By Jessica Darmoni

“You should always ask,” says Laura Magyar, Partner at Patomak Global Partners, as she talked about her time at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She asked and was subsequently approved to spend a year abroad working at the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) during her tenure. “You don’t lose anything by asking.”

In an era defined by rapid financial innovation and shifting regulatory landscapes, Magyar’s career stands as a testament to courage, adaptability, and vision. Her journey, from a young professional in Chicago to a global leader shaping the securities industry, offers more than an inspiring success story. It provides a blueprint for future generations navigating industries where change is the only constant.

Redirection, not Rejection

Magyar’s career began in Chicago at one of Merrill Lynch’s top-producing offices. As a Series 7 registered sales assistant, she gained early exposure to the inner workings of financial markets and developed a deep understanding of client relationships and revenue targets.

“During my time at Merril Lynch, the Financial Consultant that I worked with was considering moving to management, and we discussed having me take over his book of business. However, as time went on, it became clear that he was not going to transition to another role, and I needed to decide if I wanted to be on the financial advisor track or pivot.”

She chose to move in another direction. While working full-time, she attended law school at night. Her initial goal was to become a defense trial attorney, but financial realities reshaped that ambition. She recognized that her industry experience was not a detour, but an asset. Instead of abandoning finance, she deepened her expertise in it.

“Many of my professors worked at the SEC, and I was encouraged by them to apply for a role there,” she says. At the time that I was applying for a position, the SEC was receiving hundreds of resumes for positions, and unless you knew someone working there, the chances of someone reviewing your resume and calling you for an interview were slim.”

Many would have interpreted that as a closed door, but Magyar treated it as a delay.

She joined a Chicago law firm as an associate. While most of her work focused on securities litigation matters, she also handled CFTC-related matters. Looking back, she recalls that many of the engagements she worked on as a consultant after leaving the SEC were CFTC rules and regulation matters.

Protecting the Integrity of the System

Finally, on a frigid Valentine’s Day weekend, she flew to Washington, D.C. to interview for an attorney role in the SEC’s Office of Compliance, Inspections, and Examinations. She got the job, and that opportunity became a 15-year tenure that would define her leadership style and influence.

In Washington, she rose to Branch Manager, working on high-profile issues. Her work intersected with significant market events, including investigations related to the Flash Crash and the Knight Capital (KCG) trading incident. These were moments that tested the resilience of financial markets and demanded accountability. Through them and countless other market events and investigations, she saw firsthand how regulation is about protecting the integrity of the system. Working on these matters also evidenced the strong collaboration across SEC Divisions (e.g., enforcement, Trading and Markets, Exams).

While at the SEC, Magyar created a program to examine SEC-registered foreign-domiciled broker-dealers. She led her teams in examining firms outside the U.S. for compliance with SEC rules and regulations. It also sparked her desire to work internationally, and she boldly asked the Division Director if she could spend a year at the United Kingdom’s equivalent of the SEC, the FCA. There was no stipend. No housing support. No financial incentive. She had to fund the move herself and find a place to live when the exchange rate was nearly 2:1.

“In addition to the cultural differences, I was able to experience firsthand the differences in regulatory approaches.”

Magyar worked for six months in the Division of Supervision and six months in Enforcement, gaining a comparative lens that would later shape her strategic thinking.

A Proactive Pursuit of Opportunity

When she returned to Washington, leadership had changed. The Division Director who had approved her Secondment had left, and both new and existing leadership did not see the benefit of this opportunity or the knowledge she brought back.

“Not only did I feel I had to prove that my year abroad had been worthwhile, but I faced the reality of government career progression,” she explains. “Positions open only when someone leaves, and even then, advancement is uncertain.”

Rather than wait indefinitely, she made another bold move into the private sector, joining Promontory Financial Group (now owned by IBM). There, she learned the intensity of consulting, which included short deadlines, strong personalities, constant pressure to secure projects, and managing billable hours.

“Networking became essential,” she said. “It was up to me to build relationships so that I always had a pipeline of work. Significantly challenging, while my experience was in securities, I did a lot of work related to commodities/CFTC and banking. So, I learned a lot, and this further expanded my toolbox.”

When IBM acquired Promontory, she transitioned again, joining Patomak Global Partners, founded by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins. The firm’s securities focus aligned perfectly with her background. Ironically, her first major project centered on swap dealers regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which required her to get up to speed on the relevant rules, regulations, and best practices quickly.

While she now leads the firm’s Securities Compliance Practice, she learned to build complementary teams, bringing in specialists when necessary and eventually hiring in-house talent to preserve both expertise and revenue. Regulation, she realized, is never static. It demands continuous learning, humility, and the courage to admit when new voices are needed.

That philosophy is central to how her work will impact future generations.

“Adaptability is a leadership superpower. The next generation of financial leaders will not thrive by mastering one static domain,” she says. “They will need flexibility, openness to change, and the willingness to evolve alongside the markets.”

The Responsibility of Leadership

Though Magyar never formally had coaching, she recognizes the huge value in mentoring and finds opportunities to mentor junior staff and share feedback. She understands that experience has compounding value—and that the responsibility of leadership is not merely to perform, but to prepare others.

Magyar’s story is about one woman’s ascent in finance and law, but also about reshaping the relationship between innovation and regulation. It is also about proving that integrity and ambition are not opposing forces and showing future generations, especially young women in finance and law, that courage, curiosity, and conviction can open doors once thought closed.

Her legacy will not be measured solely by the cases she handled, the practices she built, or the revenue she generated. It will be measured by the relationships she builds, the young leaders she supports, and by the generations who learn that asking boldly and embracing change are not risks—they are necessities for shaping the future and a successful career.