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byline: Beth JoJack

7 Va. companies make 2024 Fortune Global 500

Seven Virginia-based companies made Fortune magazine’s 35th Global 500 list, released Monday. Companies were ranked by total revenues for fiscal years ending on or before March 31.

McLean’s Freddie Mac remained the commonwealth’s top-ranked company at No. 88 — up 45 spots from 2023. The government-sponsored home mortgage company reported net income of $10.5 billion for full-year 2023, an increase of 13% year-over-year. Its former CEO, Michael DeVito, retired earlier this year, and President Mike Hutchins is serving as interim CEO. 

Boeing, headquartered in Arlington County, followed at No. 159 — up from No. 197 in 2023 — with $77.8 billion in revenue. It’s a silver lining for a company facing herculean challenges stemming from the midair blowout of its 737 Max 9 jet in January, which has led to financial woes and federal scrutiny ever since. 

In late July, Boeing’s board of directors named Robert K. “Kelly” Ortberg the aerospace and defense giant’s next president and CEO, succeeding Dave Calhoun, who previously announced his intention to step down after a turbulent, nearly four-year tenure as the company’s leader. In July, Boeing finalized a guilty plea to a federal criminal fraud conspiracy charge, under which it will pay at least $243.6 million in fines for violating a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department that stemmed from Boeing’s role in two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, Boeing received no orders for its 737 Max planes in April and May, and in June, it sold only three 737 Max jets.

RTX, which is also based in Arlington County and was formerly Raytheon Technologies, came in at No. 188 — up from No. 195 last year. The aerospace and defense contractor reported $68.9 billion in revenue in 2023, up 3% from the prior year. 

Goochland County’s Performance Food Group took the No. 272 spot, up from No 304 last year and came in as Virginia’s fourth highest-ranking company on the list. The ​​food and foodservice distribution company reported $57.3 billion in net sales for fiscal 2023, a 13% increase over 2022.

The list follows Fortune’s annual list of the top 1000 U.S. companies, the latest of which was released in June; 39 Virginia-based companies made that list, with 24 making it onto the elite 500.

Eight Virginia companies made the Fortune Global 500 last year. Goochland County’s CarMax fell off the list in 2024, after ranking No. 498 in 2023. In an April earnings call, CEO Bill Nash said the market for the used car industry is challenging because “vehicle affordability and widespread macro factors continue to pressure sales.”

Taking the lead of the Fortune Global 500 for the 11th consecutive year is Walmart. The Arkansas-based retailer reported $648.1 billion for its 2024 fiscal year which ended Jan. 31. Walmart has held the No. 1 spot 19 times since 1995. Amazon followed at No. 2, up from No. 4 in 2023, with net sales of $574.8 billion, a 12% increase over 2022.  

The United States had more companies on the list (139) than Greater China (133) for the first time since 2018. Greater China includes the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Of the 10 most profitable Fortune Global 500 companies, nine out of 10 are located in China and the United States. 

These are the Virginia-based companies that made the 2024 Fortune Global 500 list, in order of ranking:

88) Federal Home Loan Mortgage (“Freddie Mac”), McLean

159) Boeing, Arlington County

188) RTX, Arlington County

272) Performance Food Group, Goochland County

304) Capital One Financial, McLean

362) General Dynamics, Reston

382) Northrop Grumman, Falls Church

 

Va. Lottery reports record $5.5B in FY24 sales

Virginia Lottery reported a record-breaking $5.5 billion in sales for fiscal 2024 and highest ever profits of $934 million, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday. 

In fiscal 2023, the state lottery reported $4.6 billion in revenue and $867 million in profits, which set the previous records for the state agency, which opened 36 years ago.

Lottery profits support Virginia’s K-12 public schools, and Youngkin presented a giant check for $934 million to state educators at a turnover announcement Wednesday. About 10% of Virginia’s K-12 education budget comes from Virginia Lottery profits, according to a news release. 

More than 5,300 brick-and-mortar retailers earned more than $142 million in commissions and bonuses over the past fiscal year, which ended June 30, and lottery players won a record $4.2 billion in prizes. For every dollar spent playing Virginia Lottery games, approximately 77 cents went back to players, the release said. 

“The record profits are a byproduct of every lottery employee’s extreme dedication to our mission of contributing to our K-12 public schools one play at a time,” Virginia Lottery Executive Director Khalid Jones said in a statement. “We are pleased that the lottery was able to deliver for the commonwealth once again, and in an even bigger way than ever before.”

Administrative costs took 3.8% of sales. The state auditor of public accounts will certify Virginia Lottery profit figures later this month. They are not official until then.

