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2024 BEST PLACES TO WORK — LARGE EMPLOYERS WINNER: Patriot Group

In the past five years, Patriot Group International has been recognized four times as the Best Place to Work among large employers in Virginia, but that doesn’t keep company leadership from wanting to do more and do better by its employees.

Participation in Best Places to Work “provides us with great insight on some of our shortcomings,” says CEO Gregory Craddock. “Through the process of continual improvement, we get better.”

One example has included the Warrenton-based federal contractor’s corporate strategy, which some employees said in a survey that they didn’t fully understand. Now, Patriot Group leaders host town-hall meetings every couple of months to help personnel understand the company’s direction and seek input.

While Patriot Group International has been featured in articles several times in the past by Virginia Business, that was when the Warrenton-based company was smaller and had fewer service offerings. When the U.S. Armed Forces withdrew the last troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, Patriot Group lost nearly 20% of its revenue and was forced to lay off more than 75 employees, but the contractor has since rebounded, expanding its federal government agency and Department of Defense client bases, as well as its work for private sector clients. It has grown from around 230 employees in late 2022 to 600 employees, including 37 at its Warrenton and Herndon offices.

Founded in 2004, the company historically provided mission support security and risk management services to federal intelligence agencies as well as defense and private sector clients, which often included high-risk projects overseas. But within the past year, Patriot Group has migrated a lot of its business out of warzones and into data centers across the U.S., says its chief operating officer, Robert Whitfield.

“That has been extremely fruitful for us and for our employees,” Whitfield says. “It allowed us to maintain a lot of the things that make us one of the best places to work: our benefits, our compensation levels, our corporate culture.”

Like other Best Places to Work companies, Patriot Group is generous with benefits and pays 100% of health care, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for its employees and dependents, as well as providing a health reimbursement agreement (HRA) card to use toward medical expenses, copays and deductibles. It also offers 401(k) matching contributions and three weeks of paid vacation.

Within the past six months, Patriot Group has more than doubled its global presence, providing medical personnel in “largely austere environments,” Whitfield says, providing services “on three continents in undisclosed locations.”

The company has seen “a lot of growth, but it’s been controlled growth,” he adds. “We haven’t experienced what some companies
do, where they really lose the ability to connect with their employees and staff — especially if they’re geographically dispersed across the United States or across the world.”

Whitfield credits consistency in leadership to Patriot Group’s success. He, Craddock and company President Al Buford have been with Patriot Group from the beginning and have witnessed very little turnover among C-suite or other senior leadership positions.

With an emphasis on hiring veterans, Patriot Group has always been a mission-focused organization, but it’s also always been focused on being good to its personnel “through … communication, compensation, benefits and just an overall appreciation of their talents and services,” Craddock says.

“That model hasn’t always been easy because in our industry there have been periods of time when there’s been a push to cut prices, benefits, etc.,” he adds. “But we’ve maintained — and in many cases improved — what we’ve offered to our personnel. And we’re proud of all that.”

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Maryland brewery plans expansion to Fauquier

Silver Spring, Maryland-based Silver Branch Brewing Co. will invest $3 million to open a location in Fauquier County, adding 38 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday.

The expansion is the second location for the brewery, which is growing its production. Virginia competed with Maryland for the project.

“Silver Branch Brewing Co.’s expansion into Virginia is a testament to the commonwealth’s reputation in food and beverage processing that is driven by our business advantages, industry resources and strategic access to markets,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Manufacturing growth is critical to economic vitality, and we are excited to see its resurgence in regions across Virginia.”

Silver Branch is taking over the Warrenton location of the former Wort Hog Brewing Co., which closed in early 2022. Dubbed “Silver Branch Warrenton Station,” the brewery will feature a restaurant and offer cocktails and wine, along with its craft beer. The brewery will have 18 to 24 rotating taps at each location. The Warrenton location will add between 750 to 1,000 barrels of capacity to Silver Branch’s current projection of 3,000 to 3,5000 produced annually in Maryland, Chris Bonnell, the brewery’s marketing director, said in an email.

“We are excited to join Virginia’s vibrant craft beer community,” Christian Layke, the brewery’s co-founder, CEO and brewing operations director, said in a statement. “I grew up in Vienna and my co-founder, Brett (Robison), is from Great Falls, so bringing our beer into the commonwealth is a lifelong ambition. For us, beer is more than a liquid, it’s a welcoming social experience we call Gemütlichkeit (German for comfort) and it’s essential to our ethos. We look forward to welcoming Virginians into our new tasting room in Old Town Warrenton; but first, we are seeking enthusiastic beer lovers from Fauquier and surrounding counties to join our team.”

