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byline: Virginia Business

October 2023 Out and About

1. L to R: Justine Gayle, vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton’s business services team; Booz Allen Hamilton President and CEO Horacio Rozanski; and Norfolk Economic Development Interim Director Sean Washington cut the ribbon on Aug. 15 for a delivery hub expanding the firm’s Business Services Center at its Norfolk office. Photo by Stephanie Kalis/Booz Allen Hamilton.  2. L to R: U.S. Rep. Jennifer Wexton; U.S. Sen. Mark Warner; Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay; Dominion Energy Chair, President and CEO Robert Blue; Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority President and CEO Jack Potter; Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall; and Dominion Energy Virginia
President Ed Baine ceremonially broke ground Aug. 22 on the Dulles Solar and Storage project, a partnership between Dominion and the MWAA. Photo by Courtney Mabeus-Brown. 
3. Appalachian College of Pharmacy student Audrey Allison took the Oath of a Pharmacist during ACP’s Aug. 25 white coat ceremony for the class of 2026. Photo courtesy ACP. 
4. Christopher Newport University President and retired U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. William G. Kelly delivered his inauguration speech on Aug. 14. Photo by Erin Farina/CNU. 
5. L to R: Prince George County Board of Supervisors Chairman Donald R. Hunter; Gov. Glenn Youngkin; Service Center Metals Maintenance Manager Chuck Dunaway; SCM founder and CEO Scott Kelley; SCM Chief Financial Officer Matt Lanzer; Cal Wiggins, SCM’s director of quality and technical sales service; and The Riverstone Group founder and owner Bill Goodwin Jr. cut the ribbon Sept. 9 on SCM’s $127 million expansion. Photo by Chip Jackson.

StartVirginia: September 2023 Heard Around Virginia

McLean-based Affect Therapeutics, a substance addiction therapy startup, raised $16 million in a Series A funding round to expand its operations and further develop its mobile app. The company delivers therapy and treatments for specific substance use disorders through its app. The company plans to use much of the money it raised to expand into Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Illinois, North Carolina and Virginia, and it has filed applications to do business in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. It currently operates in Arizona, California, Nevada and Idaho. (DC Inno)

Arlington and Fairfax counties have established $1 million innovation funds. The Arlington Innovation Fund was created in July and will award grants ranging from $25,000 to $50,000 to between 13 and 26 based in the county. The Fairfax Founders Fund, also seeded with $1 million, launched in March and is in the process of choosing its first cohort or startups from a pool of 40 applicants; it will provide entrepreneurs $50,000 to scale up. Arlington’s fund comes from a carve-out in the county budget, Fairfax’s is from the county’s Economic Opportunity Reserve Fund. (DC Inno)

GoTab, an Arlington County-based commerce platform, closed on an $18 million Series A funding round led by Truist Ventures, the company announced Aug. 1. GoTab will use the money to develop its product suite, used in restaurants, stadiums and entertainment venues, including its stationary and handheld point-of-sale solutions as well as kitchen display and kiosk, mobile ordering and radio-frequency identification payment systems. Founded in 2016, the company processes more than $500 in gross merchandise annually and is in use in 39 states and Canada. (Company news release)

Qomplx, an analytics and cybersecurity firm founded by two military veterans, appears to have shuttered. Qomplx filed notice with the Virginia Employment Commission on July 20 that it would lay off 60 employees effective Aug 1. According to a July 20 email exchange with another company, Qomplx said it would case operations at the end of July but it was not clear why. Founded in 2015, the company raised $78.6 million in a Series A funding round in 2019; in 2021, a deal to go public was called off because of market conditions. At the time, Qomplx said it expected to reach $141 million revenue, up from $96 million in 2020. (Washington Business Journal)

Several groups across Virginia are vying for a U.S. Economic Development Administration grant worth up to $70 million to establish one of about 20 regional technology hubs around the country. The Technology Council (rvatech) applied for an AI and machine learning hub, while the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable would spearhead a Delmarva regional autonomous systems tech hub. The Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance is leading a proposal focused on nuclear industrial technology, while the New River Valley Regional Commission is applying to create a NRV-Danville regional additive manufacturing hub. The bulk of the funding would go toward workforce and talent development. Applicants will be narrowed to 20 regions in the fall. (Richmond Times-Dispatch; Virginia Business; Cardinal News)

