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byline: Robyn Sidersky

EY taps seven Va. biz leaders as mid-Atlantic entrepreneurs of year

Seven Virginia business leaders have been named winners of Ernst & Young LLP’s Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 2023. 

The winners, named Friday by the Big Four multinational professional services company, include:

  • Aptive Resources | Rachele Cooper, founder and CEO, Alexandria
  • Cuisine Solutions Inc. | Felipe Hasselmann, CEO and president, Sterling
  • Foster Fuels Inc. | Watt Foster Jr., CEO and president, Brookneal
  • Groundworks | Matt Malone, founder and CEO, Virginia Beach
  • Joyebells | Joye B. Moore, founder and CEO, Richmond
  • ShiftMed | Todd Walrath, founder and CEO, McLean
  • Stori | Bin Chen, founder and CEO, Arlington County

Altogether, EY presented Mid-Atlantic Enterpreneur of the Year Awards to 11 entrepreneurs from Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Awards were based on demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact, as well as other attributes. Finalists for the Mid-Atlantic awards were announced in May. 

“Every year, we are completely blown away by the accomplishments of our Entrepreneur Of The Year Regional Award winners, and 2023 is no different,” AJ Jordan, EY Americas Entrepreneur Of The Year program director, said in a statement. “They are change-makers and champions of business and community, and we are so proud to be honoring them. We can’t wait to see how these leaders will continue to improve lives and disrupt industries.”

Presented since 1986, EY’s entrepreneur awards have recognized more than 11,000 U.S. executives. Regional winners will be considered by national judges for the U.S. Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, and that winner will compete for the World Entrepreneur of the Year Award in June 2024. 

Aptive Resources, a government services firm that provides mission support for programs across the government, is led by Cooper, a Navy veteran and aerospace engineer. The company was ranked No. 565 on Inc. 5000’s list of the nation’s fastest growing privately held companies last year. 

Cuisine Solutions, a sous vide manufacturing business based in Sterling, sent truckloads of food to Ukraine last year. The company’s clients include Starbucks Coffee Co., United Airlines Inc., McLean-based Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. 

“On behalf of our thousands of employees worldwide at Cuisine Solutions, I am honored to be acknowledged as the CEO of one of the most entrepreneurial companies in the region by the Ernst & Young team,” Hasselmann said in a statement provided to Virginia Business. “At our company, it has always been a team effort and outcome, and I am incredibly thankful for the passion and dedication I witness every day. My focus, as with all my colleagues, is to continue to transform the culinary marketplace and expand our role as the global leader in sous vide food manufacturing. The future is incredibly bright for our company, as well as the art and science of sous vide.”

Foster Fuels, established in 1921, provides residential, commercial, agricultural, transport and emergency fuel services. Based in Campbell County, the company has more than 200 employees and has responded to major disasters including Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2021 Texas ice storm and Hurricane Ian, according to the company. It also provides support to Fortune 500 companies. 

“It’s with great pride that the entire Foster Fuels team celebrates President and CEO Watt Foster’s 2023 EY Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the Year award,” Cameron Anctil, the company’s vice president of marketing, said. “As a third-generation owner of Foster Fuels, Watt Foster carries on a strong legacy of entrepreneurial leadership with forward-thinking focus on innovation.” 

Virginia Beach-based Groundworks is a foundation services and water management solutions provider comprised of 21 brands and with offices across the country. Founded by Malone in 2016, it made the 2020 Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing privately owned companies. This year, it has expanded to five new markets and now employs more than 4,000 workers. 

“This honor is the result of a team effort and should be shared by the entire company,” Malone said in a statement. “Great companies are built by great people, and I’m proud to serve the men and women who have dedicated themselves to the Groundworks mission.”

