NC State Professor Tom Byrnes Blends Corporate Experience with Academic Passion

Tom Byrnes is a professor of practice in marketing at NC State Poole College of Management, with a storied career spanning over three decades. Before joining academia, he spent 35 years working at IBM, where he held various roles, including branding and sales training.

Byrnes' journey to teaching began when he was transferred to Research Triangle Park in 1995. He eventually earned his doctorate in business administration from Nova Southeastern University and started teaching part-time at Wake Tech while working on his degree.

He joined NC State full-time in 2012 and has since become a driving force behind the university's sales programs, including the Sales Excellence Certificate and the Poole Student Advisory Board Outstanding Faculty Award. Byrnes' commitment to student engagement is evident in his approach: he strives to get on a first-name basis with his students, even in larger classes.