CFP Board Appoints Seasoned Association Leader K. Dane Snowden as Chief Operating Officer

CFP Board of Standards (CFP Board) announced today that it has named K. Dane Snowden as Chief Operating Officer, following a national search.

 

“Dane’s extensive experience in organizational strategy and operational execution across associations and in the regulatory and legislative arena, coupled with his previous service on the Board of Directors of CFP Board, makes him an ideal fit for this role,” said CFP Board CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE. “His ability to drive strategy, lead teams and build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders will be significant assets in our work to credential and uphold standards for more than 97,000 CFP® professionals and advance the financial planning profession for the benefit of the public.”

Snowden succeeds Chief Operating Officer Elizabeth Stewart, Esq., who is retiring from CFP Board in January 2024.

Based in CFP Board’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, Snowden will lead the organization’s core business operations, including certification, marketing, communications, public relations, public awareness, project management and human resources. He will work closely with CEO Kevin R. Keller, CAE, and the executive leadership team to craft and execute strategy aligned with Board-approved strategic priorities and to align resources to support business objectives and operational goals.

“I look forward to working with Kevin and the dynamic team at CFP Board,” said Snowden. “The mission of this organization and its proven ability to drive excellence, expertise and ethics in a profession that touches so many lives, personally and professionally, is motivating and inspiring. I am excited to build on and expand CFP Board’s strong legacy by fulfilling its multi-year strategic priorities.”

Over the course of his career, Snowden has served in senior leadership roles with trade associations, nonprofits and in government. He spent 10 years as Chief Operating Officer of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), executing organizational strategy and leading management and business operations. From 2021 to 2022, Snowden was President and CEO of the Internet Association, which disbanded at the end of 2021.

From 2005 to 2011, he was Vice President, External and State Affairs for CTIA — The Wireless Association. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Snowden as Chief of the Consumer & Affairs Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission, where he led a restructuring of the bureau and established intelligent market- and consumer-focused public policies, including the National “Do-Not-Call” registry.

Snowden is currently a Senior Advisor with Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, where he provides strategic advice to clients on issues involving matters in front of the president’s administration, federal regulatory agencies, state governments and on Capitol Hill. He will join CFP Board by mid-November.

Snowden served as a public member on the Board of Directors of CFP Board from 2017 to 2020. His volunteer leadership experience also includes board service with the National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications, The Cable Center, The William & Mary Business School Foundation and Kingsbury Day School, where he was chair of the Finance Committee. From 2011 to 2020, Snowden was Board Chair of SMYAL, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that provides transitional housing, leadership development and mental health services to LGBTQ youth. He was also an advisory board member for the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Mobile Wireless Technology for Persons with Disabilities from 2001 to 2011.

Snowden has a bachelor’s degree in political science from The College of William and Mary.

Executive recruitment firm Vetted Solutions assisted in the search.