Moore founded Joyebells in 2019 after a layoff. She’s a sixth-generation sweet potato pie baker, and spent 30 years baking pies to give as gifts during the holidays, according to a 2021 profile in Southern Living magazine. She started off selling pies in Richmond; Food Lion, Sam’s Club and QVC now carry her pies and the company projected $10.4 million revenue in 2022, according to the Richmond-Times Dispatch.

ShiftMed is a mobile app that gives nurses and health care providers the ability to schedule shifts with more than 1,500 partners across the country. The software company, founded by Walrath in 2019, landed at No. 1,713 on the 2022 Inc. 5000 list. The company announced in February that it had raised $200 million to expand its footprint.

“Being named one of EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award winners is one of my proudest moments of my career. This award is meaningful to me as it recognizes the collective efforts, dedication and impact of my entrepreneurship journey to improving the future of healthcare,” Walrath told Virginia Business. “It is an honor to stand alongside many prominent business leaders in Virginia who have made remarkable contributions to their respective fields. This prestigious recognition serves as a reminder of the power of perseverance, innovation and the unwavering belief in the transformative potential of entrepreneurship.”

Stori is a financial tech company co-founded by CEO Chen in 2018 that us seeking to her the underbanked population in Latin America. In 2022, the company announced it had a $150 million financing round, bringing its value up to $1.2 billion.

 

Va. Tech’s Center for Biz Analytics names director

Jennifer Havens has been named director of the Center for Business Analytics at Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business, the university announced Wednesday.

Havens joins Virginia Tech from Amazon.com Inc., where she was an executive coach, shaping organizational strategy and culture and designing the global e-tailer’s first group coaching program. She was also a founding leader of Carilion Clinic’s Institute for Leadership Effectiveness.

“I am deeply honored to serve as Virginia Tech’s Center for Business Analytics director during this exciting, future-focused phase,” Havens said in a statement. “As we foster connections among students, faculty, alumni, and industry leaders, all working together to tackle high-impact global problems, I hope to collaborate with colleagues throughout the university.”

Virginia Tech is close to completing the first phase of its Global Business and Analytics Complex on its Blacksburg campus. The Data and Decision Sciences Building is the first of four buildings to open and will have classroom and living spaces centered around using data to address problems facing businesses and society.

Havens is an alumna of the Pamplin college, from which she earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing management. She also has an MBA from Radford University.

“We are excited to have Jennifer join the CBA team,” Jay Winkeler, executive director of the Center for Business Analytics, said in a statement. “The breadth and depth of her experience will strengthen our MSBA-BA program and enhance the educational and experiential learning experience for our students.”

2023 Va. hotel revenues up 12.9% over pre-pandemic

Hotel revenues in the commonwealth this year were 12.9% higher from January through May, compared with pre-pandemic business during the same period in 2019, according to data released Tuesday by STR Inc., a division of CoStar Group Inc. that provides market data on the U.S. hospitality industry.

Hotel rooms sold were about the same compared with the same period in 2019. The average daily rate (ADR) for hotel rooms was $125, a 12.8% increase from 2019. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) stood at $75, up 11.4% from the same period in 2019.

Revenues are up because prices are higher compared with 2019 in part due to inflation and labor costs, versus greater occupancy rates, Vinod Agarwal, deputy director of Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy told Virginia Business.

Also, as the pandemic lessened, there has been pent-up demand from leisure travelers, Agarwal said. Driven largely by tourism, hotel revenues in Hampton Roads led the state, rising 27.4% higher than 2019. The region has “more than fully recovered from the pandemic,” according to a news release from the Dragas Center.

In fact, every major market in the commonwealth except Northern Virginia appears to have fully recovered from the pandemic, which is responsible for Virginia hotels’ overall “lackluster performance” through May 2023, ODU said. Northern Virginia’s hotels are much more dependent on business travel, which has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, Agarwal noted.

