S.E.C. Fills Senior Enforcement Spot

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Tuesday that Vincente L. Martinez, a veteran of the agency, will run a powerful unit that culls tips about Wall Street wrongdoing.

The unit, named the Office of Market Intelligence, was a central feature of the S.E.C.’s makeover in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Known at the agency as the “point guard” of the enforcement division, the office harvests tips, opens investigations and ultimately assigns cases to enforcement lawyers.

“Our Office of Market Intelligence employs next-generation technology and data analysis to inform and drive our enforcement effort and priorities in the years to come,” Robert Khuzami, the S.E.C.’s enforcement director, said in a statement. “Vince has the vision and dedication to lead that effort given his talent, commitment, and prior service to the S.E.C.,” added Mr. Khuzami, who recently announced that he will leave the agency.

A veteran regulator, Mr. Martinez has close ties to the S.E.C. and the Office of Market Intelligence, or O.M.I. He was an S.E.C. enforcement lawyer for eight years, a tenure that included a stint as O.M.I.’s assistant director.

Mr. Martinez, the S.E.C. said, will return to the agency next month. The S.E.C. poached him from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he was the first director of the agency’s whistleblower office.

“I am honored and pleased to rejoin the S.E.C. staff,” he said in the statement, highlighting O.M.I.’s “contributions to the protection of investors by further developing our ability to proactively identify risks and ferret out misconduct.”

The S.E.C.’s enforcement roster is in transition. Mr. Khuzami, who has not yet announced his next step, will depart in the coming days. Mr. Martinez fills a gap that opened when Thomas A. Sporkin, the inaugural director of O.M.I., exited last summer. Mr. Sporkin ! had built a team of more than 40 former traders, accountants and securities lawyers who sift through the hundreds of tips the agency receives each day. He also collaborated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to have agents embedded with the regulator.

Mr. Sporkin was initially replaced by Lori Walsh, who became the acting chief of O.M.I. Ms. Walsh, the agency said, will stay on as Mr. Martinez’s deputy.