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Wed, Jun 11, 2008 17:14 EDT
A CIO Commits Suicide
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Posted by: Meridith Levinson in News Topic: Personal ManagementBlog: Movers and Shakers
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The vice president of informational services and operational change management for the United Way of Greater Toronto took her life last month after she was confronted with evidence that linked her to embezzling at least $600,000 from a former employer, according to an article published yesterday in The Globe and Mail.
At the time of her death, Janet Donio was being investigated for engaging in potentially fraudulent activity when she was CIO of the Council on Ontario Universities, a lobbying group that employed her before she joined the United Way in February 2007. The Council's auditor, Deloitte & Touche, discovered accounting irregularities in March 2008, after a replacement for Donio came on board. The irregularities involved the payment of between $600,000 and $700,000 for services that were never produced and that were "allegedly being siphoned off by Ms. Donio," according to The Globe and Mail.
Donio, 56, was confronted with evidence from the investigation on May 5, when senior executives with the United Way placed her on paid leave. Donio was found dead in her Toronto home the next day.
The investigation also uncovered that Donio had falsified certain academic credentials—specifically, a bachelor's degree from Lakehead University in Ontario and a PhD in cognitive science from MIT.
Toronto police involved with the case closed it today, according to The Globe and Mail. The police never pressed charges against Donio because they were waiting for Deloitte & Touche to complete the audit on behalf of the Council on Ontario Universities. The Globe and Mail reports that the Council plans to send the completed audit to the police in a few days.
Donio is not the first CIO to be involved in white collar crime. Nor is she likely to be the last. Other CIOs who've been charged with fraud include HealthSouth's Kenneth Livesay and restaurant chain Buca's John Motschenbacher. Livesay was sentenced to six months of home detention, fined $10,000 and forced to give up $750,000 from his gains at HealthSouth for falsifying his company's SEC filings. Motschenbacher was sentenced to six months of home detention, fined $25,000 and forced to pay Buca $145,000 for soliciting and obtaining illegal payments from vendors.
I don't know what to make of this strange news. It's disappointing to read about yet another high-level executive defrauding a company, and it's sad that someone would rather die than live, even if one has to face the personally damaging consequences of her actions. What meaning or lesson should IT leaders draw from this story?
CIO, Council on Ontario Universities, embezzle, Fraud, Janet Donio, suicide, United Way
This is a very sad and unfortunate story, but what are you trying to demonstrate? Corruption has always existed at all levels and will continue to exist. It seems rooted in any human system.
I'm not trying to demonstrate anything. I honestly don't know what to demonstrate. I saw this story online, and since it described a CIO caught in the grips of a scandal and the tragic consequences, I thought it was important to share with the CIO.com audience. It's a very complicated story. I'm asking readers to respond to it. How does it make you feel? What questions do you have?
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I think this is a relevant topic for this group; the role of the CIO has changed and the level of responsibility has changed which provides CIOs with increased access to company finances. Reporting on this situation reminds all of us that the shame and despair created by making bad decisions is life altering.
I hope her colleagues and family will remember the positive contributions she made in her life.
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No, I do not want to see this sort of content on the site as it seems too personal. Maybe ommitting the name or leading into the piece with how far people will go to cover their mistakes and then follow up with the actual person. I am relatively a new reader and found this article and title out of place with the other type of content.
Duane,
I suspect that you and readers like you don't want to see this information for two reasons: 1) because you don't want bad news and 2) because you don't want to be reminded of how profoundly you can screw up as an IT leader. Believe me, I can relate to that: I know I cringe when I read stories about journalists whose careers have been ruined because they plagiarized other sources or fabricated stories, but I realize the importance of those stories as reminders to be vigilant about how I do my job.
For that very reason--the need to be reminded--I now realize how important it was for me to bring this story about this CIO to your attention. I knew the story was important when I first read it, but at the time I couldn't articulate why. Now I can. Because, as Sally so succinctly put it, CIOs are more deeply tied into every aspect of business operations, they have more exposure to and control over financial systems, and as such they're at greater risk of perpetrating fraud, whether it's their idea or they're forced into it by another C-level colleague.
I should mention that I vacillated about bringing this story to CIO.com. I knew there would be readers who wouldn't like it, and I also didn't want my writing about it to come off as exploitation. I ultimately decided to write about the scandal and tragedy because, like I said, I knew it was important.
If CIOs want more responsibility and respect as corporate leaders, they need to stop whistling past the graveyard when it comes to the gritty reality of the deep stuff they can get themselves into.
I'll step off my soapbox now...
Meridith
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