Northern Virginia’s hotel revenues were down 3.1% through May this year, compared with the same period in 2019 when Northern Virginia accounted for 43% of hotel revenue generated in the commonwealth,

“Hoteliers have to adjust,” Agarwal said. “Business travel won’t be the same as it was before.” Airlines are experiencing something similar, he noted — leisure travel has returned but not business travel. “The markets doing well are the ones that are not dependent on business travel.”

Rooms sold through May decreased 10.5% in Northern Virginia, by 7.1% in the Roanoke market and by 1.3% in the Virginia portion of the Bristol/Kingsport market, compared with pre-pandemic data.

In Hampton Roads, the Norfolk/Portsmouth, Chesapeake/Suffolk and Virginia Beach markets fared better than other submarkets, with 10.8%, 6% and 4.9% increases in rooms sold, respectively. The Newport News/Hampton market was the only submarket in that region that saw a decline. Rooms were down 1.2%.

Hampton Roads saw its revenue increase the most in Virginia Beach, which was up 33.1% compared with 2019, followed by Chesapeake/Suffolk, which was up 31.2%. The Norfolk/Portsmouth market was up 30.5%. The slowest growth in that region was in the Williamsburg market, with a 17.6% increase.

 

W&M Law School hires comms, marketing officer

William & Mary Law School has named Doris Taylor as its first chief communications and marketing officer.

Taylor began her new role June 12 and has primary responsibility for developing and executing strategic communication plans and initiatives to support the engagement and professional needs of the law school.

Taylor was most recently interim director of marketing, communications and public relations at Virginia Peninsula Community College. She has worked in several media and public relations roles in the past two decades, including serving as marketing manager for Thomas Nelson Community College and before that, as social media manager for Norfolk State University. She also ran her own digital media company.

“I am genuinely excited to work alongside an exceptional team of legal scholars, educators and professionals who have dedicated their lives to promoting excellence in legal education,” Taylor said in a statement.

Taylor graduated from Old Dominion University with a bachelor’s degree in English and recently completed her master’s degree in public relations from Norfolk State University.

“Doris’s expertise in brand management, content creation and marketing will be crucial to ensuring that our story is reaching intended audiences and fosters a lifetime community of learning and belonging,” A. Benjamin Spencer, William & Mary’s law school dean and trustee professor, said in a statement.

Grant Thornton names head of public policy

Greg Wallig, managing principal of Grant Thornton LLP’s Washington, D.C.-Arlington County office, has been named head of public policy for the Chicago-based global accounting firm.

Wallig will continue to serve as managing principal of the D.C.-Arlington office but will also manage the firm’s government affairs team, develop and implement the firm’s advocacy strategy and lead outreach to Capitol Hill, the White House and federal agencies.

“I am excited to lead the firm’s government advocacy at such an important time for our clients, our colleagues and our profession,” Wallig said in a statement. “Grant Thornton is committed to delivering quality and personalization — an approach that holds true for everything we do in Washington, D.C. Guided by this commitment, my team and I look forward to strengthening our firm’s relationships with elected officials and stakeholders throughout government.”

Wallig joined Grant Thornton in 2005. As market managing principal, he is responsible for Grant Thornton’s culture, growth and strategy for the D.C. region.

He serves on the boards of the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Global Fund for Children, the Rosslyn Business Improvement District, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, William & Mary’s Mason School of Business and Grant Thornton’s political action committee.

 

Zim announces $30M expansion

Zim American Integrated Shipping Services Co. LLC will invest $30 million to expand its U.S. headquarters in Virginia Beach, creating several hundred jobs over the next five years, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday.

The expansion includes a move from Norfolk, where the company has had its U.S. headquarters since 2001. Zim is a publicly-held subsidiary of Israeli international cargo shipping company Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. The company employs about 280 in Norfolk.

“It was a priority for Zim American Integrated Shipping Services Co. LLC to retain its headquarters in the commonwealth and secure employment opportunities in the Hampton Roads region for years to come,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Virginia is a leader in supply chain management thanks to our infrastructure, robust transportation network and world-class Port of Virginia, and Zim is a vital shipping partner that advances our position in this important industry. We are pleased that Zim will continue its growth in the commonwealth.”

