Grapevine

As part of a deal reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission in September, Tesla has added two new independent directors to its board: Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, global chief human resources officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance.

The Securities and Exchange Commission named veteran staffer Kurt L. Gottschall director of the Denver regional office, where he will lead a staff of more than 100 enforcement agents.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on July 23 announced that Julie Lutz, the Regional Director of the SEC’s Denver Regional Office, will leave the agency at the end of this month after more than 40 years of service.

MiMedx Group, a developer and marketer of regenerative and therapeutic biologics, has appointed Mark Graves as chief compliance officer. The company also is conducting a formal search to fill the newly established positions of chief accounting officer and internal auditor, amid an ongoing investigation into accounting violations.

David Lynn, former Chief Counsel of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, has returned to global law firm Morrison & Foerster, rejoining the firm’s Corporate Department and Corporate Finance group.

The SEC has named James Reese as chief risk and strategy officer of the agency’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. Reese has served as acting chief since February 2017.

Lorraine Echavarria, the former head of enforcement in the Securities and Exchange Commission's Los Angeles office, has joined WilmerHale's securities litigation and enforcement practice as a partner based in WilmerHale's Los Angeles office.

Columbia Law School Professor Harvey Goldschmid, a renowned corporate governance expert who served as a commissioner and the top attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission, died this week from complications from pneumonia. “He was a true public servant, whose commitment to this agency lived long past the days he spent working here,” said SEC Chair Mary Jo White. Details inside.

Brazilian state-owned oil company Petrobras has created a new position of executive director of governance, risk, and compliance. The move comes as the company faces several investigations for its involvement in a widespread money-laundering scandal.