Ross Linderman strengthens the ties between Foster and KPMG

As an accomplished leader who ascended from an accounting role to partner at one of the world’s leading firms, Ross Linderman (BA 2000) has much to be proud of. Yet, Linderman considers earning his degree from the University of Washington Foster School of Business and the support he provides the school to be among his most meaningful achievements.

“I had a wonderful experience here,” Linderman says. “Coming back to campus, I realize I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. It’s one of the things I am most proud of.”

Now Linderman is paying it forward. His generosity enables today’s students to follow in his footsteps through his funding of the KPMG Term Professorship, awarded to Professor Darren Bernard.

Linderman’s donation is instrumental in Foster’s ability to attract and retain nationally recognized faculty such as Bernard. In addition to being one of Foster students’ favorite professors, Bernard is also an oft-published researcher.

“Ross Linderman exemplifies the significant impact engaged alumni have on the Foster School of Business,” says Dean Frank Hodge. “His generosity and commitment to mentorship strengthen our ability to attract top faculty, develop students into future business leaders, and maintain Foster’s reputation for excellence. Our partnership with KPMG advances our commitment to bettering humanity through business and reflects how partnering with world-class organizations makes us all better off.”

Recently, Linderman met with Bernard and Accounting Department Chair Dawn Matsumoto in Founders Hall.

“The faculty here are phenomenal,” Linderman says. “It was great to hear about their research, understand what they are focused on, and learn more about the challenges they face. It was an opportunity to explore how KPMG can be helpful.”

Strengthening the KPMG-Foster partnership

Linderman and KPMG maintain a close partnership with the Foster School. The firm boasts a strong Foster alumni network, and Linderman and his colleagues help ensure the curriculum address today’s real-world business challenges.

But, Linderman’s service to Foster goes beyond his own time and philanthropy.

He has recruited Foster alumni and firm employees to support the School’s diversity and inclusion programming, the accounting department, student clubs, and community-building events such as Legacy & Leaders and Undergraduate Women in Business’s Paving the Way. Collectively KPMG and its employees have donated more than $2.25M in addition to their thousands of hours of talent and expertise. Linderman also serves on the Dean’s Foster Advisory Board.

“It’s a mutually beneficial partnership between Foster and KPMG,” he says. “As a business community, we need the best and brightest. Some of the most important companies in the world are here in Seattle and need that talent pool. And in order to keep that pool filled, we need to be providing resources to faculty.”

Being entrepreneurial within an accounting firm

Today, Linderman plays a key role at one of the “Big Four” accounting firms that shape the industry. As a partner, his role has expanded beyond accounting to include business development and setting strategy.

“What I like to do is build things,” he says. “When living on the East Coast, I had the opportunity to launch a new service offering within the firm. And then, coming back to Seattle, I built this team and got the advisory practice up and running. You wouldn’t necessarily think of entrepreneurship within an accounting firm, but that’s very much how it is.”

Linderman grew up in Issaquah, Washington, and originally enrolled at UW, thinking he might be interested in a medical career. His undergraduate studies included business courses, and he soon found he had a knack for accounting, known as the “language of business.”

“I took a couple of economic classes, and it started to click for me,” he says. “I found it was something I had a natural inclination for, and I was fortunate enough to have some tremendous professors.”

Linderman shared that his classes with the colorful Bill Resler are particularly memorable. Resler was a larger-than-life character who taught at the University of Washington for nearly 40 years. Linderman says he brought a sense of fun to the material while motivating his students to excel. That’s part of what inspired Linderman to fund a professorship at Foster.

“A professor like that leaves a lasting memory,” Linderman says.

Lifelong friendships and community

As valuable as his classes were, Linderman most treasures the friendships he formed. While college is built on education, and business thrives on innovation and profit, relationships fuel both.

“I’m still very close with the people I lived with in the dorms as well as my business school classmates,” he says. “We came up in the workforce together and will always have that bond.”

Linderman and his UW friends enjoy attending Husky Football games. He holds season tickets and has been an ardent supporter for decades, even when he was based in Philadelphia.

“The teams had some tough seasons when I was in school,” he recalls. But Linderman and his fellow loyal fans were finally rewarded with a great season last year. “A Sugar Bowl victory!” he exclaims. “Now that’s forever!”