Founded in Israel in 1945, Zim is a global container liner shipping company with operations in more than 90 countries and it serves more than 34,000 customers at more than 300 ports. The Hampton Roads Alliance helped recruit Zim to the region 22 years ago. The company completed its move to Norfolk from the World Trade Center in New York City two weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, according to a news release from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

“The Hampton Roads Alliance congratulates Zim on its growth plans and its decision to continue to headquarter its United States operations here in the Hampton Roads region,” Doug Smith, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Alliance, said in a statement.

In December 2022, ZIM purchased a 70,000-square-foot office building on 4.16 acres from 4425 Corporation Fee LLC for $12 million, according to a January announcement from Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, which brokered the sale of the property at 4425 Corporation Lane. According to an economic impact study prepared for the company by Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, Zim added about $1.16 billion to the state’s economy between 2009 and 2019.

“We are very pleased with the purchase of this first-class new office building, which will serve our growing shipping business in the U.S., a pivotal country for our strategy and our global network,” Zim President and CEO Eli Glickman said in a statement. “The new office will provide a first-rate work environment for our valued employees, as they continue to deliver our signature personal, top-quality service to customers. This office expansion is vital to Zim’s commitment to the North American market and to the expansion of our capacity in the region with our new LNG- Green Energy vessels fleet.”

VEDP worked with Virginia Beach, the Hampton Roads Alliance and the General Assembly’s Major Employment and Investment Project Approval Commission to secure the project. Youngkin also approved a $1.4 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Virginia Beach with the project. Zim is eligible to receive benefits from the Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program. Virginia competed against several other states for the project.

“The Hampton Roads region’s strategic location and proximity to the Port of Virginia will help align Zim American Integrated Shipping Services Co. LLC for further growth in the U.S. market, and we are proud that this global shipping leader will remain and expand in the commonwealth,” Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick said in a statement. “A pro-business environment, robust workforce and effective collaboration are the hallmarks of economic development in Virginia, and this significant project will make the commonwealth even more attractive for additional investments in the logistics sector.”

HeadWaters developers scrap temporary casino plans

The developers of the $500 million HeadWaters Resort & Casino in Norfolk have scrapped plans to open a 45,000-square-foot temporary casino, instead focusing all their efforts on building the permanent casino, which will open before construction begins on an associated hotel and other planned amenities.

“We have changed our approach and gone with a first-class experience from the get-go,” says Jay Smith, spokesperson for HeadWaters Resort & Casino, which is being developed in a partnership between the King William-based Pamunkey Indian Tribe and Tennessee billionaire Jon Yarbrough. The developers hope to break ground on the project this year, Smith says.

According to plans filed with the city last week, the permanent HeadWaters resort casino will be built in two phases. The first will include a 45,000 square-foot gaming floor, along with a 180-seat restaurant, a 1,200-space parking garage and a 5,000-square-foot lobby.

While the plan filed with the city doesn’t include details about the project’s second phase, Smith says phase 2 of construction will include a hotel, an outdoor pool, additional restaurants, an entertainment venue and other amenities. Renderings filed with the city last week show an infinity pool overlooking the ballpark, a multistory hotel and multiple bars. One design shows the word “Norfolk” carved into the building in large letters. In a design narrative for the project’s first phase, the developer writes, “The graceful curves of the shipping channels and railroad lines that once traversed the site have been translated into various components of the project. These influences pay homage to the original use of the bustling marine terminal.” 

The developers plan to get the casino built and operational before moving on to the second phase, Smith says. No timeline has been announced for delivering the second phase.

The developers’ plans submitted to the city for a development certificate have to go undergo a review from city staff and must receive approvals from the city Architectural Review Board, the City Planning Commission and City Council, all which could happen in the next few months.

