Leonardo DRS, Israeli company to merge
Arlington-based Leonardo DRS Inc., a subsidiary of Italian defense contractor Leonardo SpA, and Israel-based Rada Electronic Industries Ltd. have entered into a definitive agreement to merge and become a combined public company later this year, the contractors announced Tuesday. Rada will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leon[...]
Two govcons to merge, move HQ to NoVa
Colorado-based government contractor Vectrus Inc. and Mississippi-based The Vertex Co. will merge to form a company that will be based in Northern Virginia. Vectrus shareholders approved the all-stock merger, expected to close in the third quarter of 2022, on Wednesday. The combined company will be named V2X Inc. and will trade [...]
Amazon HQ2’s Ardine Williams retires — again
Ardine Williams, vice president of HQ2 workforce development for Amazon.com Inc., has retired — again — Amazon confirmed this week. Williams, who had been one of Amazon’s most high-profile Virginia executives, was leading the effort to hire 25,000 workers by 2030 for Amazon’s multibillion-dollar HQ2 East Coast [...]
Richmond Raceway names new president
When Lori Collier Waran was a young girl, she spent a lot of time around Richmond Raceway. Her grandparents lived just blocks away and her grandfather would volunteer to park cars so he could watch races. Sometimes Waran tagged along, too. “The raceway was sort of my playground,” she recalled. Now, the raceway will b[...]
Virginia Business announces 2022 Va. CFO Awards winners
Virginia Business presented awards to chief financial officers at companies and nonprofits around the commonwealth Thursday night. This year’s Virginia CFO Awards banquet — which is the largest annual gathering of CFOs in Virginia — was held at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. Fifty-one CFOs from around the commonwealt[...]
VCU’s theater department receives $5M donation
Virginia Commonwealth University has received a $5 million donation from Charlottesville resident James H.T. McConnell Jr. for the Department of Theatre in the School of Arts, the university announced Thursday. The gift will create three endowed funds to promote education and social awareness and to examine social justice throug[...]
Metro bringing back first group of 7000-series trains
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Wednesday that it will return eight 7000-series trains to service on Thursday, months after all 748 railcars were taken off track due to a wheel malfunction that caused a derailment near Arlington National Cemetery. The return of eight trains — with eight railcars ea[...]
Va. Beach economic development director is finalist for Oregon job
Virginia Beach Deputy City Manager and Director of Economic Development Taylor Adams is one of three finalists to be the next city manager in Salem, Oregon. Adams has worked for the city of Virginia Beach since 2015 and became deputy city manager in 2021. He heads up the city’s economic development department, and also has[...]
Lego to build $1B factory in Chesterfield
It’s highly unlikely that it will be built from brightly colored plastic bricks, but the Lego Group will be bringing a $1 billion toy manufacturing plant to Chesterfield County’s Meadowville Technology Park, creating more than 1,760 jobs, the company and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Wednesday during a press[...]
VCU buys former Va. ABC property for $16M
Virginia Commonwealth University on Friday purchased the former Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority’s former central office and warehouse at 2901 Hermitage Road in Richmond for approximately $16 million, according to Virginia ABC. The sale of the 292,285-square-foot warehouse was included in the state operating b[...]
Hampton Roads Community Foundation elects new chair
The Hampton Roads Community Foundation Board of Directors elected Sharon Goodwyn as chair, the foundation announced last week. An attorney at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, Goodwyn is the first African American and the first woman to serve as chair of the foundation, which was established in 1950. She served as vice chair of the boar[...]
Port of Va. partnering with Norfolk Southern
The Port of Virginia is part of a new partnership with Norfolk Southern Corp., Hapag-Lloyd and Union Pacific Railroad. The partners will provide expedited train shipping from the East Coast to the western U.S., Norfolk Southern announced last week. The partnership, called OceaNS Bridge Express, will start at the Port of Virginia[...]