Banking | Finance 2025: WOODRIFF, JAFFRAY

Last year, the University of Virginia opened the School of Data Science building, which was funded with a portion of a $120 million gift made in 2019 from the Quantitative Foundation, the family foundation of Woodriff and his wife, Merrill, who are both alumni. It still marks the largest individual private grant in U.Va.’s history.

In December 2024, the university announced the Quantitative Foundation had committed another $20 million, this time ear- marked to expand the data science school’s research, scholarship and teaching capabilities, while “enhancing a budding entrepre- neurial ecosystem on Grounds.”

Before studying at U.Va., Woodriff became obsessed with baseball statistics. As he grew older, he decided to channel that fixation into something practical, landing on financial markets. In 2003, Woodriff and two partners co-founded QIM, a Charlottesville hedge fund that uses machine learning techniques to predict financial market shifts.

Woodriff also invests in startups through the Felton Group, his family office. In November 2024, the Felton Group led a $3 million seed round for RIIG Technology, a Charlottesville- based tech startup led by former U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman.

Return to the full list of this category’s recipients.