Robert E. Rice

Robert E. Rice is the Director of the PCAOB’s Division of Enforcement and Investigations (DEI). In this role, he oversees and directs the PCAOB’s investigations and enforcement of violations of its rules, professional standards, and other applicable securities regulations.

Mr. Rice has more than 30 years of white-collar litigation and investigations experience, including a long history of public service in government as well as the private sector. Before coming to the PCAOB, he served as Special Counsel in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. Mr. Rice also served as Chief Counsel to SEC Chair Mary Jo White from 2013 to 2015, providing legal advice and counsel on a broad range of the Commission's regulatory matters, including enforcement actions, and compliance and inspection-related matters.

Mr. Rice began his public service career as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he served from 1991 to 2000. As an Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Rice investigated and prosecuted a wide range of federal crimes, including bank fraud, mail and wire fraud, money laundering, organized crime offenses, public corruption, securities fraud, and tax-related offenses. He ultimately became a Deputy Chief of the Southern District's Criminal Division, assisting in the oversight of approximately 160 federal prosecutors. 

Mr. Rice also has extensive experience in the private sector, where he was a partner in law firms from 2000 to 2004 and 2015 to 2021, focusing his practice on criminal investigations and prosecutions, regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, and internal investigations. He also served as a Managing Director and the Head of Litigation and Regulatory Investigations at a global financial institution from 2004 to 2013. Mr. Rice received his undergraduate degree from Springfield College, a master’s degree from Montclair State College, and his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law.