The plans for the casino that were submitted to the city fell short of Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander’s expectations. “Although it may be constructed in phases, I was not expecting them to turn [the plan] in phases,” Alexander said. The mayor added that he was concerned by the lack of concrete details in the plan, as well as a lack of communication from developers on the casino’s application status with the Virginia Lottery, the state regulatory body that must approve the casino’s operating license.

“We continue to ask them for the same information over and over again,” Alexander says. “I want all the details to accompany the pretty pictures. Submit the supporting documentation.”  

However, in a March letter sent by the city to the casino developers, the city requested only conceptual details for the future phases of development, while requesting details such as architectural renderings, building elevations and a site layout for the first phase, all of which were provided by the development team. 

Regarding the operating license, Smith says, the HeadWaters project is in the midst of the licensing process and working closely with the lottery, regularly updating the state agency on the casino’s land acquisition and design plans.

The HeadWaters project has gone through multiple iterations since voters approved the project in a November 2020 referendum. At that time, developers pitched a $500-plus million resort casino with a 300-room hotel, restaurants, an entertainment venue, a rooftop pool, thousands of slot machines and as many as 150 table games.

Later, HeadWaters’s developers twice announced plans for a temporary casino, first inside the ballpark, and later as a single-story temporary casino in the Harbor Park parking lot. 

Richmond region launches state’s first tourism district

Virginia’s first tourism improvement district received approval this week and can begin collecting funds from Richmond-region travelers to fund tourism marketing efforts beginning July 1.

Following Richmond City Council’s approval vote this week, the new tourism improvement district, or TID, received the necessary support to move forward. Designated areas that raise funds for tourism marketing through hotel assessments, TIDs are new to Virginia, which in 2021 approved a process for establishing regional TIDs. There are more than 200 TIDs across the nation.

“This is an exciting day for the Richmond region,” Mayush Mehta, vice chair of the TID governance committee and regional vice president of JP Hospitality, said in a statement. “The approved TID is an investment in our entire community. These dedicated funds will help us invite and welcome new overnight visitors to our region who will support our small businesses, restaurants and cultural attractions. A tremendous amount of collaboration and hard work went into establishing the TID and we should all be proud.”

The state’s first TID will include Richmond, Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties, as well the Town of Ashland, all of which voted to approve the district’s creation. Colonial Heights, which is also set to be part of the TID, has not voted yet, but is slated to take up the proposal in the fall. As part of the TID, local governments will contract with nonprofit Richmond Region Tourism to collect visitors fees and promote district tourism. The initial term of the Richmond area TID is 10 years and is subject to renewal.

Under state law, a TID requires approvals from each participating locality, as well as a majority of hotel owners who would pay more than 50% of the fees in each participating locality.

Beginning July 1, hotels with 41 rooms or more within the new Richmond regional TID will charge a 2% fee on nightly rates, which is expected to generate as much as $8.2 million annually. The funds will support Richmond Region Tourism’s efforts focused on attracting large-scale sports tournaments and conventions. The nonprofit Richmond Region Tourism promotes tourism in the area and the Richmond region’s TID will be managed by its governance committee, which consists of nine area hotel representatives within the TID localities. Two-thirds of the committee is made of up smaller hotel representatives with fewer than 149 rooms.

Officials in Fairfax County have also been working to launch a TID for the southern portion of the county, an area they have named Potomac Banks. Barry Biggar, president and CEO of Visit Fairfax, which has been behind that region’s effort, told Virginia Business Thursday that efforts remain ongoing and he hopes to have everything in place by the end of the year, if not earlier.

United Way of South Hampton Roads names new leader

Mark Uren will be the new president and CEO of the United Way of South Hampton Roads, the organization announced Tuesday. He starts in the role on July 17.

Michele Anderson, the regional United Way’s previous CEO, left the organization in January. Kristel Fitzgerald, chief operating officer, and Kelsey Mohring, chief marketing and strategy officer, have been leading the organization since.

