Finra election results are in: Krawcheck, small B-D exec get the nod

Ken Norensberg, chief operating officer of Tritaurian Capital Inc., has won a contested small-firm seat on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. board. In an uncontested race, Sallie Krawcheck, president of Global Wealth and Investment Management at Bank of America, meanwhile, was elected to a large-firm seat. Finra announced the results after tallying votes at its annual meeting today. Mr. Norensberg beat out rival candidates John Moloney, chief executive of Moloney Securities Co. Inc., and Alan Davidson, president of Zeus Securities Inc. Finra spokeswoman Nancy Condon did not immediately have the vote totals. According to Mr. Davidson, however, Mr. Norensberg, received 838 votes to his own 526, and 454 for Mr. Moloney. "More people were dissatisfied with Ken than were satisfied with him. But the membership has spoken," Mr. Davidson said. Mr. Norensberg was not immediately available to comment. Mr. Moloney confirmed that he finished third in the race, and felt a “combination of disappointment and relief” about losing. “That's about 16 meetings I won't have to go to,” he joked. The election was the first one conducted under a new procedure through which small firms — those with 150 or fewer brokers — nominated their own candidates via a petition process. Finra's nominating committee has in the past picked a small-firm nominee. But Finra-nominated candidates have lost to petition candidates in recent years. Finra said 46% of the broker-dealers eligible to vote participated in the election. Mr. Moloney said that's a relatively high turnout for a Finra board race, and was probably driven by the petition process and concerns over upcoming new regulations. The newly elected governors begin their terms immediately. The 22-person Finra board has three small-firm governors, three from large firms, and one from a midsize firm. Member firms can nominate and vote for candidates in their own category.