Tyler E. Gellasch
Tyler Gellasch, co-Founder of Myrtle Makena, LLC, is a financial services policy professional and securities lawyer with senior-level public and private sector experience. Tyler currently serves as Executive Director of the Healthy Markets Association, a non-profit organization focused on improving the capital markets.
Tyler is a well-known capital markets and tax policy expert, who is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events. His analyses and opinions have been sought by Congress, non-profits, businesses, law firms, and the press, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, Bloomberg, and Politico.
Tyler’s public service included five years in the U.S. Senate, first as Counsel for securities, banking, and tax matters for Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), and later as Senior Counsel to the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) under Chairman Levin. During his time in the Senate, Tyler was deeply involved in the federal government’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession, including major provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. Shortly after joining the Senate, Tyler played an instrumental role in crafting the so-called “Volcker Rule,” and advised on the unprecedented rescue of the domestic automotive industry. Later, Tyler worked to create, build bipartisan support for, and fund the State Small Business Credit Initiative, which was included in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. This new and innovative grant program facilitates unique public-private partnerships involving state and local economic development corporations, lenders, and small businesses, and has funded thousands of small business loans resulting in tens of thousands of jobs. Prior to leaving Capitol Hill, Tyler also played key roles in developing additional high-profile pieces of legislation, including portions of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act of 2012, the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, and numerous corporate tax bills. Gellasch also assisted with several Senate hearings and reports, including a landmark hearing in December 2010 on the stability and integrity of the U.S. capital markets and a hearing and bipartisan report in November 2014 on banks’ involvement with physical commodities.
Tyler’s government service also includes a year as Counsel to SEC Commissioner Kara M. Stein, whom he advised on all matters before the Commission from 2013-2014. While there, his areas of focus included implementation of the Volcker Rule, derivatives reforms, corporate disclosure and proxy reforms, investment adviser registration and examinations, Regulation A reforms, Regulation D reforms, investor arbitration, and equities and fixed income market reforms.
During his time in government service, Gellasch has developed strong relationships with principals and staff at all major financial regulators, including the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Financial Research, Treasury Department, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Tyler also maintains strong bipartisan relationships with numerous Congressional Committees and Members’ offices, including the Senate Banking, Finance, Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Armed Services Committees.
Tyler’s private practice included serving as General Counsel and consultant to W.R. Hambrecht + Co., LLC, a boutique investment bank that assisted growth stage companies with their capital raising needs. Gellasch also previously worked as an Associate at Mayer Brown, LLP in Washington, DC and Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP in New York City. Tyler’s practice included counseling financial services firms on securities matters, conducting internal investigations, and representing firms and individuals facing government examinations, investigations and enforcement actions. Tyler’s pro bono legal work included arguing (and winning), Rodriguez v. Plymouth Ambulance Service, a landmark Constitutional case before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Tyler is deeply involved in community economic development, and is a Board member of both the Steel Valley Authority, as well as Heartland Capital Strategies. Tyler is a Fellow at the Duke Law School Global Financial Markets Center, and is a frequent lecturer on financial regulation and tax policy.
Tyler, who is originally from Upstate New York, performed his undergraduate studies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Thereafter, he earned his Masters degree in Economics and his law degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.