TLU alum Jennifer Biry is having a full-circle moment.
Soon after crossing the stage at TLU, having earned her degree in business administration, she went to work for telecommunications giant AT&T. She worked there for more than two decades, climbing ranks before eventually moving on to other opportunities at Warner Media and then McAfee.
But this year, she’s returned to her old stomping grounds at AT&T—this time around as Deputy CFO. And come January, she’ll transition into the role of Senior Executive Vice President and CFO. “The company helped shape my career, and I’m excited to bring back the cross-industry perspective and expertise I’ve learned along the way to help lead the next chapter,” Biry says. “When I joined the company out of college, I never imagined I would one day return to AT&T as its future CFO.”
But it makes sense, when you think about the broad range of knowledge Biry has collected over the course of her career thus far. She knows AT&T because she worked her way through it. “Over the years, I was fortunate to take on roles across finance, strategy, operations, and media, and each one gave me a deeper understanding of how the business operates—and more importantly, how decisions create long-term value for customers, employees, and shareholders.”
From where she’s standing now, she can look over her career and clearly see the first big break. “Early in my career at AT&T, I was asked to support the BellSouth and Cingular merger,” she recalls.
Some readers will remember Cingular, an American mobile phone company. It was owned by AT&T and BellSouth, but after the two companies became one, it was fully owned by AT&T. And Biry was right in the middle of that acquisition.
“Growth comes from saying yes to the uncomfortable. Some of the best opportunities are the ones that feel a little bigger than you’re ready for.”
“I was one of the younger members of the team, and it was a tremendous opportunity that gave me exposure to a high-stakes transaction, insight into different parts of the business, and the ability to interact with leaders I wouldn’t have otherwise worked with so early in my career,” she says. “Looking back, that experience was pivotal. It broadened my perspective and accelerated my development as a leader. It also reinforced what I learned at TLU: Growth comes from saying yes to the uncomfortable. Some of the best opportunities are the ones that feel a little bigger than you’re ready for.”
Sound advice for up-and-coming Bulldogs—and pretty much everyone, no matter what phase of their careers they are in. But Biry is a strong believer in supporting and encouraging the next generation of leaders. To that end, she has a few words of advice for current students: “Take full advantage of the opportunities you have in front of you today. My career has been built on a strong foundation that started with the quality of education I received at TLU,” she says. “And I believe that a true difference maker is TLU’s focus on giving its students access to professors who bring real-world business experience into the classroom. It’s an incredible advantage to learn from people who have navigated the challenges and opportunities you are studying, and who can connect lessons with practical business situations.”
Biry says TLU’s smaller-sized classes are a great asset, because they allow professors to really lean in and influence the careers of their students. “In fact, it was one of my professors, Ron Huntsman, who encouraged me to pursue accounting,” she adds. “He thought that my passion for business combined with a solid understanding of the financial statements would be a unique and valuable combination. That advice ended up putting me on a path that shaped the rest of my career and ultimately led me to where I am today.”
She’s still connected to her alma mater—for example, she’s served on the university’s Executive Advisory Council for the Business Department, now called the Business Advisory Council. She’s also the recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award.
And she still carries with her the most important lessons she learned back in her undergrad days. Among those lessons: Growth happens when you’re willing to step outside of your comfort zone. “My time at TLU gave me a strong business foundation, but more importantly, it taught me how to stay curious, ask questions, and keep learning,” she says. “When I started my career, I was solely focused on ‘climbing the corporate ladder,’ but I soon learned to think of my trajectory as a lattice rather than a ladder. The roles that helped me grow the most were often the ones that stretched me in new directions—and many weren’t promotions. That mindset of embracing new experiences and continuous learning is something I still rely on every day.”
Alongside those lessons, there are fond memories of her undergrad years—not necessarily of a specific event, but more about the sense of community that permeates the TLU campus. “TLU is a place where people genuinely invest in one another’s success,” she says. “The relationships I built with classmates, professors, and mentors had a lasting impact on me and helped shape the person and leader I’ve become. It’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed connected to the university over the years and why I’m so passionate about giving back to current students.”
