Shaun Hayes

Shaun Hayes was the cofounder and former CEO of Allegiant Bancorp, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Among many other enterprises, he owned a company that he sold at age 44 for half a billion dollars. Five years after selling his company, Shaun committed a felony. He was incarcerated for his crime eight years later. He now shares what he learned from his rise and his fall—hard-won lessons that can benefit individuals, groups, and businesses.

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Shaun Hayes's Guest Appearances

Lessons from a Multimillionaire Turned Convict on Staying the Course Through Life’s Ethical Gray Areas, With Shaun Hayes

Filed in Podcasts, Previous Episodes on March 14, 2023

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At 29, banker Shaun Hayes was on his way to his goal of becoming a millionaire.

Guided by hustle and ingenuity, he purchased his first bank and was CEO of one of the largest publicly held bank holding companies in Missouri. For years, he was lauded as one of the Midwest’s top entrepreneurs and riding high as a business leader and family man.

He took the risks and made the sharp decisions others wouldn’t—

Until those decisions led him to his downfall … and prison.

Learn the true story of entrepreneur and multimillionaire Shaun Hayes’s rise to the highest levels of corporate banking, his subsequent fall that led to 37 months in federal prison, and the ultimate costs: his family, friends, freedom, and fortune. A cautionary tale of great success and failure, this page-turning business memoir is your guide to staying on course through life’s ethical gray areas.

Tune in and hear Shaun’s answers to questions such as:

  • Your book is titled “The Gray Choice.” What does it mean, for you, to operate in the gray?
  • How is banking different now than it was back then?
  • What lessons did you learn about ethics, and doing things the right way, from your banking days?
  • You’ve said before you didn’t consider yourself an entrepreneur, even though you were named one of the area’s top entrepreneurs. Why not?
  • Where did things go wrong?
  • Why did you do what you did?
  • How easy is it to slip up and find yourself making mistakes?
  • What, if anything, can you do to make things right today?
  • How demoralizing was it for you, after you’d had so much success, to endure this downward spiral and wind up in prison?
  • How did your life and career prepare you for prison? And how did it not?
  • How should we view the incarcerated population differently? How are things different now that you’re a convicted felon?
  • Would you have done anything differently, looking back now?
  • And much, much more!

Invitation From Guest:

Download the 5 Do’s & 3 Don’ts to set your business up for success. https://shaunhayes.com/