Uren is currently vice president of resource development for United Way of Forsyth County, in North Carolina, and will move to Hampton Roads from Winston-Salem. He was selected from more than 500 applicants. Management consulting firm Korn Ferry assisted the United Way’s board with the search.

“I am incredibly excited to welcome Mark as our new president and CEO,” Erin Ruane, vice chair of the UWSHR board of directors and a member of the search committee, said in a statement. “He stood out in our wide candidate pool as a proven leader with the right experience, skill set and demeanor, and his commitment to United Way is beyond impressive.”

Uren’s experience includes more than 25 years in nonprofit leadership, with responsibilities over finance, operations, fundraising, IT and marketing. He has worked for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, where he worked on two capital campaigns and managed a capital expansion project and construction of the Triad Community Kitchen. He was also executive director of the Forsyth Humane Society when it reorganized and prepared for a capital campaign to fund a new facility. Most recently, at the United Way of Forsyth County, he has led the strategy and execution of all developmental activities, including raising more than $15 million annually, according to a news release from the United Way of South Hampton Roads.

“I have dedicated my life to public service, and I am excited and humbled that the selection committee has entrusted me to lead this amazing organization into the next 100 years,” Uren said in a statement. “I know every community has unique challenges, but I am confident that by working together, we can create a brighter future for our entire region.”

Regent University founder Pat Robertson dies at 93

Christian Broadcasting Network founder M.G. “Pat” Robertson, a one-time GOP presidential hopeful and also chancellor, founder and CEO of Regent University in Virginia Beach, died Thursday at age 93, Regent and CBN announced.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved founder,” Regent University Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs William L. Hathaway said in a statement. “Dr. Robertson was a globally renowned leader, broadcaster, philanthropist, educator, author, accomplished businessman and — most importantly — a faithful servant of God who dedicated his life to glorifying the Lord and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Robertson started CBN in 1960, revolutionizing religious broadcasting with its flagship program, “The 700 Club,” a syndicated evangelical news magazine show he hosted for 60 years. During his tenure at CBN, Robertson occasionally made headlines for making controversial and provocative pronouncements about LGBTQ+ people, Muslims and Democrats. In October 2021, he stepped down as the show’s host, passing the hosting baton to his son Gordon, who became CBN’s president and CEO in 2007.

In 1977, Pat Robertson also founded Regent, a private Christian university that has produced notable conservative alumni such as former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and former GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, now dean of Regent’s Robertson School of Government. About 80% of Regent’s 11,000 students are enrolled online, with the average student age 37 and the university’s programs focused on the Bible.

He ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination in 1988. Robertson is credited with starting the Christian Coalition, a grassroots conservative political organization that The New York Times says “stoked the conservative faith-based political resurgence of the 1990s and beyond.”

A graduate of Yale Law School and Washington and Lee University, Robertson also earned a master of divinity degree from New York Theological Seminary.

Robertson was a past president of the Council on National Policy, served on President Ronald Reagan’s Task Force on Victims of Crime, previously served on the board of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and also on the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors in the State of Virginia.

“Dr. Robertson was a titan of the Christian faith, and he will be dearly missed by millions around the world,” former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, a distinguished professor of law at Regent University, said in a statement. “His legacy is a life well-lived in loving and faithful obedience to Jesus Christ and his glorious gospel.”

Robertson is survived by his four children, 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. His wife of 67 years, Dede Robertson, died in 2022.

Responding to a survey this year from Virginia Business, Robertson said, “I have learned in my lifetime to appreciate the greatness of America and the privilege that I have to be a citizen of this unique nation. I have also learned of the innate goodness of the people of this country and their goodness to share with those less fortunate than they are.”

Asked how he wished to be remembered by Virginia Business in a 2022 interview, Robertson said simply, “I hope my legacy will be this: ‘He served God and his generation.’”