With a gift of $ 3 0 0 , 0 0 0 , Ed Knight, ’76, has established the Edward S. Knight Professorship in Law, Innovation, and Entrepreneurialism, which will be used to support the scholarly research of a member of the faculty at the intersection of law and capital markets.
In October 2000, Knight was named executive vice president and general counsel of the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. Knight served as the chief legal officer of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD, now FINRA) from June 1999 until becoming NASDAQ general counsel. I n his role as General Counsel, Knight is responsible for providing legal counsel to senior management and for overseeing the quality of legal services across the global organization. He is also responsible for government relations, listing qualifications, and market regulation. I n addition, Knight oversees the Office of Corporate Secretary, which is responsible for all of NASDAQ’s corporate governance activities and maintaining its corporate record. Knight is also the chief regulatory officer of NASDAQ.
Edward S. Knight’s gift will be used to support the scholarly research of a member of the faculty at the intersection of law and capital markets.
Knight led NASDAQ’s efforts to operate as a national securities exchange. In January 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unanimously approved NASDAQ’s application for exchange status. This action allowed NASDAQ to complete its separation from NASD and realize its vision as the premier market in the world, served by the gold standard in regulators, the NASD.
Prior to joining the NASD, Knight served as general counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury from September 1994 to June 1999, where he was the department’s longest-serving general counsel since the position was created in 1934. Upon his departure, Knight received from Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin the Alexander Hamilton Award—the Department’s highest award—for exemplary service and also received the Honor Award from the Secret Service. Before being named general counsel, Knight served as executive secretary and senior advisor to Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Bentsen, ’42.
Knight’s accomplishments at the Treasury Department include his critical involvement in the United States’s provision of bilateral assistance to the government of Brazil in the fall of 1998 and to the government of Mexico in 1995. He also led the legal team that successfully privatized the U.S. Enrichment Corporation in July 1998, the largest privatization in U.S. history. He was also on the commission that restructured the Internal Revenue Service in 1996 and led the legal team that advised Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in 1995 and 1996 on the debt limit crisis.
Prior to his tenure at the Treasury, Knight was a partner with the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP in its Washington, D.C., office. A Texas native, Knight received his BA, with honors, in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and his JD from the Law School, and sits on the Law School’s Alumni Board of Directors. Knight is a member of the District of Columbia, Texas, and Supreme Court Bars, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations. Knight also served as a member of the Obama Transition Team at the U.S. Treasury Department.