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Andrea Sykora has joined the Norfolk-based law firm Vandeventer Black LLP as chief information officer and assistant executive director.
Sykora will provide leadership and guidance in procuring and maintaining firm technology and information systems.
She also will assist in addressing client cybersecurity and data privacy issues.
Before joining Vandeventer Black, Sykora was the senior director of information technology for Norfolk Public Schools.
Founded in 1883, Vandeventer Black has offices in Virginia, North Carolina and Germany.
Anne Holton steps down as secretary of education
Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday that Anne Holton has stepped down as secretary of education following the selection of her husband, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, as Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate.
The resignation was effective July 25. McAuliffe has appointed Deputy Secretary of Education Dietra Trent to serve as Virginia’s new secretary of education, effective immediately.
“I wish Anne the very best, and I know she will take her passion for education to the national stage and continue to make the commonwealth proud,” the governor said in a statement.
Trent has served as the deputy secretary of education since 2014. She also served as deputy secretary of education for Kaine when he was governor and as director of constituent services and director of the council on human rights under then-governor and current Sen. Mark Warner.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminal justice from Hampton University, and completed her master’s and doctoral degrees in public administration and policy from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Love where you work?
Virginia Business again will honor Virginia's best employers in our 2017 Best Places to Work in Virginia project. Apply today if you think you offer a great workplace environment. The deadline to apply is Sept. 2, 2016.
Winners will appear in the February 2017 issue of Virginia Business magazine and will be honored at an awards ceremony at The WIlliamsburg Lodge.
The Motley Fool plans to upgrade its Alexandria facilities and add 60 jobs
The Motley Fool, a financial-services company, plans to invest $5 million to upgrade its Alexandria facilities and expand recruitment efforts.
The project will retain 282 jobs while creating 60 new positions, according to the governor’s office.
Founded in 1993, the company provides financial information to investors through its website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show and premium investing services. The Motley Fool has offices in Australia, Canada, Germany, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe approved a $350,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Alexandria with the project. The company is also eligible for up to $60,000 in funding and services to support employee training activities, which are provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.
Virginia competed with Washington, D.C., for the Motley Fool project.
Innovative Refrigeration Systems adding 100 jobs in Augusta County
Lyndhurst-based Innovative Refrigeration Systems announced Monday a $1.6 million expansion, which is expected to create 100 jobs during the next three years.
The company currently employs 94 workers at its Lyndhurst plant.
Innovative Refrigeration Systems Inc. makes industrial refrigeration systems. The company, founded in 1993, has grown from a family-owned garage shop to a nationwide company, which employs 235 workers throughout the U.S.
The state is providing a $93,500 Virginia Jobs Investment Program funds, which are being matched by Augusta County.
Co-founder resigns as comScore’s executive chairman
Magid Abraham, a co-founder of Reston-based comScore, has resigned as executive chairman of the company’s board of directors.
He will remain on the board through the remainder of his term, which expires in 2018.
Abraham said he will focus his efforts as the recently appointed executive chairman of Herndon-based APX Labs and his work as a visiting scholar at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
He is also an angel investor for technology startups.
Abraham co-founded comScore with Gian Fulgoni, its chairman emeritus. The company is a cross-platform firm that precisely measures audiences, brands and consumer behavior.
The company completed a merger with Portland, Ore.-based Rentrak Corp. in January.
Specialty food retailer buys new headquarters site for $1.85 million
Taste, a specialty food retailer, paid $1.85 million for its recently announced new corporate headquarters in Virginia Beach.
The commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer said Taste is acquiring the Bayside Commerce Center in Airport Industrial Park at 1391 Air Rail Avenue.
The 27,766-square-foot, light industrial property is situated on 2.456 acres. In addition to housing the company's corporate offices, the facility also will be the site for a warehouse and catering kitchen.
Taste expects to complete its move to the Virginia Beach building by November. The company’s current office and warehouse is in Norfolk.
John P. Duffy and Patrick L. Mumey of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the property marketing and sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.
Taste’s acquisition was one of two corporate headquarters moves announced last week in Virginia Beach. BN Media Associates LLC also is moving its headquarters from Norfolk to Virginia Beach.
