Policy Expert Ochs Is NJ Gov. Sherrill’s Choice as Banking and Insurance Commissioner

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said she will be nominate Susan Ochs, a financial services and economic policy expert, as Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI).

Ochs served as a senior advisor to the head of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) at the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the Obama Administration. She has also held roles in the Clinton Administration and at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

As DOBI commissioner, Ochs will oversee the banking, insurance, real estate, and healthcare markets and the Get Covered NJ, the state healthcare exchange.

“We need a leader who will work to lower insurance costs for Garden State families whether that’s healthcare or auto insurance,” said Sherrill.

If confirmed by the state Senate, Ochs will succeed Justin Zimmerman who served as the commissioner from November 2024 through the end of 2025.

Currently, Ochs is CEO of Ochs Advisors, a consulting firm focused on leadership and organizational strategy. She is a certified executive coach and an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School, where she teaches in the Program on Corporate Ethics and Compliance.

Previously, Ochs founded a policy initiative at the Aspen Institute to reform banking culture and outcomes, inspired by her service at the U.S. Treasury in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Her policy experience also includes serving New Jersey as an advisor on economic affairs and as liaison to the business community.

In the private sector, Ochs served on the executive teams of two behavioral research firms within the WPP Group and with the Long-Term Stock Exchange, working to promote long-term thinking among companies and investors. Earlier in her career, she held investment roles at J.P. Morgan Investment Management and private equity firm Solera Capital.

“These are challenging times for financial consumers, and I look forward to leading an agency that is working every day to help secure their health and financial wellbeing,” Ochs said in the announcement.

Ochs holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Duke University. She is a New Jersey native and currently resides in Monroe Township in Middlesex County.

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