County grants boost early-stage entrepreneurs
As an early-stage startup founder, Ray Magee grew accustomed to hearing ‘no.’ In the eight years since he founded Centreville-based BloomCatch, a plant recognition app, Magee reckons he’s applied for seven or eight grants. So, when BloomCatch landed a $50,000 grant from Fairfax County in November 2023, he admits to some initial disbelief. “I thought, […]
In the pipeline
As Andre Marshall was speaking to a reporter about cybersecurity in late July, one of the biggest technology failures in recent memory was unfolding in real time. A worldwide Microsoft Windows outage on July 19 brought airports, banks, subways — and even the Marshall household — to a standstill. George Mason University‘s vice president for […]
Watch this space
To understand office vacancy rates in Northern Virginia, Art Greenberg, the Washington, D.C.-based vice chairman for tenant advisory firm Savills Inc., employs the turkey sandwich test. In short, he explains, today’s workers want an office building where they can walk a block or two and find a half-dozen places to get a turkey sandwich for […]
Boeing lands $2.56B Air Force contract
Boeing has won a $2.56 billion U.S. Air Force contract for two rapid prototype E-7A airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) Wedgetail aircraft, the Arlington-based Fortune 500 aerospace and defense company announced Friday. The contract modification to a previously awarded undefinitized contract action includes life-cycle development, training and support for the Air Force’s E-7A flee[...]
Boeing names Ortberg as new president and CEO
Updated Aug. 1 Boeing‘s board of directors announced Wednesday that Robert K. “Kelly” Ortberg will be its next president and CEO effective Aug. 8, succeeding Dave Calhoun, who previously announced his intention to step down after a turbulent, nearly four-year tenure as the Arlington County Fortune 500 aerospace and defense giant’s chief executive. According to […]
2024 Virginia CFO Awards: Nonprofits: John Zabrowski, VHC Health
VHC Health Chief Financial Officer John Zabrowski zeroed in on accounting and finance early in life, double majoring in the subjects at Indiana University‘s Kelley School of Business and then doing two internships in public accounting after graduation. “I love economics, I love statistics,” he says. “I found that I was really attracted to the […]
2024 Virginia CFO Awards: Large Business: Sean Daily, CAES
Sean Daily, chief financial officer of Arlington County defense technology contractor CAES, didn’t set out to forge a career in defense. But an interest in corporate finance, sparked by an internship at Marriott International, combined with an opportunity to join Lockheed Martin after his graduation from Virginia Tech. Soon enough, “I developed an interest in […]
Raytheon gets $325M boost to StormBreaker contract
The U.S. Department of Defense has increased the ceiling of an existing U.S. Air Force contract held by Arlington County‘s Raytheon, a subsidiary of Fortune 500 defense contractor RTX, by $325 million, the Department of Defense announced Friday. The contract, under which Raytheon is producing StormBreaker Increment II small-diameter glide bombs for fighter jets, has been […]
Grant Thornton taps new D.C. market managing principal
William “Bill” Marx Jr. is Grant Thornton’s new market managing principal for the Washington, D.C., area, the Chicago-based U.S. arm of the global accounting firm network announced Wednesday. Marx succeeds Greg Wallig, who was the company’s metro D.C.-Arlington County market managing principal and added the role of public policy head in June 2023. Wallig left […]
Boeing to purchase Spirit AeroSystems in $4.7B+ deal
Beleaguered aerospace and defense giant Boeing announced Monday it has entered an agreement to reacquire Boeing spinoff company Spirit Aerosystems in a $4.7 billion, all-stock transaction. The Fortune 500 company headquartered in Arlington County will also assume Spirit’s net debt, so the deal’s total value is approximately $8.3 billion, Boeing said in its announcement. Spirit [&hellip[...]
CoStar-WeWork dispute opens door for coworking competitors
One of the most disrupted sectors in Northern Virginia since the pandemic has been office space, as many white-collar workers work remote or hybrid schedules, leading to less demand. On top of that, in Arlington County‘s Rosslyn corridor, WeWork clients have had to deal with the coworking company’s uncertain future. Although WeWork was set to […]
Not with a bang, but a whimper
This story has been updated since publication. Despite lofty promises from Democrats and Republicans, divided government in Richmond meant few wins or losses for either party during the 2024 General Assembly session — and few sweeping changes for Virginia in the year ahead. “The only thing that the legislature really did is the one thing […]