Faculty
Gary Gensler is Professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management as well as of Finance at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He conducts research and teaches on artificial intelligence, finance, financial technology, and public policy.
Gensler most recently served as the 33rd Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Biden Administration. He led the agency through a robust reform agenda to enhance efficiency, resiliency, and integrity in the $120 trillion U.S. capital markets.
Previously, Gensler served as Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in the Obama Administration, leading reform of the $400 trillion swaps market. He also served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance, and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during the Clinton Administration as well as Senior Advisor to Senator Paul Sarbanes in writing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002). He also was Chairman of the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission (2017-2019).
Gensler coauthored a book presenting common-sense investing advice for everyday Americans, The Great Mutual Fund Trap, (Broadway Books, 2002). He is a recipient of the 2014 Tamar Frankel Fiduciary Prize and the US Treasury’s highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Award. Based on student nominations, he won the MIT Sloan 2019 Outstanding Teacher Award.
Prior to his public service, Professor Gensler worked at Goldman Sachs, where he became partner in the Mergers & Acquisition department, headed the firm’s Media Group, led fixed income & currency trading in Asia, and lastly co-headed Finance, being responsible for the firm's worldwide Controllers and Treasury functions.
Gensler earned his undergraduate degree in economics and his MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
He has three daughters, and is from Baltimore, Maryland.
Gensler, Gary and Lily Bailey, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6223-20. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, November 2020. SSRN Link.
Professor of the practice Gary Gensler said: "For the five to ten percent of Americans who invest in crypto it's a highly speculative and very risky asset. Aside from Bitcoin most other tokens are not tied to any fundamentals and there's 5,000 or 10,000 of these tokens."
In this podcast episode, professor of the practice Gary Gensler discussed his contributions to a new e-book that offers a preliminary assessment of the economic consequences of a second Trump administration. Professor Simon Johnson's research is also featured along with contributions from other leading economists.
"The Genius bill will ensure stablecoin reserves will be safe and boring, and that consumers will have a direct legal claim on the underlying assets," said research scientist Christian Catalini. One of the most notable benefits would be "faster, lower-cost, global payments," he added.
Professor of the Practice Gary Gensler, the former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, spoke to Institutional Investor on the eve of the launch of the new book, "The Economic Consequences of The Second Trump Administration: A Preliminary Assessment." Gensler, Nobel laureate professor Simon Johnson, Ugo Panizza, and Beatrice Weder di Mauro edited the book, which includes essays from more than 50 academics.
An exciting collaboration between MIT's Sloan School of Management and Schwarzman College of Computing, this immersive, two-week program on campus dives deep into both the technical and business aspects of artificial intelligence, providing a comprehensive understanding of AI's impact across industries. The program will bridge the gap between AI technology and business leadership through practical, hands-on learning experiences, ensuring participants can apply AI strategies effectively in their organizations.
