Borys Bakum graduated from Syracuse University’s College of Arts & Sciences in 1985 with a degree in Political Science. He subsequently received a master’s in business administration from Drake University in Des Moines, IA in 1997. While he was a 4-year Army ROTC Scholarship student at SU, Borys was very active in the Army ROTC program, saving as the Battalion Adjutants during his senior year. He was also active in the SU Symphonic Band, served as Vice President and Treasurer of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity and served as Secretary of the Ukrainian Club Fishing his undergraduate years as a Distinguished Military Graduate, Borys was commissioned in the Army Transportation Corps. Lieutenant and later Captain, Bakum served from 1985 through 1989 the home of the Army Transportation Corps, Ft. Eustis, VA.
Assigned to the Transportation Group (Terminal), he held numerous positions in the 10 Battalion, the Army’s only active duty watercraft battalion Serving as a Tugboat Platoon Leader and Operations officer, Food Service officer, Battalion Adjutant and Assistant S-3, Bakum participated in and often ran successful deployments to Hythe, England, Vicgoes, Puerto Rico and Forts Story and A.P. Hill, VA. During three of his four summers at Ft. Eustis, he was hand selected by the Office of the Chief of Transportation to travel to each ROTC Advanced Camp in the U.S. and recruit quality cadets for the Transportations Corps. Finally, Lieutenant Baku served several Ft. Eustis Commanding Generals as an escort officer and French translator for visiting French-speaking dignitaries from numerous U.S. allies in Africa. Captain Baka left Pt. Eustis in 1989 with several Army medals and citations. During his time at Ft. Eustis Borys Bakam met and married his wife of almost eighteen years, the former Devon Louise Link, a transportation Corps Officer also stationed at Ft. Eustis.
As the couple both left Active Duty in 1989, they relocated to Rochester, MN where Borys started a successful civilian career in his chosen field, transportation, and logistics. He spent 17 years at Schneider National, Inc., the largest full truckload carrier in North America. Roles included operations management, curriculum development and training of new operations employees, dedicated fleet, new business startup, business development, and sales and account age. Each successive role gave him the opportunity to summon change, bring in positive business results, and use his accumulated leadership and logistical skills to improve his organization’s business results. Borys has successfully helped Schneider National grow and develop large, multi-national accounts, often encoding $10-$20 million in annual revenue. Recently, he resigned his position at Schneider and joined Tacoma based Interstate Distributor Co. as a National Account Manager for the Northeastern US to help that organization broaden its base of business, Borys Bakum has been invited amorous times by the SU Whit School of Management to speak and lecture on the challenges facing the supply chain and trucking industries. He has become a consummate transportation and supply chain professional, a career that was launched almost 22 years ago here at Syracuse University.
Borys Bakum lives in Wilbraham, MA with his wife Devon and their two school-aged children, Colin and Jarod. He is an avid musician and actor with numerous stages and even screen credits. His ties to Syracuse University have remained strong throughout his career.