CGI Federal to acquire Vienna government contractor

CGI Federal, the U.S. arm of Montreal-based IT and professional services consultancy CGI, announced this week it plans to acquire Aeyon, a Vienna-based federal IT consulting firm. The purchase, for which terms were not disclosed, is expected to close by the end of September. 

With 725 employees, Aeyon has been owned by Enlightenment Capital, a Maryland investment firm that invests in middle-market companies in aerospace, defense, government and technology. The parties entered into the acquisition agreement on June 22, according to the announcement. 

CGI Federal officials noted the purchase will complement and expand its relationships with critical national security clients, multiple branches and agencies of the U.S. military, the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA.

Pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of CGI’s fiscal 2024, which ends Sept. 30. 

“We look forward to welcoming the 725 Aeyon employees whose deep experience and expertise in government transformation has meaningfully contributed to the missions of U.S. federal government organizations,” CGI Federal President Stephanie Mango said in a statement. In June, CGI Federal won a place on an $8 billion contract to modernize the FBI’s IT systems. 

“By joining forces with CGI, our clients will benefit significantly from their access to new and complementary global capabilities, greater scale and opportunities to enhance and broaden their mission impact; and for our employees the opportunities to advance their careers with an industry leader are also significant,” Aeyon President and CEO Sunny Singh said. “We are thrilled to combine our capabilities, strengthen our offerings and advance our history of delivering innovative, trusted digital transformation, data and intelligent automation services and solutions to our clients.”

Aeyon was started in 2021 as an Enlightenment Capital portfolio company, when Artlin Consulting and Sehlke Consulting merged.

The parent company CGI has more than 90,000 employees at 80 offices in the United States and 400 locations worldwide, and it reported revenue of $10.4 billion for fiscal 2023, an 11.1% increase over 2022. 

Kroger names new mid-Atlantic president

Kroger has named Kate Mora president of its mid-Atlantic division, replacing Lori Raya, who’d held the role since 2021 and is retiring, according to a Tuesday news announcement by the grocery store chain, which has nearly half a million employees across 2,800 stores in 35 states, including 68 stores in Virginia. 

Mora will work in Glen Allen, where Kroger’s mid-Atlantic division has been based since 2021, when the company relocated its regional headquarters from Roanoke. 

Mora joined Kroger in 2022 as vice president on special assignment supporting End-to-End Fresh, an initiative to designed to get the freshest food to shoppers. She went on to serve as vice president for merchandising in the company’s Michigan division. 

Before coming to Kroger, Mora worked for more than 26 years at Walmart, leaving in 2021 as a vice president managing a section of the mid-Atlantic region, according to her LinkedIn page. 

Mora holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and sits on the board of Gleaners Community Food Bank in Detroit. 

“With more than 25 years of retail management and leadership experience, she is a proven leader and strategic thinker, with a history of operational excellence,” Valerie Jabbar, senior vice president of retail divisions for Kroger, said in a statement. 

The company’s mid-Atlantic division operates more than 100 stores in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio staffed by about 18,000 associates. In March, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 and Kroger officials reached a contract agreement that narrowly averted a strike in West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio. 

In 2022, Kroger and Albertsons Companies announced plans for a $24.6 billion merger agreement set to be completed in 2024. However, in February the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit aiming to stop the merger, alleging that it would reduce competition and lead to higher grocery prices. Nine attorneys general joined the complaint. The trial is scheduled to begin at the end of this month in Oregon. 

Separately, the attorney general of Washington state and the attorney general of Colorado have both filed state lawsuits to block the merger. The UFCW International Union, which represents more than 100,000 Kroger and Albertsons workers, opposes the merger. 

Glen Allen’s Dynex Capital names co-CEO

Glen Allen’s Dynex Capital has named Smriti Laxman Popenoe its co-CEO, the real estate investment trust announced in July. 

With more than three decades of experience in capital markets and investing, Popenoe will lead with Byron Boston, who remains chairman and co-CEO. Popenoe also will remain president and chief investment officer, as well as a member of Dynex’s board.

“This is a natural step, given the key role she has played in growing Dynex,” Boston said in a statement. 

In her new role, Popenoe will focus on the company’s operations and performance while continuing her duties as president and CIO. As president of Dynex, Popenoe is responsible for raising, deploying and managing the company’s capital. As CIO, she leads the team that oversees the company’s investment portfolio, associated hedges and financing arrangements. 

“Managing our company for the long term in this complex and dynamic global environment requires experience, continuity and collaboration,” said Julia Coronado, lead independent director of Dynex. “Smriti has demonstrated these qualities in abundance and has proven to be an exceptional leader working alongside Byron.”

