The CFTC Observer Podcast: An Agency-Outsider's Perspective of the Derivatives Industry

In this episode, former CFTC General Counsel and current Senior Managing Director and General Counsel of CME Group Jonathan Marcus sits down with guest host Elie Mishory to discuss all things CFTC & derivatives related and more! Along the way, Jonathan describes his career pivot from the Solicitor General's office to the CFTC space, his time as General Counsel #14, including early crypto d...

In this episode, Elie Mishory, former General Counsel and Chief Regulatory Officer of Kalshi, sits down with guest host Matt Vegh to discuss all things prediction markets and more! Along the way, Elie describes how he got started in the derivatives space, some experiences from the being at the forefront of prediction market development, both from his time at the CFTC with Commissioner Quintenz and...

In this episode, Walt Lukken, former Commissioner and Acting Chairman of the CFTC and current President & CEO of FIA, sits down with guest host Elie Mishory to discuss, among other topics, his experience as a former acting chairman of the CFTC, the FIA and its upcoming headline annual conference FIA Boca, what industry may expect to see coming from the CFTC under Chairman Michael Selig, and mo...

In this episode, Gary Kalbaugh, Law Professor and Partner in private practice, sits down with guest host Matt Vegh, a 3L Law Student, to discuss Gary’s role as Editor-in-Chief of the Futures and Derivatives Law Report, the recent ABA Derivatives & Futures Law Committee Meeting, what to expect from the CFTC with a confirmed Chairman in place, and more! Along the way, Gary shares his initial Iri...

In this episode, Brian Young shares some observations of what it was like to be the CFTC’s most recent Director of Enforcement, his time leading the CFTC’s Whistleblower’s program, early entry into the derivatives space from his time at the DOJ, and more! Brian’s tenure as Director of Enforcement overlapped with the CFTC’s recent enforcement sprint, and Brian shares some observations about how the...

In this episode, Carl Kennedy shares his observations about the recent Futures and Derivatives Law Report Digital Asset Leadership Summit that he helped put together, his work as the managing editor for the 2025 Chambers Global Overview on Derivatives, and more!   Listen in to hear some perspectives and reflections from Carl’s initial entry to this space, from learning an almost new language while...

In this episode, Rob Schwartz shares his take on recent CFTC and SEC regulatory harmonization. Along the way, the 16th General Counsel of the CFTC describes his first foray into the derivatives industry, milestone moments during his tenure at the agency, and excitement for the future for our favorite agency (#CFTC). Newcomers to the derivatives space - this may be your time to join and learn up qu...

In this episode, we sit down with Pamela Geraghty of MPD fame to talk about her background, some of the exciting parts of her tenure at the CFTC, and specifically focus on the Operational Resilience Framework for Futures Commission Merchants, Swap Dealers, and Major Swap Participants that she had a large part in putting together and has recently been withdrawn by the CFTC, and what that means to t...

In this episode, Renato Mariotti shares parts of his journey from working on the first spoofing case as an AUSU, the Flash Boys, and bunking in at an FIA conference to learn more about the derivatives space, to now being on the front lines of advising industry participants on “getting used to the new normal” at the CFTC as it undergoes a “reconceptualization of priorities” under Acting Chairman Ph...

In this episode, we sit down with De’Ana Dow to discuss her extensive experience in the derivatives space from the time she joined Huddleston’s K Street Office a few years after the CFTC started, to her early work on the Hunt Brothers case and CFTC rulemaking related to dual trading prohibition and audit trail requirements, to later working in various Commissioner offices and her drafting of impac...

Ever wonder what copper ingots have to do with crypto and digital assets? Tune in to the latest Podcast episode with Peter Malyshev to find out! In this episode, we sit down with Peter Malyshev to discuss his version of a crash course in Derivatives as well as a six-step framework for assessing new matters in the derivatives space, from defining a commodity to substantive law and enforcement.  We...

In this episode, we sit down with Ryne Miller for an exciting discussion ranging from Ryne’s recommendation for the four principles needed for a crypto regulation one-pager to a lookback at his first foray into the derivatives industry as an associate for the financial products of his firm’s oil and gas clients in Oklahoma, and the many experiences along the way.  The conversation considers the pa...

Join our fascinating discussion as Gary DeWaal reflects on how he got started in the derivatives industry from wearing his scarlet badge and learning the business as a CFTC enforcement officer in the trading pits to leading the Katten Financial Markets and Regulation Practice and the many experiences along the way. Some of the timely themes discussed include some of Gary's observations on DOGE and...

In this first Podcast, we sat down with Josh Sterling, former CFTC Division Director and currently partner in private practice. Josh shared a bit about his background and how he got into the derivatives space (a derivative of what he was working on at the time as it were), advice to newcomers to the derivatives space, and some memorable experiences. Listen to the full episode to hear Josh's perspe...