William Jannace

William Jannace has worked nearly 30 years in the securities industry at the American and New York Stock Exchanges and FINRA. As a senior counsel at Ross PLLC, he advises clients across a range of applications and compliance needs. Currently he is also focused on blockchain industry related broker-dealer and ATS advice, FinHub referrals, and related matters.

He is also an adjunct professor/lecturer at Fordham School of Law, Wharton Business School, Georgetown Global Education Institute, the Global Financial Markets Institute, Baruch University, The TABB Group, and the Financial Markets World, where he teaches courses covering:

Capital Markets/IPOs/Exempt Offerings/ADRs
Securities/SRO/Mutual Fund/Investment Adviser/Broker-Dealer Regulation
Broker-Dealer Operations/Net Capital/Customer Protection/Prime Brokerage/Short Selling/Clearance and Settlement.
Corporate Governance/Proxy/Activism/Corporate Social Responsibility/Environmental, Social, Governance/Impact Investing/Climate Change/, State Capitalism/Family Firms/ Sovereign Wealth Funds/Geopolitics/Geoeconomics.

He has also taught courses at The U.S. Army War College, New York Law School, Wharton Business School, Drexel University, New York University, Pace University, Securities Training Corporation, New York Institute of Finance, New York Society of Security Analysts, and the Securities Industry Institute/Wharton Business School on the above topics.

He was an account executive at Georgeson and D.F. King serving as liaison for corporations/institutional shareholders regarding corporate governance issues; assisted on proxy fights/tender offers for corporate raiders/listed companies; liaison with trading floor and arbitrageurs to provide market color to listed companies; monitored trading versus 13F filings to determine changes in shareholder ownership. He was also Series 7/63 licensed at Drexel Burnham/Paine Webber and was also a consultant for The World Bank.

International Experience

Mr. Jannace also conducted overseas training programs for the: Russian Securities Commission/Stock Exchange; The Capital Markets Authorities in : Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya; Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority; Securities and Exchange Board of India; Ukrainian Securities Commission/Stock Market; Romanian Securities Commission; Jordanian Securities Commission; Capital Markets Authority of Turkey; Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority; New York Institute of Finance- Beijing/China, the Taiwan Stock Exchange and for IOSCO in Spain.

Primary Practice Areas

In managing FINRA’s Sales Practice Policy department William Jannace and his staff responded to interpretive, policy and disposition requests, covering capital markets, research, books and records, supervision, outsourcing, bank sweeps, outside business activities/private securities transactions and conflicts of interest. Mr. Jannace also worked in the Enforcement Department where he investigated violations of federal securities laws/SRO rules, conducted OTRs, drafted reports of investigation/statement of charges/settlements and conducted contested/settlement proceeding.

As a regulator, Mr. Jannace interfaced with the SEC, NASD, state regulators/trade associations (SIFMA) in shepherding proposals for approval; and helped draft reports on research analyst conflicts; secondary trading of private companies; transparency enhancements to the securities lending marketplace; and on mutual regulatory recognition. He participated in the Compliance Advisory Group, OSRC, and IOSCO initiatives. He also worked with OFAC and the SEC to help firms identify potential money laundering issues and to restrict terrorist financing post 9/11. He led a FINRA initiative to rewrite its membership rules. Rule proposals/guidance included:

SRO Rule Harmonization/Business Continuity/Contingency Planning
CEO Certification/Internal Controls/Supervision/
Review/Supervision of Electronic Communications
AML/Patriot Act/OFAC/SDNs
IPO Allocations/Research Analyst Conflicts/Qualification Examination
Portfolio Margin/Capital

He also worked at TD Securities and Smith Barney Shearson, providing legal advice on/reviewed or responsible for:

Regulation D/S offerings/144A/144 resales/10b-18 share buybacks
Offering Memorandums/Underwriting and Prime Brokerage Agreements
Research reports and trading approvals for new issues/secondary offerings
Ensured trade reporting/Control Room/employee/firm trading compliance

