Profile in Philanthropy: D. Gibson Hammond ‘77

“Why wouldn’t I give back to Isenberg? It’s a very special place that changes lives,” remarks Isenberg accounting graduate and retired Deloitte partner Gib Hammond ’77 MS. “It’s a great, unpretentious place that is doing great things. And in recent years, Isenberg and the public are learning how good the school really is.” Gib gives back financially with his wife, Susan, who shares his enthusiasm for the school and its students. Susan herself has excelled as a former chief financial officer, financial advisor, accountant, and cofounder of two organizations that further the aspirations of women in business. “Isenberg and its rankings have been a continual source of pride,” she emphasizes.

The couple’s financial support includes a timely lead gift to Isenberg’s state-of-the art Business Innovation Hub. Gib and Susan have also created an endowed, annual scholarship—the Hammond Distinguished Leadership Award—for a sophomore or junior accounting major. And their support—in dollars and in Gib’s canvassing of fellow alumni—helped create the Richard H. Simpson Professorship, in honor of Isenberg’s legendary accounting professor.

Gib’s devotion to Isenberg’s accounting program dates to his student days, when he came to value its supportive culture and larger-than-life educators like professors Simpson and Mannino. The department’s exceptional connection with its alumni and industry, he says, is worthy of emulation. “In my mind, the department leads the way for all of Isenberg,” he observes.

Three years after earning his master’s degree in accounting, Gib began a 32-year career with Deloitte (then Deloitte and Touche). An accounting partner with the firm for twenty-five years, he retired in 2012. During his tenure, the Isenberg grad served many of the firm’s top private equity clients and led due diligence initiatives for many merger and acquisition clients. In 2001, he orchestrated the launch of Deloitte’s future-forward Technology Center in Waltham. The center focuses on clients in emerging technologies and the life sciences.

“The center was a driving force for our early-stage technology business, which increased its market share from 2% to 30% during my final ten years with the firm,” Gib recalls. “With its state-of-the-art resources, it made a statement to the marketplace about our seriousness in the tech domain.” Isenberg’s Business Innovation Hub, Gib believes, will have a similar, catalyzing influence. “I am confident,” he says, “that the new building will make a bold statement to the campus, the commonwealth, and beyond.”