At the end of the year, Tom Ballard, PYA’s Chief Alliance Officer and long-time regional economic development and entrepreneurial icon, will retire from his role at the firm.
PYA salutes Ballard, who has built connections between PYA and business and economic leaders across the region for 14 years and helped create and enrich opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurialism.
With gratitude and honor, PYA offers the following salute to Tom Ballard:
Tom Ballard: Connector of Dots
For more than 50 years, Thomas B. Ballard has connected the dots for us all. We often don’t realize the influence Tom has had on the business and economic direction of our community, region, and state, because he is a behind-the-scenes, humble, and quiet influencer. But his thumbprint on the growth, success, and aspirations of our region will long endure after his retirement from PYA.
The PYA leaving will be Tom’s third retirement. In jest, he has been described as a failure at retirement. That—and by his own words, reigning in his drive to work long hours—are the only two “failures” one could assign to him.
Tom joined PYA in 2012 after two successful and visionary leadership roles at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee System. As PYA’s Chief Alliance Officer, Tom builds bridges between what’s established and what’s possible. He connects PYA with opportunities and other influencers, and through Teknovation.biz, he champions technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
One needs only to review some of the titles he has had during his three dynamic careers to understand what Tom is really good at: Chief Alliance Officer, Director of Partnerships, Vice President of Public and Governmental Relations, Director of the Institute of Public Service, Director of Alumni Programs. For Tom Ballard, it’s all about connecting, collaborating, building relationships, envisioning a better future.
During his careers, Tom led initiatives to build multi-organizational alliances focusing on statewide telecommunications networking, automotive research, and land-use planning. At UT, he devoted decades to facilitating initiatives including the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991, the Tennessee Growth Policy Act of 1998, statewide distance learning networks, and coordination of the planning committee for the first-ever Governor’s Economic Summit in 1997. He led ORNL’s technology transfer and industry and economic development partnering organization. At PYA, he has made business connections and advanced the firm’s entrepreneurial outreach.
In all endeavors, the common thread is relationship-building, connecting, vision, and an optimistic can-do spirit.
Retirement won’t stop Tom’s support of innovation, entrepreneurialism, and economic development. He plans to continue to serve on the board of directors and executive committee of the East Tennessee Economic Council, the board of directors of Launch Tennessee, and the board of directors, executive committee, and as chair of the Economic and Entrepreneurial Development Committee of Life Science Tennessee. A lifelong East Tennessean and Vol for Life, he is a member of the University of Tennessee President’s Council.
In his own words in VentureTennessee, Tom’s unending energy, optimism, and humility shine: “My goal is to continue as long as I can to give back to others in ways that I’ve had others give back to me and help me along the way.”
PYA is honored to have had 14 years of Tom’s 56 in service to enriching the community, region, state, and nation. Although he normally gives others the spotlight, on October 21, 2025, we will shine a bright light of gratitude on Tom Ballard during his retirement reception, as we bid a fond farewell to this consummate bridge builder, visionary, hopeless optimist, intellectual humorist, and authentic realist.
Thank you, Tom.
Also, read a tribute to Tom Ballard from Marty Brown, PYA President and CEO, published in Teknovation, a service powered by PYA for those interested in advancing the Southeast’s economy through technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