Dispute Resolution Experience and Training

William Jannace is a CIArb Fellow, a FINRA Non-Public arbitrator, a member of the New York International Arbitration Center, a judge for the FINRA Annual Securities Dispute Resolution Triathlon, and arbitrator for the Willem C. Vis Moot Court at Fordham Law School. He also attended Mediation Training at the NYCBA and received a Certificate in International Commercial Arbitration from Columbia Law School/Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is also a research affiliate with the Fletcher Network for Sovereign Wealth and Global Capital. Mr. Jannace received his JD from New York Law School in 1992, his LL.M. in Corporate, Banking, and Finance Law from Fordham Law School in 1996, is a member of the State Bars of New York and Connecticut; received a Certificate in Global Affairs at New York University and Environmental, Social and Governance investment training from the International Corporate Governance Network.

International Experience

Mr. Jannace also conducted overseas training programs for the: Russian Securities Commission/Stock Exchange; The Capital Markets Authorities in: Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya; Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority; Securities and Exchange Board of India; Ukrainian Securities Commission/Stock Market; Romanian Securities Commission; Jordanian Securities Commission; Capital Markets Authority of Turkey; Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority; New York Institute of Finance- Beijing/China, the Taiwan Stock Exchange and for IOSCO in Spain.

Publications, Speaking Engagements and/or Professional and Civic Associations

He has also volunteered for the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the Asset Owners Disclosure Project, UNICEF and served as a judge for the SIFMA Foundation InvestWrite Competition. Mr. Jannace is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and the NGO Committee To Stop Trafficking in Persons. He is also active in raising funds and awareness for humanitarian assistance and an active supporter of education through the establishment of the Anthony E. Jannace scholarship at New York Law School and the Susan M. Jannace scholarship at Fordham University.

He has contributed to the following publications:

“Bretton Woods 4.0 Finding New Relevance in a New World Order,” By Dr. Paul Tiffany and William Jannace, Bretton Woods@75 Blog and Compendium, February 2019.

“Cautionary Notes for Supply Chain Managers and Others Involved in Global Sourcing & Partnerships (Human Trafficking & Modern Slavery Conditions Raise Reputational Risks),” Governance & Accountability Institute, January 2018).

“Sustainability Disclosures in the EU,” Insights, The Corporate and Securities Law Advisor, Volume 31, Number 8, August 2017.

“Sustainability Disclosures in the EU: Implementation of the 2014 EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive,” ABA, Spring 2017.

“Accounting for Trade: President Trump and the Geopolitical Balance Sheet,” NYU-Global Affairs Perspectives on Global Issues, Spring 2017.

“NASD/NYSE Rule Harmonization: What Do the Changes Mean in Practice, “The Journal of Securities Compliance, Volume One, October 2007.

His speaking engagements include: Securities Regulation/Corporate Governance/Capital Markets, Impact Investing/ESG, and Broker-Dealer Operations/Market Structure/Clearance and Settlement for:

Skytop ESG Investing Conference
Skytop Impact Investing Conference
Skytop Strategies-Compliance Conference
UNICEF-Human Trafficking Podcast
Skytop Strategies-Impact Investment Conference
Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission
China Construction Bank
Iraq Stock Exchange
Securities and Exchange Bureau of India
Tokyo Stock Exchange
Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance
Kenyan Capital Markets Authority
El Salvador Securities and Exchange Commission
Ghana Stock Exchange
Mexican Banking and Securities Commission
Sarajevo Stock Exchange/Securities Commission
Saudi Arabian Capital Markets Authority
Central Bank of Kosovo
Malaysian Securities Commission
SEC Annual Institute for Securities Market
US State Department Foreign Delegation
Hong Kong Securities Commission
Philippine Dealing System Holdings
Treasury Department of Argentina
Ontario Securities Commission
Securities Operations Forum
ALI-ABA Compliance and Enforcement Conference
SIFMA lAD and Fixed-Income Conferences
FINRA Spring Conference
NYSE Regulatory Conferences
SIFMA Equity Capital Markets and Research Management Conferences
BD Week Annual Compliance Conference
SIFMA Annual Legal and Compliance Conferences
NASD Institute for Professional Development
ABA Conference.

Bar Admissions: Member of the New York and Connecticut Bars