CFP Board Appoints Rex Staples, Esq. Director of Investigations

March 15, 2012 – Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) announced today that it has appointed Rex Staples as Director of Investigations, a newly created position within the organization.

The Director of Investigations position will lead a team in monitoring and enforcing compliance with CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct. This position is also charged with ensuring that investigations of any alleged wrongdoing continue to be conducted in an expedient and consistent manner, are a fair process for all participants and are credible to the public. The position reports to the Managing Director for Professional Standards and Legal.

“Rex Staples will make an immediate impact on CFP Board’s efforts to enforce the high standards of the CFP® designation,” said Michael P. Shaw, CFP Board’s Managing Director for Professional Standards and Legal. “I look forward to working with him to advance CFP Board’s mission of benefiting the public.”

Prior to his arrival at CFP Board, Staples served as the General Counsel for the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc., an organization that represents securities administrators in each of the states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as Mexico and Canada. Before joining NASAA, Staples was with the Washington State Securities Division for almost a decade, last serving as the branch chief for enforcement and compliance.

“Our CFP® professionals, stakeholders, regulators, policymakers and most importantly the public rely on CFP Board to rigorously enforce our professional standards,” said CFP Board Chief Executive Officer Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “The creation of this position and Rex Staples’ arrival underscores the high value we place on our enforcement function to ensure our CFP® professionals are acting in a competent and ethical manner.”

Staples earned his Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law and his Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Washington. Over the course of his career, Staples has served on various professional commissions, councils and task forces and is a sought-after speaker and guest lecturer.

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