Jessica Giroux, the veteran muni market advocate whose tenures include stints at Bond Dealers of America and the National Association of Bond Lawyers, begins her new role today as general counsel and head of fixed income policy at the American Securities Association.
Her move comes just over a year and half since she
And for the woman who's touched nearly every corner of the muni market, moving to ASA provided her with an opportunity to get away from federal advocacy while still maintaining close ties with it.
"I was looking for an opportunity to get back into the business side of things," said Giroux. "In the trade association world, representing wealth management and capital markets interest is something that together I've never done."
Capital markets, market structure and market regulation are all fields familiar to Giroux, but with ASA's Kelli McMorrow heading up the federal advocacy, Giroux will be able to take a step away from her usual government relations focus and give her an opportunity to "spread her wings," she said.
"These are exciting times and I'm happy to be at the ASA as they continue to grow and I hope to offer them the growth opportunities and the growth capacity that I think they're striving for," Giroux said.
As her first day on the job, Giroux was unable to say definitively whether ASA will be ramping up its muni focus or the exact scope of her new role, but she welcomes getting to know the ASA side of things and how they operate going forward.
"We're dealing with an interesting economic situation," Giroux said. " I'm going to be learning the way the ASA works and all the work that the fixed income committee does."
Giroux began her career at the New York State Senate as assistant counsel where she stayed for two years before becoming a senior legislative representative for New York City in its Washington office.
She then returned to the New York State Senate as counsel and chief of staff, staying for just under two years before beginning her first industry trade post for BDA, where she joined as general counsel and managing director of federal regulatory policy in 2011.
Giroux stayed on the federal advocacy side of things for the next ten years, making her mark at BDA before
She continued in a similar post at the MSRB and was instrumental in combining the two roles of director of government and public affairs that since the role was initially meant for two people.
Now, as the new general counsel and head of fixed income policy for ASA, Giroux looks forward to tackling some of the biggest issues of the day, whether it be the MSRB's time of trade proposals or whatever Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler has in store for the fixed income market.
