Virginia gets new digits
On Wednesday, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) announced that the North American Numbering Plan Administrator has assigned a new area code, 826, to relieve future exhaustion of the 540 area code, which is expected to occur in 2022. Residents and businesses in the affected region will not lose their existing 540 phone numbers under […]
$2.48M in state research grants awarded to tech firms, universities
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that $2.48 million in grant funding from the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) will be dispersed among small technology businesses and universities to be used to commercialize research in sectors including clean energy, cybersecurity, data analytics, life sciences and unmanned systems. “These entrepreneurs and innovators are on the front lines […][...]
Chicago company acquires Reston-based PagnatoKarp
Reston-based wealth management firm PagnatoKarp has been acquired by Chicago-based Cresset Asset Management, the companies announced Wednesday. A transaction amount was not disclosed, but with the acquisition of PagnatoKarp, Cresset now has $9.5 billion in assets under management. PagnatoKarp had $2.3 billion in assets under management prior to the acquisition. “PagnatoKarp was born during the Great […][...]
McLean-based Mars Inc. to change Uncle Ben’s rice brand
After weeks of racial inequity protests and the removals of Confederate monuments across the United States, McLean-based global food product manufacturer Mars Inc. announced Wednesday it is “evaluating all possibilities” for changing the branding on its Uncle Ben’s rice products. Uncle Ben’s has been branded wi[...]
Eastern Mennonite University president to serve second term
Eastern Mennonite University President Susan Schultz Huxman has been appointed to a second five-year term, the Harrisonburg-based private liberal arts university announced Tuesday. Huxman began her first term on Jan. 1, 2017. The university board of trustees unanimously approved the appointment, which will be effective Oct. 1 [...]
Allianz Partners names new CEO
Henrico County-based travel insurance company Allianz Partners announced Wednesday that Elena Edwards has been promoted to CEO of the German company’s United States business unit. The company employs approximately 1,000 people in the Richmond region. She succeeds Michael J. Nelson, who left the company for another travel i[...]
Va. Economic Developers Assoc. announces award recipients
The Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA) announced Tuesday the recipients of its 2020 Community Economic Development Awards (CEDA): the city of Harrisonburg for its Bricks & Clicks Initiative and a regional economic development collaboration among Pittsylvania County, Danville and the Southern Virginia Regional Al[...]
GO Virginia Region 3 names program director
Growth and Opportunity for Virginia’s Region 3 Council announced Tuesday it has named former Orange County Administrator Bryan David as program director for the region, which includes the cities of Danville and Martinsville. In his new role, David will lead the operations of the Region 3 GO Virginia Council in collaboratio[...]
Global law firm opens Tysons office
Atlanta-based global law firm King & Spalding LLP will open its 22nd office in Tysons, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) announced Tuesday. Founded more than 130 years ago, King & Spalding employs more than 1,100 lawyers across 22 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. T[...]
Northam declares Juneteenth a state holiday
Joined by superstar musician Pharrell Williams and many black elected officials, Gov. Ralph Northam announced that Juneteenth — marking June 19, 1865, when the last group of enslaved Americans were told they were free — will be an annual state holiday in Virginia starting this Friday, June 19. Addressing the COVID-19 pandemi[...]
Hilton lays off 2.1K employees, extends furloughs
As hotels continue to struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic, McLean-based Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. announced Tuesday it is laying off 2,100 corporate employees — more than 20% of its corporate workforce. The company is also extending furloughs, reduced hours and corporate pay reductions, which were first announced in March, for up to an extra 90 […]
Richmond Folk Festival canceled this October
The Richmond Folk Festival, which often draws hundreds of thousands of music fans to the capital in the second weekend of October, will be canceled due to COVID-19 this fall, Venture Richmond announced Tuesday. Also canceled is Richmond’s 2nd Street Festival, another cultural food and music event held downtown the first we[...]