According to ChainCatcher, reported by CoinDesk, Paul Atkins is the preferred SEC chairman candidate for elected U.S. President Donald Trump, but taking the position requires many factors to align. A person familiar with Atkins's thinking said that the role is not appealing to Atkins because he believes it would take a lot of work to turn around what he sees as a bloated agency mismanaged by outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, and Atkins is unwilling to leave his global consulting firm.
The reluctance to clean up the 'mess' left by Gensler aligns with former U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chairman Chris Giancarlo, who has called for Atkins to succeed as SEC chairman and was once a candidate himself.
Atkins is a former SEC commissioner who was spotted at Trump's resort this week, according to an industry insider. He is scheduled to interview for the SEC chairman position on Sunday and Monday, another person familiar with the meetings said.
Atkins is reportedly the founder and CEO of Patomak Global Partners, a global consulting firm focused on strategy, risk management, and regulatory compliance. Patomak serves crypto companies, but they are just part of its diverse client base, which also includes traditional financial clients, public companies, industry associations, law firms, banks, and insurance companies. Before founding Patomak, Atkins was a commissioner at the SEC from 2002 to 2008, appointed by former U.S. President George W. Bush. During his time at the SEC, Mark Uyeda and Hester Pierce worked under Atkins, the latter of whom also became an SEC commissioner.