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Banking | Finance 2025: HUGHES, THOMAS ‘T.J.’

Hughes became regional president for greater Washington and Maryland in October, succeeding Evelyn Lee, who took a role at Eagle Bancorp in Bethesda, Maryland.

A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Hughes launched his career at Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank, holding roles in Ohio and Florida. In 2011, Hughes joined SunTrust Banks in Naples, Florida, as a commercial banking relationship manager.

Following the 2019 merger of BB&T and SunTrust that created , Hughes became an executive vice president at Truist, overseeing specialty products and lending. He then served briefly as head of structured credit delivery and later as head of structured credit and wealth credit delivery before taking on his current regional leadership position.

In November 2024, the bank announced the Truist Cares for Western North Carolina effort, pledging $725 million over three years to support small business, housing and infrastructure recovery efforts in communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.

Truist reported $544 billion in total assets as of June 30. The bank has more than 1,900 branches across 17 states and Washington, D.C.

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Economic Development 2025: HART III, H. GARRETT

Hart has more than four decades of experience in and currently serves as vice president for the Virginia Economic Developers Association’s board of directors. Under his leadership, Chesterfield has landed big deals such as the $1 billion Lego Group manufacturing facility under construction in the county’s Meadowville Technology Park. In 2024, his department assisted with and announced nine projects with a combined capital investment of $5.75 billion that are anticipated to generate 1,090 jobs.

A science lover, Hart was especially psyched about the December 2024 announcement that Commonwealth Fusion Systems plans to build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant in Chesterfield, a $3.18 billion project expected to create 350 jobs. Hart always thought fusion sounded like “the solution” to the world’s energy needs but didn’t think he’d ever see it happen. “To have it come in my lifetime and to be part of it is just incredible,” Hart said.

A graduate of Virginia Tech, Hart is also an alum of Lead Virginia.

ON INTEGRATING AI: It is the next great business revolution. You will integrate it into your business or you will be left behind.

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Banking | Finance 2025: SHOCKLEY, CHRISTOPHER M. ‘CHRIS’

Following its August 2024 acquisition of Roanoke-based Member One Federal Credit Union, plans to fully integrate all Member One’s operations into VACU by spring 2026.

Shockley remains president and CEO of the combined credit union. Last year, VACU reported about $6.85 billion in assets and nearly 490,000 members, making it the third largest credit union based in Virginia.

Shockley earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Radford University and his MBA from Liberty University. He serves as board secretary for Velera, a financial technology solutions provider, and on the board of Credit Union Service Company of Virginia. In the community, Shockley is board chair of the YMCA of Greater Richmond.

VACU has donated more than $336,500 to the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU over the last decade. In June, the credit union donated 900 books for kids and teens about money management and personal to the hospital.

TRAITS I ADMIRE: I most admire those with a servant’s heart and a passion for volunteerism. I feel blessed to have worked with so many caring, compassionate people over the years as part of truly exceptional nonprofits and community organizations.

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Banking | Finance 2025: SPROWLS, RYAN C.

In April, after 25 years with Wells Fargo Advisors, Sprowls founded 114 Private Wealth, which has 11 team members managing $2.5 billion in assets. The firm is affiliated with Wells Fargo Financial Network, an independent broker channel.

Ranked third among Virginia’s top wealth advisers, according to Florida’s SHOOK Research, Sprowls is also included on Barron’s 2025 list of the Top 1,200 U.S. Financial Advisors and Forbes’ 2025 list of the 250 Top Wealth Advisors in America. His group was ranked as the best team in the state by Forbes this year.

Sprowls earned an economics and degree at Missouri Southern State University, where he ran track. He also has a certified financial planner certification from the College for Financial Planning.

INTERESTING PLACES I’VE TRAVELED: Abu Dhabi and Dubai

FIRST JOB: I started a lawn mowing business at the age of 12 and built it up to over 30 lawns and had to bring in my best friend to help me.

PERSONAL MOTTO: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” — Ben Franklin

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Banking | Finance 2025: RANSOM, THOMAS

Ransom has spent a quarter century in the industry. He started as a commerial going on to become market president for the greater Washington, D.C., region. After the that formed , Ransom moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, as an executive vice p commonwealth in 2021 to become president of the bank’s Virginia region.

The eighth largest bank in the nation, Truist had $544 billion in total assets as of Ju 38,000 employees, operating over 1,900 branches across 17 states and Washington, D.C.

Ransom serves on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates, which the general economic climate of the commonwealth, and on the board of the Virginia Association. He also sits on the board of trustees for his alma mater, Hampden-Sydney College.

This spring, Ransom was a keynote speaker at the commencement ceremony for Commonwealth University’s School of Business.

