Biography
Steve Klemash
Americas Leader
Center for Board Matters
EY
Through several EY leadership positions during his 35-year career, Steve has helped to
transform and grow the EY organization into a $37 billion professional services firm
that has been recognized on the Fortune 1 Best Companies to Work For® list 21
years in a row. Steve is a strategic thinker and transformative leader with diverse
skills. He is known for his ability to embrace change and innovate to achieve desired
outcomes. He has been recognized by the National Association of Corporate Directors
as one of the top 1 most influential leaders in boardrooms and corporate
governance for 218, 219 and 22.
Effective March 1, 221, Steve joined the board of directors of Owens and Minor, Inc.,
a Fortune 5 company and leading global healthcare solutions company offering
integrated technologies, products and services. He serves on the audit and
compensation committees of the board.
Since 216, Steve has led the transformation of the EY Americas Center for Board
Matters (CBM) through a market-oriented digital approach. This transformation has
driven engagement, with more than 8,5 subscribers, an average of 2,3 webcast
viewers and a 63% share of media voice compared to Big Four competitors.
Under Steve’s leadership, the CBM annually produces thought leadership and webcasts
on board, committee and director governance priorities, such as strategy and
innovation; redefining and communicating long-term value; risk management; culture
and talent; cybersecurity and privacy; capital allocation; environmental, social and
governance criteria; and overall board and committee leading practices. The CBM uses
this material to assist boards, committees and directors through bespoke insight and
education sessions for specific companies, exceeding 2 sessions each year. Steve
leads many of the insight and education sessions for companies and frequently speaks
at corporate governance events. The CBM also convenes lead directors, audit
committee chairs and corporate secretaries annually in structured networks to discuss
leading practices, along with holding director summits on a variety of strategic
governance topics.
Steve began his career in Assurance performing financial statement audits on public
and private companies. Since his admission to the partnership in 1997, he has rotated
certain leadership positions every three to five years to address EY strategic
imperatives:
1997–22: North Central Region Strategic Growth Markets Leader – led the
Region’s go-to- market initiatives with high-growth private equity and venturebacked,
capital-markets-bound companies.
22–27: Pittsburgh Office Managing Partner – managed all aspects of the office
with a focus on market growth and talent initiatives, along with the integration of the
Arthur Andersen practice.
27–29: North Central Region Managing Partner of Assurance and Advisory
Business Services – managed all aspects of the Assurance and Advisory Business
Services practice, the largest business unit within the Region, with a strategic focus on
the market opportunities and challenges presented by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
29–211: East Central Region Managing Partner of Advisory – EY reorganized and
created this position in their Regions to lead their re-entry back into the consulting
market. Managed all aspects of the practice with a differential focus on new
consulting solutions and the significant recruitment of external talent.
211–216: East Central and Central Managing Partner of Accounts – EY reorganized
and created this position in their Regions to lead their growth transformation
initiatives coming out of the financial crisis. This position was responsible for all
aspects of the go-to-market initiatives of the Region, including oversight of global and
core accounts. Until 216, when he assumed the CBM leadership position, the Region
Steve led was the top performing Region globally (of 28 Regions), with $2.4 billion of
revenue and 12% annual growth.
The managing partner roles had responsibility for 9–19 geographic offices depending
on the role and were responsible for growing revenues globally and managing bottomline
profitability for revenues ranging between $25 million to $2.4 billion. This also
included managing talent and human capital initiatives for employees, ranging from
several hundred to more than 8,. The roles required deep domain knowledge in
each EY principal sector: consumer products and retail; financial services and
insurance; health and life sciences; power and utilities; technology; advanced
manufacturing and mobility; real estate, hospitality and construction; and government
and public sector.Steve has been on the board of trustees since 24 at Robert Morris University, where he has held the positions of vice chair and chair of the nominating and governance committee. He recently joined the board of governors of Allegheny Country Club,
where he is treasurer. He has held numerous other board positions in the Pittsburgh
market during his EY career.
Steve has a BSBA from Robert Morris University and an MBA from the University of
Pittsburgh. He is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants. Steve is qualified to serve as a financial expert under
SEC, NYSE, and NASDAQ rules. He also has a top-secret security clearance with the US
government.
Steve and his wife Linda have two sons, Stephen and Matthew, and reside in
Sewickley, Pennsylvania.