Tom Ballard
Director, Partnerships Directorate
Thomas B. (Tom) Ballard was appointed the inaugural Director of Partnerships for UT-Battelle, the managing contractor for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, on January 1, 2008. The new organization, previously named Technology Transfer and Economic Development, reflects the commitment that UT-Battelle has to building sustainable relationships that connect the world to the technology rich assets of ORNL. The Partnerships team manages ORNL’s intellectual property, negotiates and executes licenses for use of that intellectual property, links local economic development organizations and their businesses to the lab’s resources, executes research and usage agreements with companies needing access to ORNL’s researchers and tools, and promotes stronger alliances between universities and the lab.
Ballard joined UT-Battelle in July 2004 after retiring from The University of Tennessee as Vice President for Public and Governmental Relations following nearly 35 years representing the institution with a variety of stakeholders. He was named Acting Director of Technology Transfer and Economic Development in August 2007 and assumed his current position five months later.
Ballard serves on the board of directors of a number of local and regional not-for-profit organizations including the East Tennessee Economic Council (Past Chair), Knoxville Chamber Partnership, Life Science Tennessee, National Transportation Research Center Inc., Oak Ridge Economic Partnership (Past Chair), Technology 2020, Tennessee Technology Development Corporation (Vice Chair), Tennessee Valley Corridor, Inc. (Past Chair), Tennessee Valley Corridor Foundation (Chair) and UT Research Foundation. He also serves on the Advisory Board for The University of Tennessee’s Center for Industrial Services and is a member of UT’s Development Council, Pellissippi State Community College’s Foundation and the Southern Technology Council.