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byline: Richard Foster

Smithfield Foods’ foundation donates to support homeless vets

The charitable arm of Virginia-based global food company Smithfield Foods Inc. donated $150,000 to support Virginia programs for homeless military veterans and their families during a ceremony held in Richmond Thursday with Gov. Ralph Northam and other state dignitaries.

The donation from The Smithfield Foundation to the Virginia Veterans Service Foundation, a state agency, will support the Homeless Veteran Fund, which provides gap assistance to homeless vets and those on the brink of homelessness. Smithfield previously donated $68,000 to held establish the fund in 2016. The Homeless Veteran Fund was established by the Virginia Veteran and Family Support Program, which is operated by the Virginia Department of Veteran Services (DVS), and the Virginia Veterans Service Foundation, which seeks donations and grants to provide supplement funding for Virginia veterans programs.

“At Smithfield, our ongoing commitment to support veterans directly aligns with the mission of the DVS Homeless Veteran Fund and we are pleased to provide resources to ensure the continued success of this program right here in our home state of Virginia,” said Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods. “We are honored to give back to our nation’s veterans through this unique and successful public-private partnership, in honor of their service and sacrifice to all of us.”

In a statement released Thursday, Northam said, “With nearly one in 10 Virginians having worn a uniform, our commonwealth is home to one of the largest veteran populations in the country, and we owe it to our Virginia veterans to ensure they have a safe place to live. We are grateful for our ongoing partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies, and the financial support of generous donors like Smithfield Foods that enables us to meet the needs of the more than 730,000 veterans living in Virginia and make sure that veteran homelessness in our commonwealth is rare, brief and non-recurring.”

Smithfield Foods is the world's largest pork processor and hog producer.

Image courtesy Smithfield Foods Inc.

Building One opens at Tech Center Research Park

Building One @ Tech Center Research Park, the first of 10 buildings planned for the 50-acre Newport News research park, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark its official opening, according to an announcement by developer W.M. Jordan Co.

The 81,600-square-foot building has been under construction since August 2017. The $450 million, 850,000-square-foot Tech Center Research Park, which is being developed by W.M. Jordan, Virginia Tech and the city of Newport News, is part of larger, mixed-use campus that will include Marketplace at Tech Center, a 250,000-square-foot project with retail and restaurants, and Venture Apartments Tech Center, a 300,000-square-foot multifamily residential community.

“Building One symbolizes the beginning of what will be an innovation powerhouse in Newport News,” Newport News Mayor McKinley Price said in a statement. “New and emerging companies will thrive in an environment backed by the strength of Virginia Tech, Jefferson Lab and their network of entrepreneurial services.”

Building One is 94% leased, according to a press release issued Friday, and its major tenants include coworking firm Gather, which will occupy 27,000 square feet on the first and second floors. Newport News-based iWatch, a medical biosensor technology company, is leasing 25,000 square feet on the first and third floors. ITA International and its subsidiary ITA Data Analytics Center, which provide integrated support services, will be leasing more than 14,000 feet in the facility. 

The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and Virginia Tech Outreach and International Affairs division will also occupy 5,000 square feet in the building, serving to promote collaboration with entrepreneurs, professional service providers, research and development firms and science and technology companies. It will also encourage economic development of new and expanding science and tech firms as well as supporting and complementing research-related activites at the adjacent Jefferson Lab, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science national laboratory.

Colliers International is handling leasing for the research park.

Virginia Tech raises record $181.9 million in fiscal 2019

Virginia Tech announced today that it received a record $181.9 million in donations and commitments during fiscal year 2019, an 18% increase from the previous year. It marks the third consecutive year that donations to the university have exceeded $150 million, with $120.3 million of that raised in cash.

The $50 million gift from the Horace G. Fralin Charitable Trust and Heywood and Cynthia Fralin — the largest in the university’s history — for the renamed Fralin Biomedical Research Institute accounted for more than 27% of the total raised.

Nearly 36,300 donors — including individuals, corporations and foundations — contributed to Tech during the fiscal year that ended June 30. The university’s previous fundraising record was set two years ago, when the university raised $162.3 million.

More than 22,800 alumni contributed in fiscal year 2019, up 5% from the previosy year.

