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byline: Robyn Sidersky

Lighthouse Labs leader has ‘deep heart for entrepreneurship’

Explaining how she became involved in supporting entrepreneurism, the new managing director of Richmond-based accelerator Lighthouse Labs jokes that “it was all accidental.”

As a James Madison University senior putting herself through school, Debbie Irwin couldn’t find a class that lined up with her work schedule, so her dean suggested writing a senior thesis instead. She focused on “founder’s syndrome” — when founders maintain disproportionate power and influence — in small and medium enterprises.

“Once we were going through that research,” she recalls, “I created and found a very deep heart for entrepreneurship and for small businesses in particular.”

It propelled her to a new career.

After a few years in other roles, including serving as director of special events for the Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce, Irwin interviewed in 2017 for a job with the organization now known as the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund. The Staunton-based nonprofit entrepreneurial support organization assists startups and small businesses with resources such as loans and assistance in developing business plans.

Irwin started at SCCF as its director of marketing and education, and about a year later became executive director, a position she held for about six years.

She started in late February at Lighthouse Labs, which was co-founded by one of her mentors, Larkin Garbee, also a co-founder of Startup Virginia. “SCCF had gotten to a point where it was time for me to leave and go to the next level,” says Irwin, who succeeds Art Espey, who served as Lighthouse Labs’ interim leader after Paul Nolde departed in April 2023 to become managing director of Norfolk-based 757 Angels and 757 Collab.

Irwin remains based in Staunton, commuting to Richmond two or three days per week.

Lighthouse Labs runs two 11-week cohorts annually, with about eight companies accepted each session. Startups receive $20,000 in equity- free funding, as well as access to mentoring, education, programming and networking opportunities.

While SCCF and Lighthouse Labs both have similar budgets ($1.1 million to $1.2 million), their focuses are different, Irwin says. SCCF takes more of a generalist approach, while Lighthouse has a narrow focus on startup acceleration and programming.

Her immediate priorities at Lighthouse include providing deeper support for companies after they exit the accelerator and finding opportunities for Lighthouse Labs to play an increased role in Virginia’s larger entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“Lighthouse,” Irwin says, “is an incredible organization that is sitting on so much potential.”  

Prime for development

In the past year, Amazon.com continued its march across the commonwealth, announcing plans to build a 650,000-square-foot fulfillment center and a 219,000-square-foot delivery station in Virginia Beach, which are collectively expected to produce more than 1,000 jobs.

About 60% the size of the Pentagon, Virginia’s second largest building belongs to Amazon — a 3.8 million-square-foot robotics fulfillment center in Suffolk that opened in October 2022. The e-tail giant says it has invested more than $109 billion in Virginia since 2010, creating more than 36,000 jobs and contributing more than $72 billion to the state’s gross domestic product.

Amazon opened its first Virginia fulfillment center in 2006 in Loudoun County. With the Virginia Beach facilities, the Fortune Global 500 company will have 14 fulfillment centers and 17 delivery stations in the state, as well as its Arlington County-based HQ2 East Coast headquarters campus, 15 Whole Foods Markets, five Amazon Fresh stores and three Prime Now Hubs.

Amazon Web Services, meanwhile, spent nearly $52 million between 2011 and 2021 to set up data centers in Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, and in 2023 pledged to invest an additional $35 billion to build more data centers in the state by 2040.

Not surprisingly, economic development officials love Amazon, especially as its influence spreads beyond Northern Virginia.

Doug Smith, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Alliance, says the Virginia Beach Amazon jobs help “cement the region’s dominance in fulfillment and technological innovation within the distribution space.”

The new delivery station is expected to open in time for the 2024 holiday season, and the fulfillment center is expected to come online in late 2025, an Amazon spokesperson told Virginia Business in March. About 1,500 workers work at Suffolk’s $230 million fulfillment facility in Northgate Commerce Park. While there’s no specific push for hiring right now, there are open positions there, Amazon says.

Smith, who was previously Norfolk’s city manager and served as deputy city manager for Virginia Beach and Portsmouth, views Amazon’s investments in Hampton Roads as a net positive.

