Lecturer Bios
Kosha Dalal, Esq.
Kosha Dalal is Associate Vice President and Associate General Counsel with FINRA’s Office of General Counsel. In this role, she provides legal guidance on various policy initiatives and rule changes / interpretations including, supervision, non-cash compensation, branch office, customer account statements, payments to unregistered persons and corporate actions. She has been with FINRA’s Office of General Counsel since 2000.
Prior to coming to FINRA, she was an associate with the law firm of Venable in Baltimore, MD, Kalkines Zall in New York, NY and Skaden Arps in New York, NY. Ms. Dalal attended Columbia University in New York, NY where she received a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics. She received her law degree from Brooklyn Law School.
Tara Gilchrist
Tara Gilchrist is a senior vice president in Risk and Compliance where she oversees the branch examination team. In a previous role at LPL Financial, Tara was accountable for Supervision, Central Supervisory Unit, and Complex Product Supervision. Before joining LPL Financial 19 years ago, she gained industry experience supporting a variety of businesses including full-service retail, 401k retirement business, and online self-directed broker-dealers. She attended the University of California, San Diego is designated as a CRCP by Wharton, and FINRA series 7, 24, and 63 registered with LPL Financial.
Samantha Larew
Samantha Larew has a strong background in compliance and has worked primarily for Manning & Napier. Samantha started their career as a Compliance Specialist at Manning & Napier Advisors in 2003 and then became a Compliance Analyst at Wall Street Financial Group from 2007 to 2009. Samantha returned to Manning & Napier and held various roles, including Broker-Dealer Compliance Supervisor from 2010 to 2013, Compliance Supervisor from 2013 to 2014, and Compliance Communications Supervisor from 2014 to 2018. In 2018, they became the Co-Director of Compliance at Manning & Napier. Samantha currently serves as the Chief Compliance Officer at Manning & Napier Fund, Inc. since May 2019.
Samantha Larew attended SUNY Brockport from 1999 to 2003, where they earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Political Science. In terms of additional certifications, Samantha obtained the CRCP certification from FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) in December 2017. Samantha also holds certifications for Series 6, 26, 7, 24, 66, 63, and NYS Insurance License (LAH), although the institutions and dates for these certifications are not provided.
Patricia Ledesma
Dr. Ledesma is the Director of the PCAOB’s Center for Economic Analysis, where she works alongside Founding Director Luigi Zingales to advance the Board’s use of economic research in audit oversight and standard setting. She brings deep experience in managing academic research programs, most recently serving as Assistant Dean and Director of Research Support at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
An economist by training, Dr. Ledesma holds a PhD and MA in economics from the University of Notre Dame and a BA in social sciences from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Her prior roles include positions as a research associate at Notre Dame and Northwestern, a lecturer, Director of Research Computing at Kellogg, and an economist at Apoyo Consultoría in Peru. She is based in Washington, DC, and leads the Center’s research agenda and staff.
Demetrios Koutros
Demetrios Koutros has been with FINRA since its inception in 2007 and was previously with the New York Stock Exchange in similar roles. In his role as Deputy Unit Leader within Member Regulation, Mr. Koutros has responsibility for the surveillance of approximately 200 firms’ compliance with financial, operational and sales practice rules. He is also involved with the rollout of FINRA’s new Risk Platform Redesign, which is utilizing a new methodology and technology to advance the surveillance of member firms.
Prior to his tenure at FINRA, Mr. Koutros worked in managerial roles at Prudential Securities, Citigroup and National Financial Services in the area of Regulatory Reporting and Operations Control. Mr. Koutros holds a bachelor’s degree from Pace University.
