From Accounting Student to MetLife CFO

William C. O’Donnell ’89CBA, ’97MBA attended St. John’s University as both an undergraduate and graduate student, majoring first in accounting and then finance. “Accountants report on history, while finance professionals use history to predict the future,” he explained. “It’s much more interesting to focus on the future.”

Until college, Mr. O’Donnell attended the same schools as his older cousins. When the opportunity arose, he chose St. John’s instead of following their lead—a decision he has never regretted. 

“I chose to go in a different direction,” he recalled. Mr. O’Donnell’s three children attended St. John’s as undergraduate or graduate students.

He currently serves as Executive Vice President and US Chief Financial Officer at MetLife. Mr. O’Donnell has spent his entire career with the company, securing his initial position as a field auditor through St. John’s University Career Services. 

MetLife paid for his graduate studies, and he earned his M.B.A. in four years while working full time. He believes gaining work experience before graduate school led him to greater academic and professional success. 

“I was more focused,” Mr. O’Donnell recalled. “Graduate school taught me discipline and the value of hard work.”

He noted that he knew several St. John’s alumni who returned to their alma mater to share their wealth of knowledge. “The practical application of real-life experience to the examples they presented was helpful.”

One of Mr. O’Donnell’s favorite professors was Eugene Sullivan ’42C, ’73HON, the first layperson to serve as Chair of the Board of Trustees of St. John’s University. A successful executive, Mr. Sullivan had a long career with Borden Inc. He was a generous benefactor, and Sullivan Hall, home of The School of Education on the Queens, NY, campus, is named after him.

Mr. O’Donnell always references Mr. Sullivan when he mentors new employees. “He showed pride in the school he graduated from and showed students they could become anything they wanted,” he stressed. Mr. O’Donnell recalled that a senior executive he knew at MetLife also attended St. John’s, which gave him a roadmap for what was possible. 

He encourages his mentees to be inquisitive, and advises, “Do not accept an answer. There is a ‘why’ to everything.” 

As Mr. O’Donnell progressed through the ranks at MetLife, he embraced unconventional opportunities, including a pivotal role in international finance, which he believes was instrumental in his enduring success with the company. 

“The one thing you do not leave behind is your talent. You take it with you,” he said. “Do not ever think you are finished; I have not yet finished. You never finish. This company existed long before I arrived, and it will continue to exist after I leave. Nothing is ever done. You must steward it along while you are there.”