“Not only is Amazon already employing thousands of Hampton Roads residents and raising awareness of our strategic location for distribution, through their robotics fulfillment centers they are empowering workers to learn about the latest in robotics and automation,” Smith says. “Amazon offers tremendous workforce development and upskilling services in conjunction with our state and local partners, and these skilled employees will attract not only more logistics companies but also emerging industries like robotics and uncrewed systems manufacturing.”

Economist Vinod Agarwal, deputy director of Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy, sees Amazon as filling a gap left by Norfolk Southern, the Fortune 500 railroad company that moved its headquarters from Norfolk to Atlanta in 2021.

Norfolk Southern’s departure, he says, caused some companies to question whether to locate in Hampton Roads, but Amazon’s increasing presence helps reassure businesses, especially companies with similar warehousing and logistics needs.

“Anytime you can have firms of significant importance, known quantities so to speak, come to this area, that obviously has effects on other companies for their decision-making processes,” Agarwal says, noting that Amazon coming to Hampton Roads is “a big plus.”

Speculative buildings are under construction for the first time in Suffolk, following Amazon’s activity and the Port 460 Logistics Center’s development by Matan Cos. and Rockefeller Group, which also builds interest, Agarwal notes.

“We’ve always asked, ‘If we build it, will they come?’ Well, they’re here, so the answer is, yes, 100%,” says Gregg Christoffersen, who heads JLL’s industrial market for the region.

Port 460, a 5 million-square-foot industrial warehouse complex, is being developed on 540 acres in Suffolk near U.S. routes 460 and 58, with construction expected to begin this summer. According to Matan, the first phase will include about 2.4 million square feet of space, costing between $300 million to $350 million, with expected delivery in 2025. The Virginia Port Authority announced in January it will give the City of Suffolk $1 million to improve Route 460, part of an $86 million initiative to widen the road.

Agarwal notes that Hampton Roads localities working together — rather than competing against each other — is starting to pay off in terms of attracting big companies like Amazon to the region. But the Port of Virginia, he adds, is a big factor, too.

Although Amazon isn’t the only player in town when it comes to Virginia’s industrial market, it has had an outsized impact on industrial commercial real estate in Virginia Beach, Suffolk and other parts of Hampton Roads, says Christoffersen. 

As Agarwal puts it, after companies like Amazon enter a region, they “expect lots of other businesses to come in.”  

Fahrenheit Advisors announces new COO

Richmond-based consulting firm Fahrenheit Advisors has added Kris Cravey to its executive ranks.

Cravey, formerly chief people officer at Virginia Beach-based DroneUp, will be chief operating officer at Fahrenheit Advisors, the company announced Tuesday.

In his new role, he will take primary responsibility for overseeing the execution of Fahrenheit Advisors’ strategy, growth and client services delivery.

”Kris is another incredible addition to our team as we continue to grow as a firm,” Rich Reinecke, co-managing partner and co-founder at Fahrenheit Advisors, said in a statement. “His track record of building scale while maintaining the culture mirrors our values and core principles. We are excited to welcome Kris to our team and look forward to the impact he will have as we expand nationally.”

Cravey has held leadership roles including vice president of strategy and mergers and acquisitions, business development, operations and support services at Day & Zimmermann, an engineering, staffing and construction firm. He was also managing partner at Atherton Kirk Advisors (now Fahrenheit Advisors), according to his LinkedIn profile.

He started with Fahrenheit Advisors about a year ago as a consultant after serving as DroneUp’s CPO since July 2021.

Cravey earned his doctorate degree in organizational behavior and an MBA from Regent University.

Fahrenheit Advisors was founded in 2010 and consults for middle-market, Fortune 1000, nonprofit and governmental organizations. It has 140 consultants.

VIPC taps Benevento as permanent president and CEO

Joe Benevento will remain as the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp.’s president and CEO permanently after serving in the role on an interim basis since September 2023, VIPC announced Wednesday.

Benevento took over as interim CEO when Bob Stolle announced he was stepping down. A not-for-profit corporation created in 1985 by the General Assembly as an economic development organization for the tech sector, VIPC provides strategic commercialization and funding support to Virginia-based tech startups.

“Joe Benevento brings tremendous leadership talent and investment experience that will greatly serve the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. “A robust innovation-driven economy that accelerates R&D commercialization, catalyzes private investment capital and spurs entrepreneur startup growth will unleash opportunity throughout the entire Commonwealth. I know Joe will hit the ground running as CEO of VIPC and I look forward to working closely together to achieve a ‘Day 1 Goal’ of my administration to create 10,000 new high-growth startups in Virginia.”

