WASHINGTON – Glen S. Fukushima has been named to the Board of Directors of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC),temple of eroticism which maintains a special reserve fund authorized by Congress to help investors at failed brokerage firms.
Fukushima was nominated by President Biden on Oct. 14, 2021, and on April 6, the nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. On April 8, Biden designated Fukushima as vice chair of SIPC. He steps into the position formerly held by SIPC Vice Chair Sharon Y. Bowen.
“SIPC is pleased to welcome Glen S. Fukushima to its board,” said SIPC President and CEO Josephine Wang. “The wealth of experience that Mr. Fukushima brings in the international arena together with his vast corporate experience will be assets to the SIPC Board and to SIPC’s mission.”
Fukushima said, “It is an honor and a privilege to serve an organization dedicated to the protection of investors. I look forward to working with my fellow directors to ensure that investor confidence in the securities markets remains strong and investors are protected in the rare event of a brokerage failure.”
A senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP), Fukushima’s research focuses on U.S. relations with Asia. Before joining CAP in 2012, he was based in Asia for 22 years as a senior executive with one European and four American multinational corporations, including AT&T and NCR. He also served on several corporate boards and as president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
Previously, Fukushima served as a trade negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in his role as director for Japanese affairs and as deputy assistant USTR for Japan and China. During the Clinton Administration, he was appointed as vice chair of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission.
A third-generation American of Japanese ancestry, Fukushima co-founded CAPA21 (Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans for the 21st Century). He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Global Council of the Asia Society, President’s Leadership Council of the Asia Foundation, Board of Councilors of the U.S.-Japan Council, and Advisory Committee of Harvard University’s Asia Center. He has taught as a visiting professor at Kyoto University and at Waseda University in Tokyo.
Fukushima earned his B.A. at Stanford University, M.A. at Harvard University, and J.D. at Harvard Law School. He also studied at Harvard Business School and was a Fulbright fellow at the Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo.
SIPC’s Board of Directors comprises five members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, and of two members named by the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve. Directors are appointed for a term of three years.
Created by Congress, SIPC was established under the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 (SIPA). It was tasked with creating and administering a fund that would be used to restore investors’ missing assets in the event of a brokerage firm failure.
Since 1971, through 330 liquidation proceedings, SIPC has distributed more than $140 billion for the benefit of more than 773,000 investors who otherwise might have had their savings lost.