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Recent Articles from Virginia Business
Banking | Finance 2025: STACK, JEAN
Before joining Baird, Stack worked for more than two decades in the government services, aerospace and defense sector at California-based investment bank Houlihan Lokey. At Baird, Stack advises executives on mergers and acquisitions, raising capital and other corporate strategies. Earlier this year, Baird served as the exclusive financial adviser for Kudu Dynamics, a Chantilly tech […]
Economic Development 2025: GRDEN, NANCY
A longtime regional economic development and maritime leader, Grden was key in the 2023 merger of Reinvent Hampton Roads and the Hampton Roads Business Roundtable. That resulted in the creation of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, a support organization for GO Virginia Region 5, the regional arm of the statewide economic development initiative. Before leading […]
Banking | Finance 2025: SCHENCK, JAMES
Over the course of his military career, Schenck flew Black Hawk helicopters in Korea and trained others as a night vision goggle instructor pilot. He also worked on the Army staff in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, a post with responsibilities for overseeing the flying hour program, which […]
Banking | Finance 2025: SJOLUND, MARTIN
In June, Sjolund began his tenure leading PRA Group, a global business that acquires and collects on nonperforming loans. Earlier this year, a PRA spokesperson noted that Sjolund planned to split his time between London and PRA’s Norfolk headquarters. He succeeds Vikram Atal, who retired after serving as PRA’s president and CEO since 2023. Sjolund […]
Economic Development 2025: COONS, JULIE
Coons has led the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce since 2018, prioritizing efforts to support the region’s economic health and growth. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the chamber originated in 1925 as a Fairfax County- focused business advocacy organization. Today, it represents about 400 member businesses across a region that represents nearly 42% of […]
Banking | Finance 2025: MONTGOMERY, JOSEPH W. ‘JOE’
Montgomery went to work at an investment firm in December 1975 — meaning he’s enjoying his 50th year in an industry for which he is ranked as Virginia’s top wealth management adviser on Forbes’ 2025 Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list, with $1.6 billion in assets under management by his team. He credits the power of relationships and […]
Economic Development 2025: SEGURA, JUAN PABLO
In March, reports circulated that Gov. Glenn Youngkin had tried to shift then-Commerce and Trade Secretary Caren Merrick to secretary of natural resources so that Segura, then Merrick’s deputy secretary, could have her post. Merrick left the administration instead. The son of billionaire ENSE Group Chairman Enrique Segura, Juan Pablo Segura ran as the GOP candidate in […]
Banking | Finance 2025: WILBANKS, WAYNE F.
Wilbanks developed an interest in stocks and bonds at the age of 14. As a 16-year-old, he formed an investment partnership with other students. “I was hooked,” Wilbanks has said of his career trajectory. A Duke graduate, Wilbanks co-founded Norfolk’s Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management in 1990, serving as the firm’s managing principal and […]
Economic Development 2025: STEPHENS, BRYAN K.
A 2025 Virginia C-Suite Awards winner, Stephens took the helm of the Hampton Roads Chamber in 2013. The organization advocates for business in the region, which is home to Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval complex, as well as significant manufacturing and hospitality sectors. With a five-star accreditation by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, […]
Banking | Finance 2025: HUTCHINS, MICHAEL T.
It’s musical chairs at Freddie Mac, Virginia’s top-ranked company on Fortune’s U.S. and Global 500 lists. In March, Hutchins became the government-sponsored home mortgage company’s interim CEO for the second time in a year after the Trump administration fired Diana Reid, who’d served as CEO just over six months. It’s a pivotal time for Freddie […]
