Debbra Schoneman's career is all about learning lessons.
As president of Piper Sandler, she experienced a significant leadership transition when Frank Fairman stepped down as head of public finance in August 2023 after a 40-year career with the investment bank. His departure led to several epiphanies while Schoneman interviewed internal and external candidates for his position.
First, cultivating and mentoring internal succession candidates takes years, she said. Next, interviewing candidates can provide an unexpected opportunity to learn about a firm's strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of its employees.
The most important takeaway, Schoneman said, is the urgency with which a senior leader should be replaced.
"New leaders bring renewed energy and new ideas to their roles, which can drive increased performance for the business," said Schoneman, who named Dustin Avey and Jeremy Gerber as co-heads of public finance a month after Fairman's departure.
From her 34 years in banking, including seven in her current role, Schoneman has learned that the ability to take responsibility is the most important quality in a leader. Doing so involves solving problems even if they're outside a leader's scope of work, she said.
"As I look back at my career, it was the times when I chose to hold myself accountable for things that weren't even my responsibility that made the biggest difference and were the most impactful," she said. "This was noticed by leaders across the organization, which led to an expansion of my responsibilities over time."
Schoneman's role has indeed grown since she joined Piper Sandler as a summer intern in 1989. She now oversees the international bank, which has annual net revenue of $1.5 billion, along with Piper Sandler's public finance, fixed income and equities businesses, as well as its technology, operations and marketing teams.
Despite a packed work schedule, Schoneman has several external leadership roles. She serves on the boards of Allina Health, a health care nonprofit in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, and Scholars of Finance, a finance leadership organization. She is a director emeritus of BestPrep, a nonprofit that offers business, career and financial literacy services.
Schoneman is also on the board of trustees at the University of St. Thomas and is involved in community programs in Minneapolis, where Piper Sandler is based.
When asked how she makes time for it all, Schoneman said she draws from other life lessons — including that it's easier to prioritize activities that you're passionate about.
"There are so many things that I have learned throughout my career that I wish I knew when I was younger, and I love to share those lessons with others," she said.
Schoneman's schedule opened up more when her two daughters became young adults.
"I sometimes think people put too much stress on themselves by trying to separate their 'work' from their 'life' through this notion of 'work/life balance,'" she explained. "I believe that all of the roles I play are part of my 'life' and that I have 24 hours every day to determine which roles I will lean into and prioritize that day."
