TAKING THE REINS: ROBERT BYRD

National practice director of the federal sector, Cedar, Baltimore April 2 Baltimore Ellicott City, Md. Designing and building personal residences"To win without risk is to triumph without glory." ? Pierre Corneille, 17th-century playwright "Pray to God but continue to row to the shore."Bachelor of science, business administration; master of science, business administration, Loyola College of Maryland, Baltimore.Postgraduate studies at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y., and Harvard Business School, Boston.More than 20 years experience in federal and state government. The last six years, Byrd was part of the Food and Drug Administration's executive management team. The last position he held was deputy commissioner and chief financial officer for management and systems. Before that, Byrd was a senior executive with the Agriculture Department and spent almost two decades as a senior management executive with the Maryland Department of General Services."Getting to know the talented people at Cedar.""I was charged to build upon Cedar's reputation and successes in its public-sector practice. We will continue to enable public-sector agencies to more efficiently and effectively serve the needs of their constituents and clients through the intelligent management and application of information, process, personnel and technology. "Serving as a senior executive for many years in government, I bring a unique perspective to Cedar and understand the particular challenges faced by government agencies and public institutions."