Silver Branch’s Warrenton location is anticipated to open in this fall, according to the company’s website.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Fauquier County to secure the project for Virginia and will support Silver Branch’s production-related job creation through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP), which provides consulting services and funding to companies creating jobs to support employee recruitment and training.

A challenging year

2023 BEST PLACES TO WORK — MIDSIZE EMPLOYERS WINNER

The last couple years have been a trying time for many businesses, but probably not for the same reasons as Patriot Group International Inc.

When the U.S. Armed Forces withdrew the last troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending a 20-year war, the Warrenton-based federal contractor lost nearly 20% of its revenue and had to let go more than 75 employees practically overnight, says Greg Craddock, CEO of Patriot Group, which provides mission support security and risk management services to federal intelligence and defense clients as well as private sector clients. This often includes high-risk work overseas.

The pullout from the war happened quickly, resulting in more than 100,000 people leaving the country in just a few days. Even President Joe Biden called the withdrawal “messy.”

“Unfortunately, with the way things transpired, we lost a lot of valued team members just simply because the work disappeared,” Craddock says. “That’s something that we obviously don’t like doing — making those phone calls and letting people know that they have to look for another way to support their family.”

While suddenly losing a significant revenue stream forced Patriot Group to examine how to streamline its business and remain competitive, that was secondary to taking care of personnel, Craddock says. This meant that company leadership needed to be clear and direct in its communication with workers.

“Within our industry, one of the keys to success or failure is good or bad communication,” he adds. “There’s some uncomfortable conversations that went down but being forthright and honest and upfront with the personnel was just the key to success.”

As a result of the 2021 Afghanistan pullout and the subsequent hit to Patriot Group’s business, 2022 was a challenging year for the company. A key part of showing commitment to its employees was maintaining or even improving upon worker benefits and opportunities, Craddock says.

This includes allowing new hires to immediately enroll in the company’s health care plan and start contributing to their retirement plans. Patriot Group provides matching 401(k) accounts, matching 100% of the first 3% of an employee’s contribution, and 50% on the next 2%. Flexible work hours can also be used to accommodate family events. Personnel can also get tuition reimbursement for advanced or postgraduate degrees as well as certifications and business education workshops.

Patriot Group also fosters a culture of mentorship and support. The company prioritizes promoting current employees to higher-ranking positions.

“Our primary goal is to promote within when opportunities present themselves,” Craddock says. “One of the key components to that is making sure that our junior employees get the opportunity to not only perform without someone looking over their shoulder and develop their own leadership style, but also we’re there to help them learn more about effective leadership traits and best practices.”

The resilience Patriot Group has shown following an unexpected business challenge looks like it’s going to pay off. Today, the company employs 228 people in the U.S., about 70 of whom are in Virginia. Since 2020, its U.S. workforce has grown by about 80 people, including 30 in Virginia. PGI also participates in the state’s Virginia Values Veterans (V3) program, through which companies commit to hiring military veterans.

“2022 … [was] a challenge in terms of our overall business success, but we … [saw] real positive growth indicators for the back half of the year,” Craddock says, “and we think 2023 could be potentially one of our best ever.”

The 13th annual Best Places to Work list

MacKenzie Scott pledges $15M to PATH Foundation

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has pledged $15 million to the Warrenton-based PATH Foundation, an organization that provides grants for health-focused organizations in Fauquier, Rappahannock and Culpeper counties, PATH announced Thursday.

Scott, the billionaire ex-wife of Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, has made large donations to many nonprofits and universities, including in Virginia, over the past two years. She notified PATH Foundation of the grant recently, the organization said in a news release.

“We were so excited to learn that Ms. Scott selected the PATH Foundation for this generous contribution,” Christy Connolly, PATH Foundation’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We were completely taken by surprise that she was aware of the work we’ve done in the community and thrilled to have this validation of efforts we’ve made since our inception.”

Connolly added, “Our board and staff are incredibly grateful for Ms. Scott’s grant and will use this significant gift to continue investing in our community, guided by our mission and strategic plan.”

PATH was started as the Fauquier Health Foundation and changed its name in 2013 when the Fauquier Health System was sold to LifePoint Health, becoming a standalone, private philanthropic foundation. Since then, PATH has provided $60 million in grants and partnerships with recipients focused on health, childhood wellness, mental health and senior services.

