Merrick leaving as state commerce secretary

Caren Merrick, Virginia’s commerce and trade secretary, said in a LinkedIn post that she is leaving Gov. Glenn Youngkin‘s administration. According to a Washington Post story Thursday, Merrick turned down the job of state secretary of natural resources.

The Post reported that Youngkin offered Merrick the natural resources job in order to name her chief deputy commerce secretary, Juan Pablo Segura, to the top job. Segura, the son of billionaire Enrique Segura, ran for a Loudoun County seat in the Virginia Senate as the Republican opponent of Russet Perry, a former prosecutor and CIA officer, losing the 2023 race by about five points.

According to the Post, Merrick agreed to be secretary of natural resources, which has some overlap with the commerce department, including the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, but that at some point, she changed her mind and decided to resign from the administration.

Merrick joined Youngkin’s administration in 2022 shortly after he took office, after she served as CEO of his nonprofit Virginia Ready initiative, which promoted workforce development during the early days of the COVID pandemic. She and her husband, Phillip Merrick, founded webMethods, a software company that grew swiftly during the mid-1990s tech boom and was sold to Software AG in 2007 for $546 million. She also is a partner in NextGen Venture Partners, a startup investment firm.

The governor’s office confirmed Segura’s appointment as commerce secretary in an announcement Thursday afternoon, as well as naming Stefanie Taillon the state’s next secretary of natural and historic resources.

On her LinkedIn page Wednesday night, Merrick wrote, “Three years ago, I embarked on an incredible journey as Virginia’s secretary of commerce and trade in Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration. Working alongside Gov. Youngkin and his exceptional team has been a privilege and a defining chapter in my life.”

Among the accomplishments she cites are “surpassing $100 billion in capital investments, facilitating the launch of 15,000 high-wage high-growth startups at an unprecedented pace, and securing the prestigious title of America’s Top State for Business by CNBC.”

“As I transition back to the private sector, I eagerly anticipate contributing to Virginia’s burgeoning economy, fostering growth, and supporting thriving communities,” Merrick concluded in her post.

“When I nominated Caren to be secretary of commerce and trade, I sought a key partner to help us jumpstart Virginia’s economic engine. Since then, more Virginians working than ever before and more than $100 billion in capital commitments from companies wanting to build their future in Virginia. Her leadership and vision have been instrumental to Virginia’s success,” Youngkin said in a statement. “As chief deputy secretary, Juan Pablo Segura is the right person to lead the commerce and trade team moving forward. His extensive private sector experience and his proven track record within the commerce and trade secretariat will ensure we continue to drive forward keeping Virginia the very best place to do business.”

Segura co-founded Babyscripts, a startup that produced an app to improve care for expectant mothers. The company was named a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year mid-Atlantic award in 2019 and participated in partnerships with Cigna, Philips International, General Electric and the March of Dimes.

According to a statement from the company, Segura left Babyscripts in January 2023 after declaring his state Senate candidacy. In 2024, he was named the state’s chief deputy secretary of commerce. Outside of work, Segura has served on the boards of Youth for Tomorrow, Volunteers of America, Catholic University’s business school and the Spanish Catholic Center in Washington, D.C.

Taillon joined the Youngkin administration as deputy secretary of the Department of Natural and Historic Resources and has been the acting secretary since the departure of Travis Voyles, who is now assistant deputy administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump.

Taillon was previously associate director of governmental relations for the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and received a bachelor’s degree in animal and poultry sciences and a master’s of public administration from Virginia Tech.