“Our alumni, friends, faculty, staff, parents, and students have shown how much they value Virginia Tech and are committed to its future,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said in a statement. “We are profoundly grateful for their record-setting generosity. With their support, we can change communities, the commonwealth, and the world through research and education. Thank you, Hokie Nation, for your strength and incredibly generous spirit.”

Virginia is second in nation with most Top 50 Best Colleges

Virginia is second only to California as the state with the most colleges in the top 50 on Money magazine's 2019 Best Colleges in America list.

The University of Virginia was ranked 10th in the annual list, the highest for any Virginia university. Money points out that U.Va. has the highest graduation rate of any public university in the country.

Four other Virginia universities made the list's top 50:  Washington & Lee (26); Virginia Tech (34); William & Mary (45); and Virginia Military Institute (49). 

California has 14 universities on the list, topped by University of California-Irvine, which was ranked No. 1.

New president named at Virginia Beach hospital

Paul Gaden has been named president of Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach.

He will begin helming the 174-bed facility on Aug. 26.

Gaden previously was CEO of Bon Secours Maryview in Portsmouth and Bon Secours DePaul Medical Centers in Norfolk.

At Sentara Princess Anne Hospital, Gaden replaces Dr. Thomas Thames, who recently retired.

Chrysler Museum hires new directors

The Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk has named Allison M. Taylor its director of education and Heather Sherwin its director of development.

Taylor was the head of education and community engagement at Washington University's Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum in St. Louis. She holds a master’s degree in liberal studies with a concentration in museum studies from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a bachelor’s degree in art history from Winthrop University.

Sherwin previously served as vice president of advancement at the Central Carolina Community for seven years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Boston University.

New housing and revitalization coordinator named for Martinsville-Henry County

Richmond native Jeffrey Sadler has been hired as the new housing and revitalization coordinator for the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. 

Sadler formerly worked as associate director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development's Community Revitalization Office. He is also the principal and lead consultant for Complete Community Economies LLC, which specializes in comprehensive revitalization plans for transitioning localities, including housing options, business development efforts and tax-base renewal and strengthening.

“Having a point of contact, someone with access to all of the relevant information, and resources available to the community, greatly streamlines the process and demonstrates the serious effort being applied to moving housing and revitalization-related projects forward in our community,” Martinsville City Manager Leon Towarnicki said in a statement.

Henry County Administrator Tim Hall added, “This community has done and continues to do a good job of providing job opportunities for our residents. The logical next step is enhanced residential space because the workers need a place to live. Buying or renting a home really is the fabric of a great community, and we are excited that someone with Jeff Sadler’s experience and talent will help us move forward.”

Funding for the position will be supported by The Harvest Foundation, which has worked since December 2018 to convene stakeholders and other officials in a community conversation about housing.

Mark Heath, president and CEO of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp., said, “We are excited to have Jeff come on board at this important stage in our overall development efforts. Martinsville-Henry County’s success in increasing the tax base and recruiting new jobs has led to the realization that we need updated apartment and housing stock across multiple income levels. Jeff’s expertise will greatly enhance the [economic development corporation's] talent development efforts.”

Judge dismisses LeClairRyan malpractice suit

Updated Aug. 13

A Richmond Circuit Court judge has dismissed a $603 million malpractice lawsuit against embattled Richmond law firm LeClairRyan, which recently announced that it is going out of business.

On Thursday, Richmond Chief Circuit Court Judge Clarence Jenkins dismissed the 2017 lawsuit filed by former Health Diagnostic Laboratory (HDL) Inc. CEO Tonya Mallory, who had alleged that LeClairRyan provided poor legal advice that led to the bankruptcy and closure of her once-booming blood-testing business and an $111 million federal judgment against her and two other executives.

Mallory’s lawsuit alleged that LeClairRyan had “repeatedly advised” her that HDL’s practice of paying processing and handling fees to physicians who ordered its blood tests didn’t violate federal anti-kickbacks laws. LeClairRyan settled a similar malpractice complaint brought by HDL’s bankruptcy trustee for $20.3 million. Mallory herself paid a $10 million settlement to the liquidating trustee.

In his opinion, Jenkins wrote that a federal district court “has already determined that plaintiff [Mallory] knowingly engaged in the conduct complained of. Consequently, plaintiff is at least partially responsible for the injuries she sustained. Therefore, plaintiff’s claim for recovery is barred.”

