Keynote Address by SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar

 Luis A. Aguilar is a Commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He was sworn in on July 31, 2008.

Prior to his appointment as an SEC Commissioner, Mr. Aguilar was a partner with the international law firm of McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP, specializing in securities law. During his career, his practice included matters pertaining to general corporate and business law, international transactions, investment companies and investment advisers, securities law, and corporate finance. He also focused on issues related to corporate governance, public and private offerings (IPOs and secondary offerings), mergers and acquisitions, mutual funds, investment advisers, broker-dealers, and other aspects of federal and state securities laws and regulations.

Commissioner Aguilar's previous experience includes serving as the general counsel, executive vice president, and corporate secretary of INVESCO, with responsibility for all legal and compliance matters regarding INVESCO Institutional. He also was INVESCO's managing director for Latin America in the late 1990's. His career also includes tenure as a partner at several prominent national law firms and as an attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Commissioner Aguilar represents the Commission as its liaison to both the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and to the Council of Securities Regulators of the Americas (COSRA). He has served as the primary sponsor of the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee. Commissioner Aguilar was named in 2009 and 2010 to the NACD Directorship 100, the Who's Who of the Boardroom. In 2010, he was selected by Latino Leaders Magazine as one of the top 101 most influential leaders of the Latino Community. He has also been listed in the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 editions of the Best Lawyers in America. He was named one of Georgia's Super Lawyers 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 as published in Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers Magazine. He was listed on the Who's Who in Law in the Atlanta Business Chronicle for 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, and was named one of the most influential foreign-born Atlantans by Atlanta Magazine in October 2007.

Commissioner Aguilar was named by Hispanic Business Magazine in 2006 as one of the "100 Influential" Hispanics in the United States. Additionally, he was named Member of the Year in 2005 and the Atlanta Hispanic Businessman of the Year in 1994 by Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He received MALDEF'S (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) "Excellence in Leadership" Award in April 2005. He was also named the 2005 Latino Attorney of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association.

He has been active in numerous civic and business associations. From May 2005 to May 2007, he chaired the Latin American Association (LAA), a non-profit organization that has served Georgia's Latino community since 1972 with comprehensive services that foster healthy, self-sufficient individuals, families and communities. The LAA offers employment, immigration, youth, family, housing, and translation services, as well as English and Spanish language classes. In recent years, the LAA has provided services to over 70,000 Hispanics annually.