In 2020, Scott made record-setting donations to Hampton, Norfolk State and Virginia State universities, as well as Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia. After receiving a quarter of Bezos’ Amazon stock in their 2019 divorce, Scott has donated more than $12 billion to over 1,200 organizations since 2020, according to her foundation.

Virginia National Bank finalizes merger with Fauquier Bank

The parent company of Virginia National Bank announced the completion of its merger with Fauquier Bankshares Inc. today, creating a combined bank with $1.7 billion in assets and $1.5 billion in deposits as of Dec. 31, 2020.

The merger, announced in October, brings together Charlottesville-based Virginia National Bankshares Corp. and the Warrenton-based parent company of The Fauquier Bank.

Charlottesville will serve as the new bank’s headquarters, and the new bank will be branded as Virginia National Bank. Fauquier bank branches are expected to be converted in July.

In October, the banks said that the merger would allow them to serve larger corporate clients in Charlottesville, Warrenton, Winchester and the counties of Albemarle, Fauquier, Frederick and Prince William. The banks are also seeking to expand in the Richmond and Northern Virginia markets.

Glenn W. Rust will continue to serve as president and CEO of National Bankshares Corp. The former president and CEO of Fauquier, Marc J. Bogan, will serve as president and CEO of Virginia National Bank.

“This is an exciting moment in the history of Virginia National as we increase our ability to better serve the financial needs of our customers,” Rust said in a statement, “while also providing the opportunity to enhance profitability and increase shareholder value.”

Virginia National’s common stock, listed as VABK, will begin trading April 5 on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Fauquier shareholders are entitled to receive 0.675 shares of Virginia National common stock for each share held in Fauquier.

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Virginia National, Fauquier banks to merge

The parent holding companies of Virginia National Bank and The Fauquier Bank will merge under the Virginia National brand into a combined bank with $1.6 billion in total assets.

Charlottesville-based Virginia National Bankshares Corp. and Warrenton-based Fauquier Bankshares Inc. have signed a definitive merger agreement, the banks announced Thursday. The combined company will have approximately $1.4 billion in total deposits, $1.3 billion in loans and more than $1 billion in assets under management based on reported amounts as of June 30.

The Fauquier Bank branches and offices will be rebranded as Virginia National Bank following the merger. Virginia National’s headquarters will remain in Charlottesville.

As a result of the merger, the combined bank expects to be positioned to serve larger corporate clients in Charlottesville, Warrenton, Winchester and the counties of Albemarle, Fauquier, Frederick and Prince William as it seeks to expand its footprint Richmond and Northern Virginia markets, according to a joint statement from the two bank holding companies.

“It is a rare opportunity to have two well-respected community banks of equal size in attractive markets put their individual missions aside to join forces in order to improve the experience of clients and employees and accelerate the returns of their shareholders,” Virginia National President and CEO Glenn W. Rust said in a statement. “Our entire team is honored to be entering this partnership with The Fauquier Bank, and I look forward to the leadership of The Fauquier Bank joining our team and bringing their expertise and experience to our organization.”

Under the agreement, which was unanimously approved by both companies’ boards, Fauquier shareholders will receive 0.675 shares of Virginia National common stock for each share of Fauquier common stock held. Following the merger, Virginia National shareholders will own approximately 51.4% of the company and Fauquier shareholders will own approximately 48.6%.

“There is a longstanding mutual respect between our two companies,” The Fauquier Bank President and CEO Marc J. Bogan said in a statement. “The enhanced scale and complementary business lines resulting from this transaction provides the best opportunity for both banks to better serve our major constituencies: our clients, our employees, our shareholders and our communities. We are committed to using the best practices of both companies to increase our market share across Virginia.”

The boards of directors of Virginia National and VNB will include seven members from the current Virginia National boards and six members from the current Fauquier boards. Current Virginia National Chairman William D. Dittmar Jr. will continue to serve as chairman of the combined company and current Fauquier Chairman John B. Adams Jr. will be appointed vice chairman. Rust will continue to serve as president and CEO of Virginia National Bankshares Corp. and Bogan will be appointed president and CEO of Virginia National Bank. Rust and Bogan will both serve on the boards of Virginia National and VNB.

The merger is expected to be completed by the first half of 2021, subject to approval of both companies’ shareholders, regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Performance Trust Capital Partners is the financial adviser to Virginia National and Williams Mullen is legal adviser. Piper Sandler & Co. is Fauquier’s financial adviser and Troutman Pepper is its legal adviser.