In a statement issued to a legal trade magazine The American Lawyer, Lori Thompson, the firm’s general counsel, said the firm was “very pleased” with Jenkins’ decision and with the representation of its outside counsel, Richmond-based Christian & Barton LLP.

Mallory says she intends to appeal the decision, saying she believes the judge based his decision on an incorrect interpretation of a 2018 federal trial in South Carolina in which a jury found her and two other defendants liable for more than $111 million in damages and penalties under the federal False Claims Act for Medicare fraud.

“The judge has it wrong,” Mallory says firmly. She adds that the amount she was seeking from LeClairRyan had been adjusted to $150 million, not $603 million, as listed in the lawsuit's initial filing.

At its peak, HDL was bringing in $420 million in annual revenue and employed 750 people at its downtown Richmond headquarters. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2015 after paying a $47 million settlement to the federal government, which had alleged that she and HDL had conspired to violate federal law by using the reimbursement scheme to entice doctors to order expensive and medically unnecessary tests for federally insured Medicare and Tricare patients.

LeClairRyan still faces other lawsuits, however, including a pending gender discrimination lawsuit by a former employee who alleges the firm had a widespread practice of gender-based pay disparities.

According to The American Lawyer, the Richmond firm is also close to resolving a malpractice suit brought against it in Chicago federal court by RF Technologies, a manufacturer of fast-food industry components. RF Technologies alleges that LeClairRyan was negligent in the representation it provided the company in a patent infringement case.

LeClairRyan announced earlier this month that it was taking steps to dissolve its practice. Once the state’s fifth-largest law firm, it employed more than 350 attorneys in 21 offices nationwide at its height. During the last few years, the firm’s gross revenues have steadily declined, sinking from $163 million in 2015 to $122.5 million last year.

Vaco acquires McLean-based MorganFranklin Consulting

Nashville, Tennessee-based staffing firm Vaco has acquired McLean-based MorganFranklin Consulting, a finance and technology advisory firm.

Financial details about the deal were not disclosed.

Vaco says the addition of MorganFranklin will create a combined $750 million professional services firm involved in executive search, consulting, strategic staffing and permanent placement solutions. 

“Vaco has always strived to be the most consultative talent & solutions firm in the industry, and with this union we can deliver an unparalleled complete spectrum of services,” Jerry Bostelman, founder and CEO of Vaco, said in a statement. “As with all things Vaco, our clients value the culture we bring as much as our capabilities. The chemistry we felt with the talented MorganFranklin team has only intensified with each conversation about how we will grow and serve together.”

As part of the acquisition, MorganFranklin Consulting will maintain its name and brand. Chris Mann will continue to serve as CEO and managing partner of MorganFranklin.

Vaco is a portfolio company of Olympus Partners. The transaction closed on July 31.

Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to Olympus Partners and Vaco.

Six companies join Hampton Roads accelerator

Hampton Roads business accelerator 757 Accelerate has selected six companies to participate in its second 12-week program for startups.

Begun last year, 757 Accelerate provides promising entrepreneurs $20,000 in capital without taking equity in the companies. The accelerator also provides startups with connections to mentors, investors and resources while helping to validate products and test business models.

The latest cohort of companies will begin the program on Aug. 26. The group includes ventures industries such as cosmetics, software, 3-D printing and furniture.The companies are:

Nuekie — Eunice Cofie, a Hampton chemist, combines her knowledge of traditional African medicine and modern chemistry to create health and beauty products for people of color.

Xperience Robotics — Ankit Shah, also from Hampton, is an aerospace engineer who has built an artificial intelligence-based software platform using wearable sensors to track patient’s movements for physical therapy and movement disorder treatments.

Forefront — Yulkendy Valdez and Josuel Plasencia, the founders of New York-based Forefront, have created a software platform to increase the reach of their diversity and inclusion training seminars for Fortune 500 companies such SAP, Accenture and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Metallum3D — Nelson Zambrana, founder of Charlottesville-based Metallum3D, invented a patented low-cost, high-performance 3-D printing process.

Redactable — Founder Amanda Levay of New York created a patented web application that permanently redacts data such as financial information quickly and easily from web browsers.  Current software places black boxes over sensitive information, but it does not remove it.

Addison Weeks — Founded by Virginia Beach native Lee Addison Lesley and Kat Weeks Mulford, Addison Weeks manufactures creative furniture hardware.