June 6, 2006
JS-4307

Snow Designates New Private Sector
Coordinator
for Critical Financial Infrastructure
Protection

Treasury Secretary John W. Snow today designated George S. Hender as Sector Coordinator and Chairman of the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security (FSSCC).

The FSSCC works closely with the Treasury and other federal financial regulators to coordinate the private sector's preparation for events including natural disasters and terrorist attacks, which could disrupt the normal business of the financial services industry.  Hender, Management Vice Chairman of The Options Clearing Corporation, served as FSSCC Vice Chairman since September 2004.

"A resilient financial system is critical to ensure the health of our economy and our national security. As FSSCC Chair, Mr. Hender will take the helm coordinating the government's efforts with the private sector as we work toward this common goal," said Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Emil W. Henry, Jr. "I am confident he will discharge this responsibility with the same professionalism, leadership, and commitment to excellence he has shown in his hard work with FSSCC to date."

Building upon the organization's accomplishments during the past four years, Hender will lead the FSSCC as it begins preparing best practices for firms to deal with avian flu and a disaster response protocol to guide the public-private partnership in the event of a disaster with potential for systemic impact, such as a major hurricane. 

Hender succeeds Donald F. Donahue of the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, who has served in the position since 2004.  Donahue's leadership helped steer the financial services industry through difficult events, including the elevation of the terrorism threat level in August 2004, the July 2005 London bombings and recovery from Hurricane Katrina.  During his tenure, the sector supported initiatives to restore financial services in the communities devastated by last year's hurricanes, promoted local infrastructure protection and recovery through regional coalitions and demonstrated its continuity of operations in a number of testing and simulation exercises. 

Assistant Secretary Henry recognized Donahue's excellent tenure as Sector Coordinator during a ceremony today. "I want to thank Mr. Donahue for his dedicated, superb service. The Treasury recognizes his many outstanding contributions to FSSCC, most notably his role in driving the growth and visibility of this critical organization. He inherited FSSCC in its infancy and expanded its membership to include entities upon which the financial services sector greatly depends.  We are grateful for his leadership and efforts," Henry said.