Richard Hackett, assistant director of the Installment and Liquidity Lending Markets division of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, will leave his post June 28, Auto Finance News has learned.
Until a replacement is named, CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Rohit Chopra will assume Hackett’s responsibilities. Already, “a number” of candidates are in the interview process, said Hackett, who will help with the transition until August.
Hackett, in his role in the Installment and Liquidity Lending Markets division, is responsible for a good portion of the CFPB’s auto finance activities.
Here’s Hackett’s email announcing the move:
After 2+ years of helping to build what I think is a truly innovative and nimble government organization, and after 35 years of legal work without a break, I have decided to take six months to gather empirical data about what life without work actually involves. I will be stepping down from day to day work at the Bureau on June 28, although I will retain an employment relationship to help with transition until August. Sometime in 2014 I may decide to re-enter the fray, although in what capacity I cannot say. My first choice would be to do something else for an organization I believe is truly extraordinary – the Bureau. But I leave without promises or preconceptions.
I am confident that the work of my office will continue without missing a beat. We have a number of strong candidates in the interview process for Assistant Director of my markets team. In the interim, while a new hire goes through the vetting process, my trusted colleague and friend, Rohit Chopra, has agreed to assume my responsibilities for auto and student markets and keep the trains running on time. Rohit will also continue to manage his Office of Students, which already works closely with my team on a daily basis.
I have no hesitation in saying that my work with CFPB has been the most rewarding, most challenging and most physically tasking assignment I have had in 35 years. Of particular importance to me are the relationships I have been privileged to develop with Bureau stakeholders, who have taught me critical information about the relationship of government and its stakeholders, the complexity of policy formulation, and the importance of frank and transparent exchange of ideas. I am also deeply grateful to my friends in the consumer advocate and compliance bar, who have helped me reach out to those stakeholders. Both stakeholders and their lawyers have helped to inform what we do and how, and I think that is very important. I will miss this job very much.
Click here to view the post for Hackett’s job on the CFPB website.
