G. Brint Ryan

Early life and education

Ryan was born George Brint Ryan in Big Spring, Texas.He is a seventh-generation Irish American, and his ancestors fought in the American Revolutionary War. His first job was a newspaper carrier for the Big Spring Herald. He also worked at Safeway Inc. sacking groceries. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting with an emphasis in tax from the University of North Texas. He was inducted into the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity in 1983. Ryan became house corporation president of the Epsilon Delta Chapter at the University of North Texas.

Career

Ryan worked at Coopers & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers, as a public accountant in 1989. He founded Ryan LLC in 1991. Ryan LLC is now the seventh-largest corporate tax practice in the United States.

Ryan formed the Settles Hotel Development Company in 2006. He purchased the Settles Hotel for $75,000 and restored it to reopen February 2015. The restoration took six years and $30 million. Ryan used old photographs and blueprints to closely replicate the original design of the 15-story hotel. He also purchased four city blocks in Big Spring, including the Ritz movie theatre on Main Street and an old bus depot.

In 2011, Ryan was named one of Texas Monthly’s 25 Most Powerful Texans. Irish America honored him on its Business 100 list for Irish-American leaders in 2013. In 2014, he won a Stevie award for Executive of the Year in Accounting.

Ryan is chairman of the University of North Texas board of regents. He is also on the executive committee of the board of directors of the Texas Association of Business, and the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Institute for Professionals in Taxation, the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Dallas Citizens Council. He is on the board of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the Junior League of Dallas Community Advisory Board, and the American Heart Association Board of Directors. Ryan is the vice president of the Pi Kappa Alpha Foundation. He is also chair of The Friends of Wednesday’s Child. Ryan serves on the advisory council for Habitat for Humanity in Dallas and Dream Dallas.

Ryan was a contributing editor to the Guidebook to Texas Taxes in 2013. He was appointed to the Texas legislature commission examining state economic development efforts by lieutenant governor David Dewhurst. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick named Ryan chairman of an advisory committee in 2015. He was appointed to serve on the Taxpayer Advisory Group by Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Susan Combs.

Politics

From 2000 through 2014, Ryan supported various political campaigns totaling more than $5 million. He donated over $800,000 to former Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, and $210,000 to Dan Patrick, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor. Ryan also gave approximately $2.5 million to the Ryan Texas PAC, which has supported Texas politicians since 2000 and raised over $4.5 million towards their campaigns.

Ryan co-founded a political action committee supporting Rick Perry’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Ryan was chief fund-raiser for Governor Perry’s presidential PAC. He also serves as finance chairman for all three super PACs supporting Perry’s bid for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. He and his wife have contributed over $4 million to state officials and political causes. He also belonged to the group TexasOne, which recommended companies for the governor to recruit for relocation to Texas.

Philanthropy

Ryan is a Garnet and Gold Donor for the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He has donated over three million dollars to the University of North Texas including one million to the athletic department, and was the first member of the UNT Dallas Founders Circle. Ryan donated $1 million to Dallas Habitat for Humanity. He and his wife support the Amanda and G. Brint Ryan “Leaders of Tomorrow” scholarship for the University.