Shawn Smith

Shawn Smith currently leads the EY Americas financial services industry group (the FSO), encompassing more than 14,000 professionals across 90 offices, accounting for over $7 billion in revenue.
Prior to this role, Shawn served as EY Americas FSO tax managing partner where he oversaw a practice of more than 2,500 tax professionals across banking and capital markets, insurance, and wealth and asset management. Under his leadership, the practice created new revenue streams in managed services and transformative service delivery approaches. Notably, Shawn drove the development of the “Future of Work,” a revolutionary model that combines our onshore and offshore workforces with technology to best deploy our skilled talent, drive sales and margin improvement, and differentiate recruitment and retention.
Over his 30-year career, Shawn has served in a variety of leadership positions throughout the organization globally and within the FSO. In addition to his roles leading the tax practice, he also served as the FSO southeast market segment leader, where he oversaw all service lines and leveraged the full power of the firm to gain market share. Shawn has worked across several of the US firm’s largest accounts, serving as a strategic advisor to some of our most important clients. He also served on a global leadership team building and scaling technology solutions that are still used within our business today.
Shawn is an inclusive leader who champions mentorship, sponsorship, and collaborative and diverse teaming. He believes in empowering the next generation and providing a strong, trusted foundation that enables leaders to think outside the box and create value for the firm, our clients and our people.
Shawn has a BS in corporate finance and Master of Accounting in taxation from Clemson University. He is a licensed CPA in South Carolina and lives in Charleston, SC. Along with spending time with his wife and four children, Shawn enjoys traveling and offshore fishing.