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Economic Development 2025: GRDEN, NANCY

A longtime regional and maritime leader, Grden was key in the 2023 merger of Reinvent Hampton Roads and the Hampton Roads Business Roundtable. That resulted in the creation of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, a support organization for GO Virginia Region 5, the regional arm of the statewide economic development initiative.

Before leading the roundtable, Grden was director of the Hampton Roads Maritime Collaborative for Growth & Innovation and of Old Dominion University’s Strome Entrepreneurial Center.

Most recently, Grden has been collaborating on a pilot regional talent marketing initiative with the Hampton Roads Chamber and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. She’s also spearheaded a regional initiative to advocate against proposed federal spending cuts in Hampton Roads.

Grden has a degree in economics from Bucknell University, a master of regional planning from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from the University of South Carolina.

FAVORITE TEAM: With hometown Pittsburgh, Steelers, of course! However, there are others since we need a “portfolio of teams” to avoid disappointment.

PERSONAL MOTTO: “Never burn a bridge” — I have benefited from many connections and colleagues along the way.

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Banking | Finance 2025: SCHENCK, JAMES

Over the course of his military career, Schenck flew Black Hawk helicopters in Korea and trained others as a night vision goggle instructor pilot. He also worked on the Army staff in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, a post with responsibilities for overseeing the flying hour program, which makes sure military aviators receive sufficient training.

“You have an impact across the entire force, making sure every aviator had enough flying hour dollars, maintenance dollars, to train and be ready to accomplish their mission on behalf of the nation,” Schenck said on the podcast “Aerospace Advantage” in 2024.

Schenck, who earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1996, joined the PenFed executive leadership team in 2001 and was named its top leader in 2014. Under his leadership, PenFed’s assets have nearly doubled, from $17.8 billion to $31 billion, and membership has more than doubled, growing from 1.3 million to 2.8 million members.

In July, PenFed held a ribbon cutting for a new branch in Puerto Rico. The credit union has five other financial centers in the U.S. territory.

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Banking | Finance 2025: SJOLUND, MARTIN

In June, Sjolund began his tenure leading PRA Group, a global business that acquires and collects on nonperforming loans. Earlier this year, a PRA spokesperson noted that Sjolund planned to split his time between London and PRA’s Norfolk headquarters. He succeeds Vikram Atal, who retired after serving as PRA’s president and CEO since 2023.

Sjolund had previously served since 2018 as president of PRA Group Europe, where he oversaw nearly $3 billion in portfolio investment. In 2023, his role expanded to include responsibility for PRA’s interests in Canada and Australia.

He joined the company in 2014 after PRA Group acquired Aktiv Kapital, where Sjolund was director of group strategy and corporate development. From 2015 to 2018, he was PRA Group’s chief operating officer for Europe.

With more than 3,000 employees worldwide, PRA Group reported $1.1 billion in 2024 revenue, with annual portfolio purchases of $432.7 million and cash collections of $468.1 million.

Sjolund has a degree in international business from Georgetown University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

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Economic Development 2025: COONS, JULIE

Coons has led the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce since 2018, prioritizing efforts to support the region’s economic health and growth.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the chamber originated in 1925 as a Fairfax County- focused business advocacy organization. Today, it represents about 400 member businesses across a region that represents nearly 42% of the state’s gross domestic product. And it has a powerful influence on policy across greater Washington.

In June, in collaboration with Accenture, NVC launched its NOVA Roadmap, a multiyear proposal for reinventing the region’s economy in the face of federal layoffs and spending cuts. It’s a problem the chamber was already addressing in partnership with Northern Virginia Community College through the NOVAnext initiative, which assists displaced federal workers and contractors in transitioning to new careers. The chamber’s road map plan also calls for investing in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and more affordable housing.

Coons previously was chief operating officer of the Council of Better Business Bureaus in Arlington and president and CEO of the Electronic Retailing Association and Maryland Tech Council. She graduated from the University of the Pacific.

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Banking | Finance 2025: MONTGOMERY, JOSEPH W. ‘JOE’

Montgomery went to work at an investment firm in December 1975 — meaning he’s enjoying his 50th year in an industry for which he is ranked as Virginia’s top adviser on Forbes’ 2025 Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list, with $1.6 billion in assets under management by his team.

He credits the power of relationships and his alma mater, William & Mary, for his career success and staying power. “The trajectory of my life was determined, really, by lining up where I went to school,” Montgomery says.

A former captain of William & Mary’s football team, Montgomery was invited to the Philadelphia Eagles’ training camp after graduating with a degree in business administration but did not make the NFL team’s final cut.

Instead, Montgomery went to work in Lynchburg for an investment advisory firm managed by a William & Mary alum. After a few years, Montgomery was sent to open a new branch in Williamsburg that became The Optimal Service Group of Advisors. Today, it has 13 associates. In 2019, Montgomery was inducted into Barron’s Advisor Hall of Fame.