Ransom earned an MBA from the University of Baltimore and was a public policy fellow at Princeton University.

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Banking | Finance 2025: GRINSPOON, JEFF

In a 2022 nomination for the Savvy Ladies’ Male Ally award — which recognizes men in the financial field who value equality — VWG CEO Elana Fine talked about how Grinspoon created a culture at the firm that attracts, retains and promotes women. “Jeff gave me the room to lead and placed his trust in me so that our employees would trust me,” she wrote. Grinspoon won the award, and he noted that the women he works with display a great deal of empathy, an important quality for financial advisers.

Listed among Forbes’ 250 Top Wealth Advisors in the country, Grinspoon previously was a senior vice president at Morgan Stanley. He founded VWG in 2011, and the firm partners with aggregator Hightower. VWG manages $2 billion in assets.

A University of Maryland alumnus with a bachelor’s degree and an MBA, Grinspoon started his career at Legg Mason. He sits on the board of advisors for the Dingman-Lamone Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland.

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Economic Development 2025: TOUHILL, RYAN

Since joining Arlington County in 2022, Touhill’s efforts have included helping launch the Arlington Innovation Fund, which helps support local tech startups. Recipients have included SportAI, which provides analytics for fantasy sports and sports betting, and GenLogs, an AI company specializing in ground freight supply chains.

Amid the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce and federal contracting spending, Touhill lately has been working to help spread the word about assistance and resources for those who have been laid off.

He previously served as senior vice president and chief of staff at the Alexandria Partnership, where he helped with the successful campaign to land Amazon.com’s HQ2 East Coast headquarters.

Touhill earned a degree in government and international politics from George Mason University and a Master of Public Administration from George Washington University.

INTERESTING PLACE I’VE TRAVELED: New Zealand

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Economic Development 2025: SMITH, DOUG

Since 2019, Smith has led the , a regional organization representing 15 municipalities and numerous private sector investors. Before that, he served as city manager for Norfolk and as deputy city manager in both Virginia Beach and Portsmouth and is also a past president and CEO of Kaufman & Canoles Consulting.

The region has seen some big wins lately. LS GreenLink USA broke ground in Chesapeake in April on its $700 million cable manufacturing facility. And Texas-based financial services company USAA announced in June it’s expanding in Chesapeake and plans to add more than 500 employees over the next two years. Smith called it “a win for the entire region.”

A University of Virginia alum, Smith serves on several regional boards, including the Hampton Roads Chamber, Hampton Roads Workforce Council and Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable.

ON INTEGRATING AI: AI is not a replacement for the relationships and political acumen that drive economic development. However, it is absolutely a force multiplier that is making our team more efficient and competitive.

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Banking | Finance 2025: KARP, DAVID W.

In 2011, Karp and Paul Pagnato left Merrill Lynch to launch their own firm: PagnatoKarp. Initially, the outfit was part of Hightower Advisors, but PagnatoKarp dropped the affiliation in 2016. Four years later, Illinois-based investment firm Cresset Asset Management announced it had acquired PagnatoKarp, which then had $2.3 billion in assets under management.

At Cresset, Karp works with family office clients as well as business owners. He ranked No. 3 in Northern Virginia on the 2025 Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors list, which noted his team manages assets of $5.5 billion. Karp also made Barron’s 2025 list of Top U.S. Financial Advisors.

In Tony Robbins’ 2016 book “MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom,” Karp is quoted in a discussion about the fiduciary standard. “It doesn’t matter who benefits more, the client or advisor,” Karp explains. “As long as an investment is suitable … at the time it was placed for the client, the advisor is held free of liability.”

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Economic Development 2025: ROMANELLO, ANTHONY J.

Romanello announced in August that he plans to leave his post as Henrico’s leader, a position he’s held since 2019, after working as a deputy county manager. He previously was county administrator for Stafford County and worked in local government for Richmond and West Point.

In April, the Henrico EDA filed a lawsuit against the former developers of the proposed $2.3 billion GreenCity mixed-used project, for defaulting on more than $5 million and not conveying the 93-acre site back to the county.

While GreenCity may take a while to get untangled, other projects are moving forward. For fiscal 2025, Henrico saw more than $8 billion in private investment, expected to generate 1,445 new jobs. That includes Iron Mountain’s planned data center complex in Henrico’s White Oak Technology Park.

Romanello earned his bachelor’s degree in American government and history from the University of Virginia and his master’s degree in public administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.

INTERESTING PLACE I’VE TRAVELED: Milan. The cathedral “il duomo” is the most beautiful structure I’ve seen with my own eyes, and the chicken cutlets tasted just like my grandmother made.

WHAT PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT ME: I’m actually 6’3” tall and 160 pounds.

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