The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced Robert Rice would succeed Mark Adler as head of enforcement and investigations.

Rice will take the reins effective March 31, according to a PCAOB press release Wednesday. He brings more than 30 years of white-collar litigation and investigations experience to the role.

Adler, who served as acting director of the enforcement division since September, will retire from the PCAOB for the second time since 2020. He returned to the organization after Patrick Bryan exited as enforcement head.

Rice served as special counsel at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey since 2022. He also served as chief counsel to former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White from 2013-15, providing legal advice and counsel on enforcement actions, compliance, and inspection-related matters.

Rice began his public service career as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), where he served from 1991-2000. As an assistant U.S. attorney, he investigated and prosecuted a wide range of federal crimes, including bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, money laundering, organized crime offenses, public corruption, securities fraud, and tax-related offenses. He ultimately became a deputy chief of the SDNY’s Criminal Division.

He was a partner at law firms from 2000-04 and 2015-21, focusing on criminal investigations and prosecutions, regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, and internal investigations.

During Adler’s recent tenure as acting director, the PCAOB announced its largest civil money penalty against an individual and second-largest penalty against a firm.