BlockBeats reported on December 4, according to CoinDesk, that Paul Atkins is the top choice for SEC Chairman by President-elect Donald Trump, but accepting the position would require many factors to align.
A person familiar with Atkins' thoughts indicated that the role is not attractive to him, as he believes it would require a significant amount of work to turn around what he considers a bloated agency poorly managed by outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, and Atkins is unwilling to leave his global consulting firm.
The idea of not wanting to clean up the 'mess' left by Gensler is in line with former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo, who once called for Atkins to succeed as SEC Chairman and was himself a candidate at one point.
Atkins, a former SEC commissioner, was seen this week at Trump's resort, 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 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 only part of its diversified business, which also includes traditional financial clients, public companies, industry associations, law firms, banks, and insurance companies. Before founding Patomak, Atkins served as a commissioner of the SEC from 2002 to 2008, appointed by former 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.