The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday announced the resignation of Chairman James E. Newsome, who has accepted the position of president at the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), according to a statement from the exchange that also was released on Friday. The CFTC said the resignation is effective July 23.

Nymex Chairman Mitchell Steinhause lauded Newsome for guiding the implementation of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 during a period of unprecedented futures volume growth in the industry. “He demonstrated by far the most forward-thinking, pro-business stance of any CFTC chairman,” said Steinhause. “We expect him to add a great deal of value through his insight into the international marketplace, his strategic planning skills, and his thorough understanding of our industry.”

Newsome has served as chairman of the CFTC since December 2001. Prior to his appointment by President George W. Bush and his subsequent confirmation by the Senate, he served as acting chairman of the agency, beginning in January 2001, and as a commissioner, beginning in August 1998. His departure leaves only two sitting commissioners, Walter L. Lukken and Sharon Brown-Hruska, on the five-member panel. A CFTC spokesman said the remaining two commissioners will have to pick an active chairman prior to July 23.

“Serving President Bush and the public as chairman during a period of record growth and change in the U.S. futures markets has been an honor,” Newsome said in a statement. “I believe the foresight of the Congress in passing the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 has contributed to this growth, and I expect the trend to continue with the strong foundation provided by that important legislation.”

The CFTC said that during his tenure the number of contracts traded on U.S. futures exchanges has more than doubled on an annual basis.

Newsome will replace J. Robert “Bo” Collins as Nymex’s president effective Aug. 2. Collins, who had been president of the exchange since July 2001, turned down a new contract last month (see Daily GPI, June 7). The exchange said his departure was by “mutual agreement” but there was some speculation that he left because of a request to take a pay cut following a rumored disagreement with the Nymex board over whether to accept an offer by Boston-based equity firm Parthenon Capital LLC. In April, Nymex received an unsolicited offer from Parthenon to buy a 60% controlling interest in the exchange for up to $2 million per seat, or about $980 million for 490 seats on the exchange. The proposed deal apparently is still under review.

In addition to his responsibilities at the CFTC, Newsome also serves as a member of the president’s Working Group on Financial Markets, along with the Secretary of the Treasury, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Newsome also was appointed to serve on the president’s Corporate Fraud Task Force to coordinate corporate fraud investigations. He received his bachelor of science degree in food and resource economics from the University of Florida and his masters of science and Ph.D. degrees from Mississippi State University.

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