John William Snow (born August 2, 1939) is an American economist, attorney, and businessman who is the former CEO of CSX Corporation and served as the 73rd United States secretary of the treasury under U.S. President George W. Bush.

"[4] Snow announced on June 29, 2006, that he had completed his last day on the job; Robert M. Kimmitt served as acting secretary until Paulson was sworn in.

In 1975 Snow left GWU Law School and took up the full-time position of deputy undersecretary in the Department of Transportation.

Snow's years with the Department of Transportation proved useful to him, as in 1977, he became the Vice President in charge of Governmental Affairs for Chessie System, a holding company that owned three American railroads: the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, a.k.a.

Miles of mainline were subjected to slow orders as a result, increasing the need for more locomotives and rail cars, and thus costing the company more money.

Following his election victory, President-Elect Reagan named Snow as Vice Chairman of his Transportation Transition Team.

Snow would go on to serve on the White House Conference for a Drug-Free America; the Services Policy Advisory Committee of the U.S. Trade Representative; as Co-Chair of the National Commission on Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement; the National Commission on Intermodal Transportation; the National Commission on Economic Growth and Tax Reform; as a Trustee of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; and as a Member of the Richmond City School Board.

He also served as co-chairman of the National Commission on Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement in 1992 that made recommendations following the savings and loan crisis.

Snow has served as a director for NationsBank Corp.; Textron Inc.; USX Corporation; the U.S.-Japan Business Council; Verizon Communications; the Association of American Railroads.

Snow was also the founding Chairman of the Center for Energy and Economic Development (CEED), a coal and rail industry-funded advocacy organization.

On August 15, 2007, Snow was appointed the inaugural Newman Visiting Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

Snow was nominated as secretary of the Treasury by President George W. Bush on January 13, 2003, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

On this same day, it was announced that President George W. Bush had nominated Henry Paulson, CEO of Goldman Sachs, to replace Snow.

[13] Bush stated publicly that he wanted a "new face" to head the Treasury Dept., even though the stock market grew 40% during Snow's tenure as secretary.

In April 2016, he was one of eight former Treasury secretaries who called on the United Kingdom to remain a member of the European Union ahead of the June 2016 Referendum.

He has also received the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary's Outstanding Achievement Award and has been named a Distinguished Fellow by the Yale School of Management.