Brandy Salmon

Responsibilities

As vice president for innovation and partnerships, Salmon leads a cross-functional team focused on building strategic partnerships with industry and foundation, engaging alumni in industry, enabling big ideas and transformational partnerships envisioned through the Creative Studio, commercializing technologies, starting new ventures, and driving economic growth. For the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Salmon serves as a strategic advisor to ensure seamless connections between Virginia Tech and one-of-a-kind place-based assets.

Background

Prior to joining the Virginia Tech community in 2017, Salmon served as director for RTI’s Innovation Advisors, where she consulted for federal, corporate, and foundation clients to implement best practices in innovation, identify and evaluate new technologies and products, and develop commercialization strategies and partnerships. For the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Salmon led a global technology accelerator to deliver new technologies and products to places in the world where novel approaches are needed most, including Asia and Africa.

Education

Salmon earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Virginia, a Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from Cornell University, and an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.