Popenoe joined Dynex in 2014 as executive vice president and co-chief investment officer, according to her LinkedIn page. Her resume also includes senior roles at Wachovia and Freddie Mac. 

She also has a degree in chemistry and environmental science from St. Joseph’s College in Bangalore, India, a MBA from the University of Rochester and a master’s-level French diploma from the Alliance Française. 

She is a founding member of the Washington, D.C., chapter of Chief, an organization geared to senior female leaders. She also sits on the board of Industrial Indicators, a Maryland tools manufacturer. 

Boston has served as the company’s CEO since 2014. He joined the company in 2008 as executive vice president and chief investment officer, joined the board in 2012 and became chairman in 2023. He boasts an extensive background in U.S. real estate finance, asset management, investment banking and fixed-income capital markets. 

In addition, Dynex announced some other promotions:

  • Rob Colligan, the company’s chief financial officer, will now be CFO and chief operating officer.
  • Harman Sahni, who held senior technology roles at Rithm Capital and Annaly Capital, will be chief technology officer, reporting to Colligan.
  • Robert Nilson, Dynex’s vice president of risk and compliance, was promoted to chief risk officer; Jeff Childress, vice president and controller since 2005, is now chief accounting officer; Rebecca Imhof, Dynex’s assistant controller since 2019, was promoted to controller.

Dynex, which generates dividend income and long-term total returns through the financing of real estate assets, reported $6.37 billion in total assets at the end of 2023, compared to about $3.61 billion in 2022. 

Va. tourism generated $33.3B for 2023

Virginia’s tourism industry generated $33.3 billion in visitor spending in 2023, an increase of nearly 10% over 2022, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday. 

“The commonwealth’s record-breaking visitor spending numbers are a testament to our abundance of attractions and unique destinations,” Gov. Youngkin stated in a news release. 

Virginia’s tourism industry supported over 224,000 jobs in 2023, an increase of 13,000 jobs over 2022, according to the release. Direct travel employment is 93% of what it was prior to the pandemic. 

In 2023, travelers spent $91 million a day in Virginia, up from $83 million in 2022. Directly, Virginia visitors drove $2.4 billion in state and local tax revenue, a 9% increase from $2.2 billion in 2022. About 43.6 million tourists spent the night in the commonwealth in 2023, up from 42.2 million the year before. 

Virginia tracks tourist spending within five major categories: recreation; transportation; lodging; food and beverage; and retail. Each category has recovered to levels seen prior to the pandemic. Recreation grew the fastest in 2023, with a 12% increase over 2022 and a 24% increase over pre-pandemic levels. Transportation increased 11% last year over 2022 and 11% over pre-pandemic levels. Lodging spending grew by 9% in 2023 over 2022 and increased from 2019 levels by 13%. 

“Recreation and transportation in particular have seen remarkable increases, driven by a strong preference for unique experiences,” Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick stated in the release.

Virginia Tourism Corp. receives annual economic impact data from Tourism Economics, a Pennsylvania consulting firm. The information is based on domestic visitor spending. To be included, visitors must have stayed overnight or traveled more than 50 miles.

Pechin joins Thalhimer Realty Partners

Less than a year after leaving the City of Richmond to work for the federal government, Maritza Pechin has joined Thalhimer Realty Partners as director of development, the Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer subsidiary announced Monday.

Pechin was deputy director for the office of equitable development for the city and was heavily involved in the $2.44 billion Diamond District development. Thalhimer is a lead developer in a joint venture known as Diamond District Partners that is tasked with replacing the 40-year-old Diamond baseball stadium by spring 2026 and constructing a surrounding mixed-use development on 67 acres off Arthur Ashe Boulevard.

In a post on LinkedIn on Monday, Pechin announced she was leaving her job as head of innovative finance and delivery at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau “much sooner than I had intended” and added that she is excited for the opportunity to continue to work on the Diamond District.

“We are thrilled to have Maritza join our team,” Jason Guillot, principal at Thalhimer Realty Partners stated in a news release. “Her experience in community engagement, real estate development and urban planning makes her an invaluable addition to the Thalhimer Realty Partners team and the Diamond District project.”

The 67-acre, $2.44 billion Diamond District project’s first phase is expected to cost $627.6 million, and includes a 9,000-capacity, $90 million-plus baseball stadium and a hotel with at least 180 rooms from a high-end brand, such as Hilton or Westin. The project also will include more than 3,000 rental and for-sale residential units, 935,000 square feet of office space, 195,000 square feet of retail and community space, and another hotel. 

