NYRA hires Rogan as chief compliance officer

Kevin Rogan has been hired as the chief compliance officer for the New York Racing Association, it was announced Wednesday. The announcement came at a brief open session of a meeting of the NYRA Reorganization board held in Manhattan.

Rogan takes over the position formerly held by Ken Handal, whose contract was not renewed in 2013. Handal also was acting chief counsel for NYRA.

Rogan comes to NYRA after working from 2009-13 for Siemens Healthcare U.S, where he managed a staff of 40 compliance officers across energy, industry and health care business units. He previously worked for Siemens Africa, where he helped build a compliance organization. Rogan, who attended Yale University and Fordham Law School, also worked as associate counsel for Celanese Corp. and Ameriserve Food Distribution, both in Dallas.

In advertising for the job, NYRA was seeking an individual who would ensure that the board of directors, management, and employees are in compliance with relevant statutes, rules, and regulations and that NYRA’s corporate policies and procedures are followed.

At the meeting, NYRA president and CEO Christopher Kay said Rogan “brings a lot of judgment, experience, and expertise to the table.”

Though NYRA chair David Skorton has held mainly open board meetings since taking over in December 2012, he had the board enter into executive session, citing a provision where a company may do so “to discuss the financial history of a particular corporation.”

An open NYRA board meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday.