Woodcock will succeed Sam Waldon, who has served as Acting Director, and will lead a staff of more than 1,000 investigators, trial attorneys, and accountants, according to the SEC's announcement.
Atkins said the division will focus on "the types of misconduct that inflict the greatest harm to investors" and on cases that strengthen market integrity. The agency said the course correction is aimed at restoring Congressional intent.
Woodcock previously served as Director of the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office from 2011 to 2015. During that period, according to the SEC, he sat on the Enforcement Advisory Committee and created and chaired the cross-divisional Financial Reporting and Audit Task Force, which targeted accounting violations and false financial statements.
He joins from Gibson Dunn, where his practice covers regulatory enforcement, internal investigations, and corporate governance out of the firm's Dallas and Washington offices. The SEC said he previously worked as a senior in-house attorney at Exxon Mobil Corporation and is a certified public accountant. He has taught securities, ethics, and compliance as an adjunct professor at Texas A&M University School of Law for more than a decade.
"I am honored to join the exceptionally talented team in the Enforcement Division and look forward to advancing our vital mission of investor protection," Woodcock said in the release. He said he would lead the division with "the highest level of professionalism and rigor" while executing the Chairman's vision.
Atkins called Woodcock a "foremost expert in all relevant facets of securities law" with "deep institutional knowledge," citing his experience across government, private practice, public accounting, and in-house legal work.