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Tom Byrd (ACCT ’80) was the first member of his family to get a college degree, and he has made the most of it.
Byrd, of Midlothian, Va., credits Virginia Tech with opening the door to his career and has been giving back to the university regularly since he graduated. In 2005, he endowed a scholarship to help others benefit from higher education. More recently, along with his wife, he endowed the Tom and Daisy Byrd Senior Faculty Fellowship in Excellence and the Dr. Robert M. Brown Endowment for Excellence in Accounting.
“There were many professors at Tech who helped me along the way, including [current accounting and information systems department head] Dr. Robert Brown,” Byrd said. “I know that, with limited state funding, Tech’s ability to hire and retain top-quality professors is dependent on private support.”
During his senior year, Byrd worked closely with Brown as president of the accounting honorary society Beta Alpha Psi. Byrd says the teamwork and leadership skills he started to develop in school formed a strong foundation for his successful professional career. He began as a staff accountant with KPMG and eventually became president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia.
Byrd retired from Anthem in 2008 but continues to put his leadership skills to work. This year he founded Take Care Group LLC, a leadership-advisory firm. He is also president of the board of directors for CrossOver Ministries, which provides free healthcare to the low-income uninsured in greater Richmond.
Byrd serves on many other boards, including Pamplin’s accounting advisory board and the committees for both the college and the Richmond region within the Campaign for Virginia Tech: Invent the Future. In addition to supporting Virginia Tech, he demonstrates his passion for education by serving as a mentor in local schools, serving on the Richmond Regional Early Childhood Leadership Council, and supporting the Room to Reach and Reach Out and Read organizations.
“I have been blessed in so many ways and wish for others to have the same benefit of a strong education,” Byrd says. “Together, we can make a difference.”
