Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Michael S. Selig on Monday announced the appointment of former CFTC chief market intelligence officer Mel Gunewardena as Director of the Office of International Affairs and Senior Markets Advisor to the Chairman.
The dual role gives Gunewardena oversight of the CFTC’s cross-border regulatory coordination, including supervisory dialogues and IOSCO engagement, while also serving as an internal adviser on market structure and risk management.
Gunewardena replaces Mauricio Melara, who served as acting director of the international office since January 2025. Melara will remain within the Office of International Affairs.
“I am pleased to welcome Mel back to the CFTC,” said Selig. “He will be able to draw upon his decades of experience in global financial markets and international regulation to ensure the United States remains the leading marketplace for investors and risk managers.”
“I am honored to join Chairman Selig’s senior leadership team to advance his pro-innovation agenda and to lead the Commission’s international engagement initiatives,” said Gunewardena. “I am committed to helping ensure the United States, as the world’s largest commodities and derivatives market, remains the most competitive and attractive marketplace as it serves the interests of farmers, ranchers, drillers, miners, and commercial and institutional participants.”
Gunewardena held managing director roles in global markets trading at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and State Street, spanning prime brokerage, derivatives, and risk businesses across North America, Europe, and Asia. He served as the CFTC’s chief market intelligence officer from 2019 to 2022, where he led task forces addressing market disruptions during COVID and periods of extreme volatility in crude oil, natural gas, and electricity markets.
After leaving the CFTC in 2022, he joined the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as senior advisor for global markets to the chief executive and later chaired the UK Secondary Markets Advisory Committee.
Gunewardena’s appointment follows other recent initiatives under Selig’s chairmanship. Since taking office, Selig has launched Project Crypto, a joint initiative with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to harmonise digital asset oversight, and established the Innovation Advisory Committee to advise on AI and blockchain. The appointment of a markets practitioner with infrastructure and cross-border experience to lead international affairs adds capacity for these initiatives.
