The Board of Trustees and staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society mourn the sudden loss of former SEC Chairman and Society founder, Harvey Pitt, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to Harvey’s wife, Saree, and his entire family.
From 1968 to 1978, Harvey served on the staff of the SEC, eventually becoming, in 1975 at age 30, the youngest General Counsel in the SEC's history. In 1977, he received the Distinguished Service Award, the agency’s highest honorary award. After leaving for private practice in 1978, and for the next 23 years, Harvey was a partner in the law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in Washington, DC.
In spring of 2001, Harvey was appointed to lead the SEC as its 26th Chairman, a position he held through 2003. After he left the SEC, he founded the strategic consulting firm, Kalorama Partners, LLC. First-hand accounts of Harvey’s service as General Counsel and as SEC Chairman may be found in his May 2007 and May 2008 oral history interviews in the Society’s virtual museum.
In 1999, while still at Fried Frank, Harvey was called upon by former SEC Chairman David Ruder to join him in efforts to establish a Securities and Exchange Commission Historical Society -- a non-profit entity that would capture, preserve and make available the history of securities law and regulation. Harvey, along with close friend and colleague, Paul Gonson, answered Ruder’s call, and later that year, the three founders had incorporated the Society as a non-profit entity in the District of Columbia with Harvey as the Society’s first President.
When he was appointed to serve as SEC Chairman in 2001, Harvey had to resign his post on the Society’s Board. However, the Society remained near and dear to his heart. In a 2019 interview, Harvey reflected on the founding of the Society: “I believe very strongly in the mission of the SEC Historical Society because I feel very strongly about the mission of the SEC, which is a great agency and an agency I truly love.” (Learn more about the society and its mission.)
According to his family’s wishes: "In recognition of Harvey’s love and respect for the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, in lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to ASECA (secalumni.org), the SEC Historical Society (sechistorical.org) or the charity of your choice."
