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Logistics CFO gives back to finance students
Sydney Lake// July 30, 2023//
Virginia Business’ 2023 Virginia CFO of the Year award winners represent large and small businesses and large and small nonprofits.
Small business | Jason Chesky, CFO
Logenix International, Fairfax County
Jason Chesky, chief financial officer at Fairfax County-based Logenix International, took a nontraditional route to corporate financial leadership and working in logistics.
Starting out at Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina, Chesky played on an NCAA Division II lacrosse team and had intended to study sports medicine. But he wound up transferring to Northern Virginia Community College, where he decided to focus on business studies, which he thought would open up more career opporunities.
During his time in community college, Chesky also worked full time in corporate real estate and as an accountant for Long & Foster.
After earning his associate degree in business administration from NOVA, he transferred to George Mason University, from which he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance in 2012.
About a decade ago, he joined Logenix as its finance director and in July 2021 was named CFO of the company, which employs 35 people in the United States and more than 200 worldwide and saw annual revenues exceeding $100 million in 2022. He also oversees the company’s human resources, legal matters and risk management, as well as information technology. And he’s in charge of the company’s nine international offices, which stretch from London and Amsterdam to the United Arab Emirates and India.
Thankful to his alma mater for his success, he now gives back through the Jason M. Chesky Scholarship Endowment, which provides financial assistance for GMU School of Business students “so others can have the opportunity to create a career path like I did,” he says.
Starting in 2021, Chesky began committing $50,000 each year to his eponymous endowment fund, which is disbursed among students selected by the business school who meet academic requirements.
“Knowing the cost of higher education has always been a rising burden, providing … financial assistance should help keep students more focused on their education than having to make ends meet with other obligations,” adds Chesky, who knows about being busy. Being the CFO of a business with offices and business across the globe is “no simple task,” Chesky says.
Especially since the pandemic, Chesky has been focused on supply chain disruptions. New routes were forged, some were terminated, some were altered.
“It’s just not the same economy as it was before COVID-19 introduced itself to the world,” Chesky says. “Being in the logistics industry with a heavy focus in global health, development, disaster relief and contingency, we have seen the change in shipping and supply chains firsthand. I have been more involved with our overseas offices and their growth of operations — where we saw the change.”
Since becoming CFO, Chesky has overseen the addition of a handful of new international offices.
“These are the gears of the wheel that keep the business turning. One failure in any of those could lead to a disruptive business situation,” Chesky says. “It is always my job to keep a pulse on the company to know where my focus needs to be addressed.”
Despite his varying priorities, Chesky describes himself as a participative and transformational leader who leads by example. He invites employees to communicate freely, knowing that they will be recognized for their contributions and efforts, he says.
“Another aspect of being a transformational leader is not issuing penalties for falling short,” he says. “I prefer to take the approach by assisting individuals to grow personally and in their career.”
Read more about Virginia Business’ 2023 Virginia CFO of the Year award winners:
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