controls. There, he represented JPMorgan before domestic and international regulators— including the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and the UK’s then-Financial Services Authority on matters relating to derivatives regulation and clearing of derivative products.

Prior to joining JPMorgan, Mr. Benison was an attorney in New York at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and Hawkins, Delafield & Wood LLP, where he counseled clients on the issuance of municipal bonds and related tax matters.

Education

  • LLM, New York University School of Law (1993)
  • JD, cum laude, Fordham University School of Law (1992)
  • BA, College of the Holy Cross (1988)

Professional Leadership Roles

  • Member, Board of Managers, ICE Clear Credit (2016-2019)
  • Member, Risk Committee, ICE Clear Credit and ICE Clear Europe (2009-2018)
  • Chair, Credit Steering Committee, International Swaps and Derivatives Association (2008-2018)
  • Board Member, Markit (2005-2008)
  • Board Member, The Clearing Corporation (2008-2009)
  • Board Member, CreditTrade (2006)