Richmond health care analytics startup Time Study is launching two new products that aim to help health systems improve their business operations. Time Study’s platform is used by more than 80 hospitals across the country. It pulls data on how physicians and health workers use their time while at work, allowing hospitals to improve efficiency and maximize revenue. The new products include a timestamp application and a comparative analytics product. The company has 20 employees and has raised $7 million in funding. CEO Kishau Rogers said she expects Time Study will seek more funding next year. (Richmond Inno)

 

Arts | Entertainment | Sports 2023: CORAN CAPSHAW

Capshaw, the founder of 32-year-old management company Red Light Management, is the driving force behind a newly approved 7,500-capacity riverfront amphitheater in . The $30 million project, expected to open in 2025, has drawn comparisons to Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Capshaw also developed the Ting Pavilion on ‘s Downtown Mall and the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Tennessee.

It’s the latest victory for the music lover who got his start booking Dave Matthews Band shows at a Charlottesville bar in the 1990s. DMB is now one of dozens of acts on Red Light’s roster, which also includes Phish, Maren Morris, the Smashing Pumpkins and Brandi Carlile. In 2000, Capshaw and Matthews co-founded ATO Records, an independent record label that includes artists Alabama Shakes, Drive-By Truckers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Black Pumas.

In addition to his other music ventures — which include e-commerce and marketing company Musictoday and concert promoter Starr Hill Presents — Capshaw also co-founded Starr Hill Brewery and provided financial backing for solar companies Sun Tribe Solar and Sun Tribe Development.

Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: JIM BRINKER

Brinker runs ‘s Fairfax-based federal contracting arm, overseeing strategy, business development, sales, contracts, program management and engineering. A University of Florida graduate, Brinker joined Intel in 2015 as director of extreme scale computing, and was promoted to his current position in 2019. Before that, he was a vice president at Silicon Graphics Federal.

Brinker is a leading voice in the call for restoring semiconductor chip manufacturing to the U.S. When President Biden signed the CHIPS Act in 2022, it was a victory for the industry, particularly for chipmaker Intel, which is building a $20 billion semiconductor chip manufacturing facility in Ohio.

Brinker has been named three times to Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 List of top government contracting executives. Earlier in his career, he was a vice president at Sony Group and worked in AT&T’s federal systems department.

In an October 2022 interview with Wire, Brinker said Intel is prioritizing edge artificial intelligence, which can be used to create smart cities and deliver intelligence to warfighters on the front lines.

Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: ARIE KOTLER

In June, , the nation’s sixth largest convenience store chain, with more than 1,500 company-operated stores in 30 states, made the Fortune 500 list for the second time, ranked at No. 460, 38 places higher than its 2022 debut.

The parent company of Henrico-based GPM Investments, Arko brought in $72 million in net income in fiscal year 2022, compared with $59.4 million the previous year.
Arko has 1,848 employees in Virginia and 13,901 worldwide, after a series of acquisitions of convenience store chains and fuel wholesalers.

An Israeli native who relocated to the U.S. in 1997, Kotler founded GPM in 2003, sold the business and reacquired it in 2011. In 2020, Arko merged with Haymaker Acquisition Corp. to create Arko Corp., a U.S.-listed public company.

Arko was unsuccessful this year in its attempt to acquire TravelCenters of America, but in June Arko completed its $140.2 million acquisition of the and fleet fueling assets of WTG Fuels Holdings, marking the company’s 24th acquisition.

HOBBY/PASSION: My business is my passion. I love to build. I work every day because I enjoy working with people and our great employees, and I am driven by creative, opportunistic dealmaking.

Finance | Insurance 2023: JEFF WRIGHT

Well into his second year as CEO of the German travel and assistance company’s U.S. subsidiary, Wright carries with him a “love for extreme technical financial concepts” that led him to choose a career in the insurance industry. Wright earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of and his MBA at the University of Maryland. He is a member of the Greater Richmond Partnership Regional Leadership Circle.

USA, which has 900 of its 20,000 employees in Virginia, announced in June that it will offer travel coverage to guests of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection luxury cruise line. Last year, JetBlue Travel Products announced a multiyear partnership extension with , reaffirming its status as JetBlue’s official travel insurance provider.