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Economic Development 2025: SEGURA, JUAN PABLO

In March, reports circulated that Gov. Glenn Youngkin had tried to shift then-Commerce and Trade Secretary Caren Merrick to secretary of natural resources so that Segura, then Merrick’s deputy secretary, could have her post. Merrick left the administration instead.

The son of billionaire ENSE Group Chairman Enrique Segura, Juan Pablo Segura ran as the GOP candidate in a close 2023 state Senate race in Loudoun County, losing by about five points. State Republicans think he has big potential. In his new job, Segura oversees 13 agencies with 1,300 team members and a $3 billion budget.

Earlier in his career, Segura co-founded Babyscripts, a startup that produced an app to improve care for expectant mothers. The company was named a finalist for the 2019 EY Entrepreneur of the Year mid-Atlantic award.

A certified public accountant, Segura has an accounting degree from the University of Notre Dame.

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Banking | Finance 2025: WILBANKS, WAYNE F.

Wilbanks developed an interest in stocks and bonds at the age of 14. As a 16-year-old, he formed an investment partnership with other students. “I was hooked,” Wilbanks has said of his career trajectory.

A Duke graduate, Wilbanks co-founded Norfolk’s Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management in 1990, serving as the firm’s managing principal and chief investment officer.

Last year, Clearstead Advisors, an Ohio-based financial advisory firm, acquired WST, which had more than $5 billion in assets under management at the time. The business was rebranded as Clearstead Advisory Solutions, a division of Clearstead Advisors. Wilbanks transitioned to his current role overseeing the division for the mid- Atlantic states.

A past rector of Eastern Virginia Medical School, Wilbanks serves on the boards of the Eastern Virginia Medical School Foundation, the Virginia Arts Festival and the Slover Library Foundation.

INTERESTING PLACE I’VE TRAVELED: My father was an academic physician, and he took the family to a medical meeting in Russia in 1973, which was fascinating. Our hotel rooms had listening devices, and we bartered with the locals, who were anxious to get U.S. goods.

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Economic Development 2025: STEPHENS, BRYAN K.

A 2025 Virginia C-Suite Awards winner, Stephens took the helm of the Hampton Roads Chamber in 2013. The organization advocates for business in the region, which is home to Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval complex, as well as significant manufacturing and hospitality sectors.

With a five-star accreditation by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the organization ranks among the top 1% of all chambers in the nation. Its civic leadership development program, Lead757, has more than 1,700 graduates from various industries.

A retired U.S. Army colonel, Stephens is a graduate of West Virginia University, the U.S. Army War College and Golden Gate University. He is a gubernatorial appointee to the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority and serves on boards for Lead Virginia and the University of Virginia’s Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership.

FIRST JOB: Grocery bagger

STREAMING SHOW I’D RECOMMEND: “Yellowstone”

BOOK I’D RECOMMEND: “A Virginia Odyssey: Culture, Community, and Trust,” by John P. Thomas

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Banking | Finance 2025: HUTCHINS, MICHAEL T.

It’s musical chairs at , Virginia’s top-ranked company on Fortune’s U.S. and Global 500 lists.

In March, Hutchins became the government-sponsored home mortgage company’s interim CEO for the second time in a year after the Trump administration fired Diana Reid, who’d served as CEO just over six months. It’s a pivotal time for Freddie Mac as President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to take it and Fannie Mae public with an IPO. In August, The Wall Street Journal reported those plans involve raising about $30 billion from selling 5% to 15% of the companies’ stock. Combined, the companies would be valued at about $500 billion.

With more than three decades of experience, Hutchins joined Freddie Mac in 2013 and was named president in 2020. Previously, he was CEO of The PrinceRidge Group, a financial services firm he co-founded. And prior to that, he worked from 1996 to 2007 at UBS, serving in several roles, including as the global head of the investment bank and financial services firm’s fixed income, rates and currencies group.

Freddie Mac reported a net revenue of $23.9 billion in 2024, up from $21.2 billion in 2023. It was ranked No. 38 on the 2025 .

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Banking | Finance 2025: MCLAUGHLIN, SHANE

In 2024, McLaughlin quietly stepped into the role of regional bank president for Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and much of Maryland, following the exit of John Allen, who had been the region bank president for D.C. and Maryland. Allen is now executive vice president and chief  officer of City First Bank.

A Virginia Tech alumnus, McLaughlin joined Wachovia in 2004, working as a licensed financial specialist in Richmond. He quickly climbed the ranks, first becoming a financial specialist sales leader, then West End district manager.

Following ‘s acquisition of Wachovia, McLaughlin in 2011 was named area president in Washington, D.C. He later took over the Northern Virginia market. In 2017, Wells Fargo named McLaughlin region bank president for northern Virginia.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo reported about $1.92 trillion in assets at the end of 2024. It is the nation’s fourth largest bank. Over the years, the company’s workforce has dropped. It had about 272,000 workers in 2019 and reported 218,000 employees as of the end of 2024.

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