Benevento previously served as deputy secretary of commerce and trade since 2022, helping to develop Virginia’s “Compete to Win” and “Innovative Framework” strategies for driving economic growth across the commonwealth, according to a VIPC news release . He also oversaw a state commerce portfolio of industries including technology, life sciences, aerospace and defense, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, unmanned systems and other sectors.

“VIPC is well-positioned to lead Virginia in developing, attracting and retaining talent, capital and innovation which expands investment, growth and opportunity across the entire commonwealth,” Benevento said in a statement. “I look forward to collaborating broadly and inclusively with the governor’s administration, General Assembly, entrepreneurs and startups, university research leaders, venture capital investors, entrepreneur support organizations, regional ecosystem leaders, industry corporate partners and other valued stakeholders. I am honored to serve the Commonwealth of Virginia and excited to lead VIPC into an ambitious future.”

Benevento has 20 years of business strategy and investment management experience across direct equity investing, business operations growth and executive board advisory positions spanning early-stage startups, small and midsized businesses and Fortune 500 companies. He began his career at New York-based investment banking company Goldman Sachs and Boston-based private equity firm THL Partners.

Before he joined state government, he was managing director of a Richmond-based investment firm. He has advised, invested, managed or monitored more than $10 billion in enterprise value and contributed to raises of newly-closed investment funds ranging from $250 million to $20 billion, according to VIPC.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and management from Cornell University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Benevento serves on the boards of several regional technology and entrepreneurship organizations including the Northern Virginia Technology Council; Verge (the Roanoke-Blacksburg Innovation Alliance); Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corp.; Virginia Alliance for Semiconductor Technology; and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium.

Hollins president to chair national board

Hollins University President Mary Dana Hinton has been elected chair of the board of directors for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the university announced April 17.

Hinton begins her term on July 1 and leads a board of four officers and 14 board members.

NAICU focuses on representing private, nonprofit higher education institutions on public policy issues in the nation’s capital.

“Mary Dana Hinton is a forward-thinking, powerful and respected college leader, a passionate voice for the liberal arts and educational equity in private higher education and an expert on higher education leadership,” NAICU President Barbara K. Mistick said in a statement. “I look forward to working with her in the coming year as the sector navigates complex new regulatory and legislative environments while striving to advance the goals of private, nonprofit higher education.”

Hinton succeeds Elon University President Constance Ledoux Book, who remains on the board as immediate past chair.

“I am extraordinarily honored to lead NAICU during this time of significant challenges for private, nonprofit colleges and universities,” Hinton said in a statement. “NAICU’s effective advocacy on behalf of its members will be critical in the year ahead.”

Hinton has led Hollins University since August 2020 and is the university’s 13th president.

NAICU was founded in 1976 and is based in Washington, D.C.

Norfolk mayor says apartments, hotel could replace MacArthur Center

MacArthur Center mall in downtown Norfolk is expected to be replaced by a major mixed-use development, which could be called “The Anchorage,” featuring a 400-room, military-themed hotel and 518,000 square feet of high-rise residential space, Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander announced April 12 during his State of the City speech.

“MacArthur Mall demands a bold vision that celebrates our culture, reconnects our city, attracts tourists and ensures economic vitality,” Alexander told a crowd of 1,200 business leaders. “Let’s envision a vibrant mixed-used destination. … By optimizing existing assets, we aim to solidify Norfolk as a premier home for business, living, hospitality, tourism, elevating our city’s appeal to residents and visitors alike.”

The development would have a 518,000-square-foot high-rise residential tower — with possibly 400 to 600 units — with rental and ownership options, plus 47,000 square feet of “luxury amenities” and active ground-floor leases. There would also be a 2-acre pedestrian-oriented promenade with more than 170,000 square feet of retail space. The new development would completely replace the existing mall, except for the parking garages.

MacArthur Center mall was built in 1999. Photo courtesy Norfolk Convention & Visitors Bureau Offices

Last summer, Norfolk purchased the 23-acre struggling MacArthur Center mall for $18 million, including consulting and legal fees. At the time, Alexander said that buying the mall would enable the city to “play an active and strategic role” in the property’s future.