However, the project has hit some road bumps, having experienced delays, a change in financing structure and a lawsuit by a former joint venture partner against Guillot, Thalhimer, Loop Capital and others. The $40 million lawsuit by Republic Projects claims that its former partners cut them out of the development deal and created their own development partnership.

A native of Puerto Rico, Pechin earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard and a master’s in planning from the University of Pennsylvania. Working for the City of Richmond, Pechin served as project manager for the city’s master plan, Richmond 300, which emphasized equitable and sustainable growth. It won the American Planning Association’s 2021 Daniel H. Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan.

Pechin left that job in September 2023 to join USDOT’s Build America Bureau in a role where she helped local government officials to identify loans, grants and other financing solutions. Previously, Pechin worked at AECOM as a planner at Fulton Hill Properties, where she was a development manager. She also served as an adjunct professor in the graduate planning program at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Youngkin: Va. spawned 10,000+ startups in 2022-23

More than 10,000 high-growth and high-wage startup companies were created in Virginia during 2022 and 2023, according to research conducted by Richmond’s Chmura Economics & Analytics for the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. 

On Thursday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced this achievement at an event at Zebox America, an Arlington County-based startup accelerator and innovation hub run by shipping giant CMA CGM Group. Representatives from Chmura and VIPC, a state-affiliated nonprofit that provides strategic commercialization and funding support to Virginia-based tech startups, were able to show the work behind that 10,000 startups number Friday afternoon. 

To be considered a startup by Chmura Economics analysts, a company had to offer above-average wages for Virginia and had to have an above-average forecasted employment growth rate. Using that criteria, the firm found 10,337 Virginia-based startup companies that launched in 2022 and 2023. 

“At the beginning of my administration, I pledged to reinvigorate job growth and foster an environment for 10,000 new startups in Virginia, and we’ve achieved it in record time,” Youngkin stated in a Thursday news release. In that release, the governor’s office claimed that the administration had “achieved this 10,000 new startup milestone faster than any previous Virginia governor’s administration in the last 15 years.”  

VIPC and Chmura Economics representatives provided a chart to Virginia Business listing the number of startups launched in Virginia in the first two years of the tenure of each Virginia governor since 2010. In 2010 and 2011 under Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia created 5,802 startup companies meeting the criteria. In 2014 and 2015 under Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Virginia created 6,684 startups. In 2018 and 2019, under Gov. Ralph Northam, 6,149 eligible startups were created. 

Creating 10,337 new startups in 2022 and 2023 is a rate 66% higher than the historical average of those figures, according to VIPC CEO Joe Benevento. 

VIPC plans to distribute more information about the research during the week of Aug. 5. 

For 2022 and 2023, nearly 500 more startups were created on average each quarter in Virginia than were created during the 2012-2021 quarterly average, according to VIPC and Chmura. 

“The other thing that was really nice to see from the data that Chmura crunched … was [that] this increase was really broad, based across all the regions of the commonwealth,” Benevento said. 

All regions of Virginia saw an increase in the average quarterly number of startups created in 2022 and 2023 over the average quarterly number of startups created during the 2012-2021 period, according to Chmura’s data. The average quarterly number of startups during these two years was an increase compared to the average quarterly number of startups created between 2012-2021, according to the data. 

GO Virginia, the state economic development initiative to foster job creation, divides the state into nine regions. Go Virginia Region 1 in Southwest Virginia saw the smallest increase, at 5%. Go Virginia Region 3 in Southern Virginia saw the greatest increase at 41%, according to the data provided by Chmura Economics. 

Youngkin also noted in Thursday’s release that Virginia ranked No. 8 in the country for highest venture capital investment activity during 2023 and was ranked 13th in 2022, according to data assembled by Chmura Economics from the National Venture Capital Association.  

“We’ve reached this incredible milestone by driving innovation, fostering entrepreneurship, bolstering our talent pipeline, providing needed tax relief and truly creating an environment where startups and businesses can thrive,” Youngkin stated Thursday. 

In May, VIPC announced a program called Virginia Invests, with VIPC partnering with seven venture capital fund managers to invest $100 million in 100 Virginia-based high-growth startups.

“VIPC’s most recent new statewide initiative for example, Virginia Invests, is going to attract and catalyze over $250 million of outside venture capital from private market investment partners that will be invested directly in Virginia startups and help support the next wave of 10,000 new startups in Virginia,” Benevento said in statement sent Friday. 

In July, Virginia ranked as CNBC’s Top State for Business, marking the record sixth time the business news network has rated Virginia No. 1 in the nation.

BAE Systems receives $493M Army contract

Falls Church-based BAE Systems Inc. has received a $493 million U.S. Army contract to produce M109A7 self-propelled howitzers and M992A3 ammunition carriers, the U.S. arm of British defense giant BAE Systems plc announced Aug. 2.

