Don Snede:
Lessons from a Beat-up, Battered and Bruised CFO
Biographical Background
Don Snede is an experienced business analyst and strategic planning consultant. His experiences have included executive responsibilities in the U.S. and Canada. He is also a felon.
A mere five years after he earned his MBA degree, Don Snede, at the age of 34, rose to become the Chief Financial Officer of Midwest Federal Savings and Loan, the second largest savings and loan in Minnesota with more than $3 billion in assets. Less than six years later, in 1990, he pled guilty to three federal offenses in connection with the failure and collapse of that institution. Based on his substantial, unprecedented two years of cooperation with the government, in 1992, the Court sentenced Snede to two months of halfway house confinement with work release privileges as part of two years of probation and ordered him to pay partial restitution.
Presentation by Don Snede (and Hank Shea)
Now, almost 18 years later, Snede makes unique joint appearances with Hank Shea, the former Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted him, to explore the circumstances of the crimes he committed, their severe consequences, how they might be avoided, and the lessons to be learned from them. Shea, who remains a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice, recently joined the University of St. Thomas School of Law as a Fellow in its Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions. He shares his almost two decades of experience as a federal prosecutor as he and Snede discuss the common themes between Midwest and the cases prosecuted by Shea.
Snede tells an unforgettable story of the collapse of Midwest Federal, which ultimately cost U.S. taxpayers more than $1.2 billion. He and Shea describe how the United States Attorney General came to Minneapolis to announce a 40-count indictment naming Snede and four other top Midwest executives, including Harold Greenwood, Jr., the chairman, president, and CEO of Midwest, and one of the most influential persons in Minnesota.
Snede, the only executive from Midwest to plead guilty, explains why he without hesitation or legal representation admitted his wrongdoing, cooperated with the federal investigation and prosecution, and testified for two weeks throughout the six month jury trial of his former colleagues. Shea describes the importance of Snede’s testimony against Greenwood and other executives and the role that it played in obtaining their convictions of more than 60 felonies.
Lessons to be Learned from Snede
Snede candidly reflects upon how and where he went wrong at Midwest Federal, while at the same time protecting his staff from any wrongdoing. Snede points to the culture of Midwest and its tolerance of conflicts of interest for both his and its ultimate failure. Shea highlights how the pattern of minor errors and transgressions that evolved into major crimes at Midwest has been repeated time and again through recent corporate scandals. Finally, Snede details the very painful lessons that he has learned from his involvement in criminal wrongdoing. For others to avoid his status as a convicted felon, Snede cautions against abusing positions of trust, while emphasizing the need for mentors, transparency, and the courage to say no or walk away from a job. Audiences will not easily forget what he and Shea present.
To schedule a presentation with Hank Shea and Don Snede, please contact: hjshea@stthomas.edu.
Don Snede and Hank Shea have spoken on business ethics at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University, the University of St. Thomas, the University of Minnesota, and the Business Law Institute/Minnesota CLE.
“It’s easy for business school students to judge harshly the reckless decisions that have landed firms like Enron a recurring spot on America’s front pages. But the road to wrongdoing is not so clearly marked, says Donald Snede, and students should beware the temptations that await them once they enter the pressure-filled world of earnings targets and shareholder value.
Mr. Snede should know. A business school graduate himself, he pleaded guilty to securities fraud. . . . On April 27th he shared his experiences with students at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, as part of a series of informal discussions, known as ‘fireside chats’, on the topic of ethics. Joining Mr. Snede was Hank Shea, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted him.”
The Economist, May 8, 2006
