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 […]
Beyond number crunching
Becoming a chief financial officer requires much more than just being a good accountant or number cruncher. Indeed, the Journal of Accountancy in 2023 reported a noticeable shift of the top finance officer’s job from being a “CF-No” — or someone who just pulls tight the purse strings — to the “CF-Know.” That’s a leader […]
Out & About August 2024
On June 13, Virginia Business honored the winners of the 2024 Virginia CFO Awards during the magazine’s annual black-tie banquet at Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel. Photos by Rick DeBerry. 1. L to R: Virginia CFO Awards nominee Paul Huckfeldt of Hooker Furnishings and wife, Annette; 2024 CFO Awards winner Joel Flax of Cohen Investment Group and wife, […]
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 […]
2024 Virginia CFO Awards: Small Business: Joel Flax, Cohen Investment Group
Joel Flax hadn’t planned on serving as a chief financial officer after retiring from a full-fledged career as an accountant and tax advisor. But it also wasn’t the first time he made an unexpected career shift. In college, he had wanted to be a sportswriter. But shortly after graduating from William & Mary with a […]
SARAH STRASSHEIM
One of Sarah Strassheim’s University of Mary Washington professors once told her that if she started out in finance and understood the numbers, she could go anywhere in an organization. “As a result, I started out as a finance analyst and haven’t really ever left,” says Strassheim, who now serves as chief financial officer for […]
Virginia Business announces 2024 Va. CFO Awards winners
Virginia Business recognized some of the state’s top chief financial officers from nonprofits and businesses across the commonwealth Thursday at its 2024 Virginia CFO Awards ceremony. This year’s Virginia CFO Awards black-tie banquet — the largest annual gathering of CFOs in Virginia — was held at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. “Being nominated for these […]
Chartway Credit Union names new CFO
Virginia Beach-based Chartway Credit Union has hired Sander Casino as its chief financial officer, the credit union announced Wednesday. Casino was most recently senior vice president of finance for Raleigh, North Carolina-based Local Government Federal Credit Union and its affiliate Civic Credit Union. Before joining LGFCU in 2012 and Civic in 2018, Casino was with […]
Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers CEO to retire
Jay Bryant, CEO of Herndon-based Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association (MDVA), is retiring at the end of this year, and Jon Cowell, MDVA’s current chief financial officer, will succeed him, the cooperative announced Friday. Bryant has worked at the MDVA, a cooperative of more than 900 dairy farm families in 10 states, for […]
Virginia Tech announces new CFO
Virginia Tech has hired Simon Allen as its chief financial officer and vice president for finance, the university announced Monday. Allen is currently vice president for finance and CFO of the Ithaca campus of Cornell University. In his new role, which he’ll start May 6, Allen will report to Virginia Tech Executive Vice President and […]
Torc makes interim CFO permanent
Blacksburg-based self-driving truck company Torc Robotics, a subsidiary of Daimler Truck, hired Richard Kannan as its new chief financial officer, the company announced Thursday. Kannan, who had served as interim CFO since August, will also become a member of Torc’s executive leadership team. “Richard has proven himself to be an invaluable asset to Torc during […]
Groundworks hires CFO
Groundworks has hired Michael Mullican as its chief financial officer, the Virginia Beach-based foundation and water management solutions company announced Wednesday. Mullican will succeed Stephen Fry, who is retiring at the end of March. Mullican was previously president and CFO of sporting goods retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors, which is headquartered in a suburb of […]