On behalf of Clarkson University and its greater community, we want to thank Thomas L. Kassouf ‘74, Chair of the Clarkson University Board of Trustees, for his exceptional leadership and dedication as a Trustee since 2014 and as Chair since 2019. Vice Chair Nancy D. Reyda ‘81 was elected Chair-Elect at the October 2023 Board of Trustees Meeting and now will become the 24th Chair of the Clarkson Board of Trustees since the University’s founding in 1896.
Chair Kassouf’s commitment to our University as an esteemed alumnus, a visionary leader, and a steward of exemplary governance has been invaluable. He leaves a legacy of integrity, passion, and unwavering commitment to our institution’s mission and its ongoing legacy of graduates leading in industry. Tom has elected to step down from his position on the Board at this time for personal reasons. We are deeply grateful for his contributions and wish him and his family all the best in the future.
With the Class of 1974 returning to campus this weekend, Tom will be celebrating his induction into the Golden Years Club fifty years after graduating from the Clarkson College of Technology (name changed to Clarkson University in 1984). Tom will be recognized as an active alumni leader who has been a part of vibrant corporate partnerships that have advanced the SPEED Program and other team learning experiences for students, as an advisor to the department of Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering, as a member on the Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering Leadership Council for many years, and for his service to the Board of Trustees over the last ten years. In July 2019, the Alumni Association presented him with its prestigious Golden Knight Award, which recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves through service to Clarkson and for outstanding career achievements that bring distinction to themselves and to Clarkson.
Outgoing Chair Kassouf retired in 2019 as Senior Vice President of Snap-on Inc. and President of Snap-on Tools Group, a leading global innovator, manufacturer, and marketer of tools, equipment, diagnostics, repair information and systems solutions for professional users performing critical tasks. He was the eighth alumnus to lead the Board. He received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Clarkson in 1974, and was commissioned that year as a 2LT from Clarkson’s Army ROTC program. Prior to Snap-on Tools, he held other senior roles at Snap-on Incorporated; Wabash National Corporation; Kohler Company; Pratt & Whitney; and Carrier Corporation. Previously from Syracuse, N.Y., he resides in Port Washington, Wisconsin, and summers in Wellesley Island, New York with his wife, Lynn “Soko” Kassouf ’76. Tom and Lynn have four adult children and one grandson.
Incoming Board Chair Reyda will also be at Alumni Reunion and commencing her new duties as Chair. Nancy was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2011 and served through 2021, later returning to the Board after completing a one-year hiatus in 2022. Nancy has held numerous leadership roles on the Board’s committees during that time and most recently as the Vice Chair of the Board. Nancy was also recognized by the Alumni Association with the Golden Knight Award for Alumni Service to the University in 2016.
Incoming Chair Reyda also has a distinguished leadership career in industry. She retired in August 2022 as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Global Operations and Technology for Bank of New York Mellon where she was responsible for all business and operating aspects of the global operations and technology organization. Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Nancy was the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Head of Transformation and Risk & Control for Bank of America’s Global Banking and Markets Technology. Before joining Bank of America, Nancy held similar roles as Managing Director responsible for technology strategy and change for businesses at Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. Nancy originally came to the financial services sector in 2007 as Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Technology at Lehman Brothers where she led the transition of Lehman’s technology assets to Barclays Capital.
Incoming Chair Reyda spent her earlier career at Chevron, where she served for over 20 years managing various downstream businesses and functions. She also led strategic enterprise initiatives, including Chevron’s start-up company RMX and aspects of the ChevronTexaco downstream merger. Reyda left Chevron in 2004 to join the turnaround team at Gap Inc. and spent three years in various retail management positions there, before joining Lehman Brothers.
Nancy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University in 1981 and was President of Phalanx, Clarkson’s highest honorary society; Tau Beta Phi Engineering Honor Society; and Zeta Gamma Sigma Sorority. An Irondequoit, NY native, Nancy and her husband, Steve, also from the Clarkson Class of 1981, have two adult sons. They reside near both sons’ families in Denver, Colorado and Alamo, California and are actively involved with their 4 grandchildren as well as running a cooperative winery in northern California.
