Timothy Massad

Timothy Massad is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown Law School, and a consultant on financial regulation and financial technology issues.

He served as Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2014 to 2017. Under his leadership, the agency implemented the Dodd Frank Act reforms of the over-the-counter swaps market; enhanced cybersecurity for critical market infrastructure; improved the resilience of clearinghouses; harmonized cross-border regulation; reduced regulatory burdens on commercial businesses; and regulated cryptocurrency derivatives. 

Mr. Massad also served as the Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In that capacity, he oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the principal U.S. government response to the 2008 financial crisis. During his tenure, the Treasury recovered more on all the crisis investments than was disbursed.  Mr. Massad was with the Treasury from 2009 to 2014, serving initially as chief counsel for TARP. 

Prior to his government service, Mr. Massad was a partner in the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. Mr. Massad had a broad corporate practice with a focus on corporate finance and financial markets. He was with the firm for 25 years, working in New York, London and Hong Kong. He also had an active pro bono practice, advising a variety of not-for-profit organizations including UNICEF and Covenant House. 

Mr. Massad has a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Harvard College.

Professional affiliations

Harvard Kennedy School