SEC Fort Worth regional director David Peavler exits watchdog agency, joins Jones Day

David Peavler is leaving the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as its regional director in Fort Worth after nearly three years at the helm.

Peavler will join the Jones Day law firm as a partner in its securities litigation and SEC enforcement practice. He’ll be based in the firm’s Dallas and Washington offices.

Peavler took charge of the office in 2019 but spent a combined 19 years with the regulatory agency in two stints. He earlier worked 15 years in senior division enforcement roles before joining the private sector.

Eric Werner, associate regional director of enforcement, and Marshall Gandy, associate regional director of examinations, will serve as the office’s co-acting regional directors, according to the SEC. The division’s jurisdiction of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas has one of the highest concentrations of Fortune 500 companies of any SEC region.

“It has been a privilege to lead the Fort Worth office and to work with so many talented professionals across the agency who are dedicated to protecting investors,” Peavler said in a statement. “I am especially grateful to my Fort Worth colleagues for their resourcefulness, enthusiasm, and dogged determination to advance the SEC’s mission, no matter the obstacle.”

During Peavler’s tenure, the office conducted several high-profile investigations, including Shell’s overstatement of hydrocarbon reserves that resulted in $113.5 million being returned to investors and a Houston-area businessman operating a $114 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 300 investors.