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAMS: New York Islanders or any University of Richmond team

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Being a leader has nothing to do with whether you are the smartest person in the room. Most of the time you aren’t, and that’s a good thing. You should try and keep it that way.

SOMETHING I’D NEVER DO AGAIN: Check luggage on any flight connecting through Charles de Gaulle Airport

Government | Politics 2023: WINSOME EARLE-SEARS

Earle-Sears wanted to be a lawyer, but after being accepted to law school, she had a change of heart, she says, and then “life got in the way.” Instead, she served in the U.S. Marine Corps, was elected to a term in the House of Delegates, managed a homeless shelter and spent a decade as owner of Shenandoah Appliance, Plumbing & Electric.

A Republican, she is the first Black woman elected to statewide office in Virginia and the state’s first female lieutenant governor.

In June, after a mass shooting outside a downtown high school graduation, Earle-Sears criticized leaders for not being able to keep the city safe, and blamed gangs for area violence. Democrats criticized her, pointing out that Earle-Sears delivered a keynote speech defending firearms rights during the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Houston, days after the mass shooting deaths of 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

MOST VALUED POSSESSION: U.S. passport and my family photos. When I lost some possessions after a nor’easter, I decided then that possessions are temporary.

HISTORIC PERSON I WISH I COULD BE: Daniel. How does one withstand lions?

Hospitality | Tourism 2023: JIM McGLOTHLIN

McGlothlin has always had an innate sense for a good business opportunity. He built a fortune from coal mines and then pivoted to as the coal business began to recede.

A William & Mary alumnus, McGlothlin has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a law degree. He started out as a lawyer in Grundy, practicing with two cousins before co-founding United Coal Co. in 1970, going on to acquire dozens of smaller coal companies and mines in Appalachia. United Coal grew into a billion-dollar business by the time it was sold in 2009 to a Ukrainian billionaire’s company.

McGlothlin continued as chairman, CEO and sole owner of his remaining business entity, The United Co., which diversified into a hospitality and wealth management company, with activities including development and coal, oil and gas exploration services and holdings including golf courses, RV parks and a stake in the Hotel & .

Virginia Business’ 2022 Person of the Year, McGlothlin successfully led the effort to legalize in Virginia. He stepped down as United’s CEO in 2022, remaining chairman, and is a significant art collector and philanthropist.

Real Estate 2023: MARK J. HOURIGAN SR.

After stints with Westinghouse and Galloway, Mark founded construction and development company Hourigan Group in 1993. The company has more than 200 employees, all based in Virginia.

Notable Hourigan Group projects include the 17-story VCU Health Adult Outpatient Pavilion and the University of ‘s 8,700-seat Robins Stadium, as well as Apex Plaza, a mixed-use building in with Apex Clean Energy as its lead tenant. The 265,000-square-foot building, which opened in April 2022, is Virginia’s tallest large-scale mass timber building.

In 2022, the Greater Richmond Association for Commercial (GRACRE) named Hourigan’s VCU Health pavilion as project of the year. Hourigan also received the GRACRE industrial lease award for Lowe’s lease of a distribution facility in the Deepwater Industrial Park in Richmond, as well as the public-private partnership project award for the NOVA Aquatics Center it built in a former department store at Regency Square mall in Henrico County.

Hourigan earned his bachelor’s degree at Gettysburg College and his MBA from the University of Richmond. He serves on the industry advisory board for Virginia Tech’s Myers-Lawson School of Construction and is a past chair of GO Virginia Region 4’s GROW Capital Jobs Foundation.

Real Estate 2023: JON PETERSON

Founded in 1965 by Peterson’s late father, Milt, is responsible for some of the most prominent and successful mixed-use , residential and office developments in Northern Virginia and Maryland, including Fairfax Corner, Fair Lakes, National Harbor, Burke Centre and Tysons McLean Office Park.

In 2021, the company branched out to self-storage, opening its first new division in 35 years.

Peterson, who became executive committee chairman in 2016 and CEO in 2018, is a Middlebury College graduate and plays on its alumni lacrosse team. He also serves as secretary on George Mason University’s board of visitors and is a board member for the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance and Youth for Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization started by former Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs.

MOST VALUED POSSESSION: The memory of my father

HOW I BALANCE WORK AND PERSONAL LIFE: When at home, there is no talk of business.

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Played Augusta National Golf Club