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Recent Articles from M.J. McAteer
All in the family
In the popular HBO TV series “Succession,” members of the Roy clan scheme, lie and backbite in an attempt to take over the family’s media empire once the patriarch steps down. The show, which reportedly filmed scenes in Richmond in May for its third season, is a satiric festival of twisted relationships and family dysfunction, […]
Clean slate
On April 17, 2020, with a flourish of the pen, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam reshaped the future of energy production in the commonwealth. Signing the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) into law last year, Northam declared that Virginia would become a leader in fighting climate change, and, indeed, no other Southern state has passed legislation […]
Tech support
In summer 2025, George Mason University is scheduled to open a distinctive, $168 million, 360,500-square-foot glass-and-steel tower on its Virginia Square campus in Arlington. Inside its walls, the university’s commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship and the creation of a tech-savvy workforce will be on full display. In its 60-odd years of existence, Mason’s unwavering fealty to [&h[...]
Shattering the glass ceiling
The COVID-19 pandemic has been unusually difficult for professional women, especially those with young children or other responsibilities, such as caring for older family members. Many had to leave work entirely or put pursuing their career goals on the back burner during the past year while handling personal duties at home. The pandemic’s future impact […]
The best of times?
The past year or so in America has often seemed a dark time, with headlines dominated by COVID-19, the tumult surrounding social justice issues and our deeply politically divided nation. Yet, it also has been a time of breathtaking generosity, as uber-wealthy philanthropists and well-heeled corporations have opened their wallets to fund groundbreaking initiatives, especially […]
Eight over 80
What keeps a person working at an age when most of us are happy to let others take care of business? These overachieving Virginians, all over age 80, have remained hard at work mostly for one or more of three reasons. The first is being able to continue work with family. Retirement is rarely mandatory […]
Heavy hitters
Just as Zoom conferences and cloud computing have transformed our pandemic-era work lives, so too is technology changing the nature of influence. That evolution is perhaps best evidenced by the addition of Reston-based MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor to Virginia Business’ 2021 list of the 50 most influential Virginians. Saylor may not spend his time huddled […]
Off and running
Updated Jan. 29, 2021 Conventional wisdom used to hold that all politics is local, but that’s not really the case anymore. The extreme polarization on display during the recent presidential and U.S. Senate and House races has infected state and local politics, and Virginia’s November 2021 gubernatorial election promises no respite from that. “The broad […]
Thicker than water
“It isn’t personal. It’s just business.” Those phrases are too often used in the commercial world, but they just don’t apply when talking about most family-run enterprises. The business of running these companies is deeply personal. The priorities of family businesses “go well beyond financial concerns,” says Barry DuVal, president and CEO of the Virginia […]
The mentor
Gregory Washington, the new president of George Mason, “embodies our university,” says Thomas M. Davis, rector of the school’s governing Board of Visitors. How? In just about every way possible, both personally and professionally, say Davis and others. Mason’s stated mission is to provide “equal opportunity and an educational and work environment free from any […]