Earlier this year, Norfolk hired architectural consulting firm Gensler to conduct a study on the mall and what action the city should take with it. Norfolk asked Gensler to examine the feasibility of replacing the mall convention center, as well as other adaptive reuses of the mall and parking structures.

The resulting recommendation from Gensler’s study is the plan Alexander presented in his State of the City speech.

Sean Washington, the city’s economic development director, and a representative from Gensler met with each Norfolk City Council member individually to present the findings. The council had not seen the plan collectively until the SOTC event.

The development would be a public-private partnership, Alexander told Virginia Business, with most of the cost being paid through private investment, he noted.

“If an unsolicited proposal falls on my desk and it meets everything that the council is seeking, … I don’t see why that wouldn’t be considered,” Alexander said.

Washington told Virginia Business the next step is the financial side — looking at what the city is comfortable spending and determining the project’s budget.

“We really have to start with a master developer,” he said. “At that point, you’re identifying the best developer and the components of the project you want to see come to fruition.”

No timeline has yet been established for the project, he said.

 

HRBT expansion’s first tunnel boring is complete

Mary, the tunnel boring machine that has been paving the way for the expanded Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, hit a milestone Wednesday when she finished the first of twin tunnels that are part of the bridge-tunnel’s expansion.

Launched from the HRBT’s South Island a year ago, the $70 million custom-built tunnel boring machine has been busy — it excavated 7,900 feet, or 750,000 cubic yards of soil, while installing 1,191 concrete rings behind her, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Now, it’s ready to turn around and do it all over again on the return trip to carve out the expansion’s second tunnel. But that turnaround is no easy process. It’s expected to take about six months to turn the tunnel boring machine around and position it for relaunch, when it will begin constructing a parallel tunnel back to the South Island.

About 46 feet in diameter and 430 feet in length, Mary on her busiest day excavated 113 feet of soil and installed 17 rings.

Mary’s work may be in a tunnel, but it’s not in a vacuum.

The $3.9 billion HRBT expansion is the largest highway construction project in Virginia’s history. It’s now expected to be completed by August 2027, about 18 months later than the originally scheduled completion, according to a VDOT news release in late March.

The project consists of widening Interstate 64 between Norfolk and Hampton, including twin two-lane bored tunnels, five new bridges and 20 widened bridges, according to VDOT.

“The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel made history in 1957 as the world’s first tunnel constructed between two man-made islands,” VDOT Commissioner Stephen Brich said in a statement. “Today, the HRBT makes history again as Virginia’s first bored tunnel. With the breakout of the TBM, we are one step closer to the completion of this transformative project that will increase capacity at one of the region’s most congested corridors.”

The tunnel Mary just completed is about 50 feet deeper than the HRBT’s existing tunnels, with the new tunnel’s deepest point plunging 173 feet below the water’s surface. It’s the first tunnel bored in Virginia — the existing ones were constructed using an immersed tube approach, according to VDOT.

“This historic milestone is the culmination of years of transformational transportation congestion relief planning and hard work. Today’s first tunnel breakout is a testament to [the Hampton Roads Transportation Accountability Commission] and VDOT working together to realize a greater vision for Hampton Roads. Once completed, the HRBT and I-64 congestion relief projects financed and delivered through the HRTAC, VDOT, and FHWA [Federal Highway Administration] partnership will enhance the economic vitality and quality of life for the region’s 1.7 million people for generations,” HRTAC Executive Director Kevin Page said in a statement.

Accenture Federal Services to acquire Cognosante

Arlington County-based Accenture Federal Services (AFS) has entered into an agreement to acquire Falls Church-based Cognosante, the companies announced Tuesday.

Terms of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory review, were not disclosed in the announcement released Tuesday by the two companies.

Cognosante’s more than 1,500 employees will join AFS’ workforce of more than 14,000, according to a news release. A subsidiary of Fortune Global 500 professional services company Accenture, AFS will launch a new health portfolio with the acquisition. Cognosante provides IT support to federal, state and local government agencies with public health missions.

“We are continually innovating and investing to help federal agencies stay ahead of the ever-changing needs of their mission and customers,” Accenture Federal Services CEO  John Goodman said in a statement. “Accenture Federal Services is excited to welcome the Cognosante team.”

