Samuel (Sam) Bird, Jr. was born in Stevens Pont, Wisconsin in 1937 and was raised in Dallas and New Orleans. He attended high school and college in Wisconsin, graduating from Marquette University in 1957 with a bachelor of mechanical engineering degree. He then received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1966. Before graduating, he served for two years in the U.S. Army in Germany.
Early in his career Sam worked for IBM as a Systems Engineer, as a management consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, as a security analyst for Laird and Company, and as President of United Systems, a computer services firm. In 1980 he founded Bird Automotive, a designer and manufacturer of automotive accessories, headquartered in California and now in Connecticut. He continues the business on a reduced basis. Sam has served on the boards of San Francisco University High School, Wayfarer Church Foundation and Hadco Corporation.
Sam was married in 1987 to Cynthia Danieson Bird, who retired from teaching at Middlesex School in Darien in 2000. The Birds then moved to California for 11 years, returning to Connecticut in 2021. They have four sons, seven grandchildren, and attend St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Darien.
