W. Steve Albrecht, MBA, PhD, CPA, CFE, CIA
Larry H. Miller Board of Directors
W. Steve Albrecht is the Gunnell Endowed Professor in the Marriott School of
Management and a Wheatley Fellow at Brigham Young University. Dr. Albrecht,
a certified public accountant (CPA), certified internal auditor (CIA), and certified
fraud examiner (CFE), came to BYU in 1977 after teaching at Stanford and at
the University of Illinois. Earlier, he worked as a staff accountant for Deloitte.
Dr. Albrecht received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young
University and his MBA and PhD degrees from the University of Wisconsin. While
a professor, Dr. Albrecht has been extremely involved in the business world.
Following are the highlights of his academic and professional career.
Dr. Albrecht has had many leadership positions in academia, including the
associate dean of the Marriott School, a position he held for 10 years, director of
the School of Accountancy at BYU, and president of the American Accounting
Association, the organization of accounting professors in the U.S.
Dr. Albrecht has served on many other committees and in leadership positions in academic and professional
organizations, doing extensive research on business fraud and ethics. He is the author or co-author of over 25 books and
monographs, several of which are on fraud, integrity and financial accounting.
Dr. Albrecht has received numerous awards and honors, including BYU’s highest faculty honor, the Karl G. Maeser
Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award, for superior scholarship and teaching. He has also received the BYU School
of Management’s Outstanding Faculty Award and the BYU Maeser Research Award. He also received awards for
outstanding teaching at Stanford University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Wisconsin. In August 2015,
he received the prestigious Lifetime Service Award from the American Accounting Association. He was recognized, as
part of Utah’s Centennial Celebration, as one of 131 Utahns who have made outstanding contributions or brought unusual
recognition to the state. In 1998, he received the Cressey Award from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the
highest award given for a lifetime of achievement in fraud detection and deterrence. In 2002, in honor of his contribution
in fighting fraud, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners named one of its headquarter buildings in Austin, Texas
after Dr. Albrecht.
Dr. Albrecht has served on the boards of directors of four public companies (SkyWest Airlines, Cypress SemiConductor,
RedHat, Inc., and SunPower Corporation) and four private companies (ICON Health & Fitness, Bonneville International,
Sallie Mae Bank and Deseret Mutual Benefit Association). In 2009, he resigned from all of these boards to accept a 3-year
volunteer position as president of the Japan Tokyo Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since
returning from Japan, he has rejoined three of the public company boards –Red Hat, Inc., Cypress SemiConductor and
SkyWest Airlines. Dr. Albrecht teaches the MBA corporate governance class at BYU.
Dr. Albrecht is married to the former LeAnn Christiansen of Waukesha, Wisconsin, and they have six children and 26
grandchildren. Dr. Albrecht has held numerous leadership and volunteer positions in his church and the community. He
has coached over 25 little league baseball, basketball, and soccer teams, including one baseball team that placed third in
the United States. The Albrechts make their home in Provo, Utah.
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