The contract’s production and deliveries are scheduled between August 2025 and July 2026.

The M109A7 will be used by the Army’s Armored Brigade Combat Team, the Army’s primary armored force.

BAE Systems Inc. received the initial contract from the U.S. Army for $413.7 million to produced 48 vehicle sets  in 2017. By 2022, the federal contractor reported having produced 310 sets of M109A7 self-propelled howitzers and companion M992A3 ammunition carriers to the U.S. Army for $1.9 billion. Friday’s update brings the total contract value to almost $3 billion, according to a BAE Systems news release.

“We are focused on producing and fielding modern artillery capabilities that provide the Army with overmatch in range, accuracy and lethality,” said Dan Furber, director of ground vehicle production for BAE Systems’ Combat Mission Systems business, stated in the news release. “This contract ensures the ABCT will sustain operations of one of the most survivable indirect fire support systems for years to come.”

BAE Systems recently expanded production and support efforts for M109A7 and M992A3 at a facility in Anniston, Alabama. Facilities in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Michigan, New York; Elgin, Oklahoma and South Carolina will also participate in production, according to a news release. 

Solar startup moving into Bedford plant, creating 104 jobs

Solar energy startup Solarix plans to invest $63 million to start a solar module manufacturing facility in eastern Bedford County and create 104 jobs, the company, the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance and the Bedford County Office of Economic Development announced Thursday. 

Solarix, which bills itself as a 100% American-owned, SBA-certified, disabled veteran-owned company headquartered in Bedford’s Forest community, purchased a 423,553-square-foot building at 2150 Perrowville Road that was used by Teva Pharmaceuticals, which ceased operations in 2020.

Solarix plans to begin manufacturing by July 2025 and to employ 104 people, according to the news release. The company bought the building for $16.5 million in July from AVET, according to public records. AVET, an entity located in Henrico County, purchased the building in 2021 for $7 million.

“The building has been vacant for quite a few years, so I’m glad to see somebody in there,” said Pam Armstrong, Bedford’s director of economic development.

“The partners and investors were familiar with Virginia,” said Megan Lucas, CEO and chief economic development officer of Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance. “They were also looking for a building of this size, a large existing manufacturing facility, and that’s what brought their eyes to our market.” 

The company was created “specifically to develop this plant,” according to Dakota Forgione, Solarix’s controller and chief relationship officer.

The company’s goal, according to the news release, is to “support the commonwealth’s renewable energy supply needs and mitigate reliance on foreign manufacturers, particularly from China.” 

“As a 100% American-owned and managed company, we are immensely proud to contribute to our nation’s energy independence,” Carlos Class, CEO and co-founder of Solarix, stated in the release. “By reclaiming control of our supply chain from foreign manufacturers, we are safeguarding our electric grid infrastructure, ensuring its resilience for decades to come. This is not just a business endeavor; it is a commitment to U.S. national security and a sustainable future.”

Forgione noted that there are “very few” solar module manufacturers currently operating in the United States. “Just a handful with nominal capacity,” he said.

Napoli Gomez, co-founder and chief technology officer of Solarix, previously worked at JinkoSolar, which also manufacturers solar panels, as a process engineer in a Florida facility, according to his LinkedIn page. He has more than a decade of experience working in solar cells technology and PV module manufacturing, according to Solarix.

The modules will be designed to be suitable for various applications, including agrivoltaics, which is the practice of using land for agriculture while generating solar energy. They will feature bifacial dual glass technology, and every module will have a 30-year performance warranty, according to the news release.  

Former Gov. Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act in 2020, which pledges to transition Virginia’s electric grid to 100% clean energy by 2050. 

Solarix plans to initially achieve a production capacity of 1 gigawatt per year. In its second phase, which the company plans to launch in 2026, Solarix executives plan to expand the facility to be able to produce 3 gigawatts of electricity per year and have hired 200 workers, according to Forgione. 

“There is a very talented workforce pool that is readily available in the region,” she said. “A lot of that is because you had a lot of very technical jobs that were associated with Teva Pharmaceuticals.”

Solarix executives expect the facility to produce 200 modules per hour. In phase two of development, Solarix plans to add a solar module recycling line. The company will accept old and broken modules from other manufacturers. 

Solarix hopes to take advantage of the Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit, a federal incentive created as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to boost domestic production of materials related to clean and renewable energy. The company has not yet received any incentives from the state, according to Forgione.

The Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance worked with the Bedford County Office of Economic Development to bring the project to Forest.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the sale price for the facility.