The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that Laura L. Cox, Managing Executive for External and Governmental Affairs and a member of Chairman Donaldson’s three-person, senior management team will leave the Commission to join PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, as Partner-In-Charge of Professional and Governmental Activities.

Chairman William H. Donaldson said, "Laura has played a critical role at an historic and challenging time in the Commission’s history. She has been a trusted member of our senior management team and has helped to develop a more strategic approach to the Commission’s interaction with the media and Capitol Hill. Her contribution to the SEC, and to my office, has been substantial and she will be missed."

Cox, who joined the Commission staff in May of 2003, directs the Commission’s legislative affairs, public affairs, intergovernmental affairs and investor education efforts, providing coordinated and strategic advice in these areas.

In her new role at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Cox will be responsible for developing and implementing federal and state governmental affairs strategies to help the firm achieve results consistent with its business strategy.

Prior to joining the SEC, Cox served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Banking and Finance in the Office of Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where she received a Meritorious Service Award for her work and strategic counsel on legislative initiatives. Prior to joining the Bush Administration, Cox was Vice President for Strategic Policy Communications, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Instinet Corporation, an electronic brokerage and subsidiary of international media conglomerate Reuters.

Cox spent eight years on Capitol Hill — six in the Senate working first for Banking Committee Chairman Richard C. Shelby (R-AL) and later as Communications Director to the Republican Conference Vice Chairman, Paul Coverdell (R-GA). She began her service in Washington in the office of Rep. Charles W. Stenholm (D-TX).

Cox holds a master’s degree from American University, in Washington, DC and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and government from the University of Texas at Austin.