Michele Kang founded Cognosante in 2008. The company works with federal government clients including health care programs supporting veterans, active-duty military, patients, beneficiaries, providers and payors. Last May, the company earned one of four spots on a $1 billion Department of Veterans Affairs telehealth contract.

Kang

Kang is also majority owner of the Washington Spirit women’s pro soccer team.

“As we explored ways to continue to scale and grow, we could not have found a better home than Accenture Federal Services,” Kang said in a statement. “The company shares our commitment to its clients and people and has industry-leading capabilities, talent, speed and scale.”

In 2021, AFS acquired McLean-based Novetta, an advanced analytics company that had been a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group, a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm where Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was previously co-CEO. In May 2023, AFS earned a spot on an IRS systems modernization contract worth up to $2.6 billion. The month before, AFS launched a Federal Generative AI Center of Excellence.

Accenture reported $16.2 billion in total revenues for the first quarter of this year.

ODU maritime training alliance designated federal Center of Excellence

The Hampton Roads Maritime Industries Education Alliance (HRMIEA) has been designated a 2024 Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), Old Dominion University announced Thursday.

HRMIEA received the designation, good for five years, on Feb. 16, according to Elspeth McMahon, ODU’s assistant vice president for maritime initiatives.

The alliance is made up of ODU and the Maritime Institute, which provides training for civilian and military mariners. The Maritime Institute offers more than 100 U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy courses in Norfolk, San Diego, Honolulu, and Alameda, California.

Tidewater Community College also got the 2024 designation, according to the MARAD website.

“The significance of being designated a [Center of Excellence] is that it gives us national recognition at the federal level that we demonstrate excellence in assisting the maritime industry with obtaining and maintaining the highest quality of workforce; we provide a high level of maritime education and training to support our nation’s maritime industry,” McMahon told Virginia Business.

MARAD developed the Center of Excellence program to support maritime workforce training and education at designated CoEs. This includes efforts of the designees to admit additional students, recruit and train faculty, expand facilities, create new maritime pathways and award students credit for prior experience, according to a news release.

HRMIEA is one of 32 Centers of Excellence selected nationwide for the five-year designation. The centers are unfunded, but there are hopes of them being federally funded in the future, McMahon said.

“This designation is another step toward ODU’s strategic vision of being a globally recognized destination for maritime enterprise,” she said in a statement. “We are thrilled about our partnership with the Maritime Institute, and we will continue to lead as a top university in maritime education, research, programming and innovation.”

Reston software firm boosted by $60M investment

Raft, a Reston-based software engineering firm and government contractor, has received a $60 million investment from Washington Harbour Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based private investment firm.

Founded in 2018, Raft will use the funds to “intensify its research and development efforts, significantly enhancing its command and control (C2) product offerings for the tactical edge,” according to a Wednesday news release announcing the investment.

“Our partnership with Washington Harbour will accelerate Raft’s mission of ushering in a new paradigm for the modern warfighter, across all domains of air, land, sea, space and cyber,” Shubhi Mishra, founder and CEO of Raft, said in a statement. “Next generation, advanced technologies are transforming how wars are initiated, fought, resolved, won and deterred. Washington Harbour’s deep knowledge of our industry, shared vision and expansive strategic relationships all give me great confidence and excitement in continuing to serve our customers and our country, especially at the mission’s edge.”

In February, Raft announced it had received a $100 million prime defense contract to develop cloud native software applications in collaboration with Kessel Run, a division within the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

Raft has more than 250 employees, the majority with the highest security clearances, and is currently hiring for C-suite roles, including chief financial officer, chief growth officer, head of emerging tech and several growth, account head and delivery roles, according to its website. In January, Raft hired former U.S. Air Force Commander Frederick “Trey” Coleman as chief product officer to lead its corporate offerings strategy, product portfolio and innovation.

Raft will serve as Washington Harbour’s platform for advanced software development for the Department of Defense, intelligence communities and some federal civilian agencies.

“We have great respect and admiration for the culture of excellence that Raft has built and their relentless commitment as a trusted partner to their deep customer relationships,” Jerad Speigel, operating partner of Washington Harbour, said in a statement. “Washington Harbour invests in and builds the next generation of blue chip, dominant companies in federal — market leaders ushering in whole new eras of technological use cases — and we are incredibly excited to continue to support Raft’s vital role in national security.”