Investment group acquires nine-building portfolio in Newport News
An investment group that includes former Mayor Joseph Ritchie has acquired a nine-building office and retail portfolio in City Center at Oyster Point in Newport News for $64 million.
The city announced on Monday that the investment group, Pointe Hope LLC, includes many of City Center’s founding partners, such as Ritchie, and several local entrepreneurs who are new investors.
The Peninsula Division of TowneBank and Union Bank & Trust provided financing as a part of the acquisition.
City Center’s 574,466-square-foot office and retail portfolio was developed as a master-planned, public-private partnership involving the city and nine founding partners. Northwestern Mutual was its joint venture equity partner.
The city and its economic development authority remain participants in the project, providing business development support, special events, more than 2,700 parking spaces in three publicly-owned garages and a 50,000 square-foot Marriott conference center.
Office tenants include PNC Bank, Riverside Health System, The Daily Press, Morgan Stanley, City of Newport News, The Boeing Co., Siemens, and Progressive Casualty.
The city said Pointe Hope’s principals plan to expand the entertainment and retail venues of City Center.
Clinton picks Kaine as her running mate
Hillary Clinton announced Friday evening she has picked U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine to be her vice presidential running mate.
Kaine, who was elected to the Senate in 2012, is expected to benefit Clinton’s campaign with his low-key campaigning style, honest reputation and fluency in Spanish. When he was a student at Harvard Law School, he took a year off to attend a Catholic mission in the Honduras.
He also hails from Virginia, which has become a key battleground state in presidential contests.
Kaine started his political career as a Richmond City councilman. He later served as mayor of Richmond, lieutenant governor of Virginia and was governor of Virginia from 2006 until 2010.
Kaine was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 until 2011, giving him national exposure.
He defeated George Allen, a former Virginia governor and a former U.S. senator, for Kaine’s current Senate seat in 2012.
Kaine, an early supporter of Barack Obama’s presidential bid, was vetted by Obama as a potential running mate before he picked Vice President Joe Biden.
Virginia Business has covered Kaine throughout his political career, including a Q&A interview with him last year.
Here’s some other coverage of Kaine over the years:
· In a 2015 opinion column Editor Robert Powell reflects on the possibility that Kaine could become vice president (and who could fill his Senate seat);
· Special Projects Editor Veronica Garabelli attended an April 2015 roundtable with Kaine on the potential benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Virginia businesses;
· Powell’s 2014 column focuses on an entrepreneurship roundtable Kaine attended;
Virginia Business interviews the governor of Virginia each year. Here are just some of the stories we published during Kaine's governorship:
· January 2009 interview with Kaine, where he talks about budget cuts and reflections on his future;
· A story in our January 2009 issue included comments from Kaine about the historic shift in Virginia’s voting pattern following Obama’s election.
· 2008 interview with Kaine:
· A 2007 interview with Kaine, a year after he took office:
· The 2006 cover story took a look as Kaine started his governorship.
MACH37 accelerator, UVA Wise announce partnership
The University of Virginia’s College at Wise and the MACH37 Cyber Accelerator at the Center for Innovative Technology announced a new partnership Friday that aims to create cybersecurity employment and education opportunities in Southwest Virginia.
According to a statement by Virginia Secretary of Technology Karen Jackson, the Memorandum of Understanding will have a major impact.
“UVa-Wise has a growing pipeline of well-educated technology students who will be joining the workforce over the next few years. This relationship with the accelerator will provide them with a stream of internship and employment opportunities with companies in MACH37’s growing portfolio,” she said. “The agreement will also provide MACH37 with access to the University’s outstanding research expertise and will allow both sides to leverage each other’s valuable stakeholder relationships.”
Founded by the Herndon-based Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), the MACH37 Cyber Accelerator has launched 35 innovative cybersecurity product companies in Virginia since 2013.
The accelerator runs a 90-day program, twice a year, in which competitively selected startups are coached in the aspects of creating a business. Upon the completion of each session, the startups participate in a Demo Day when they pitch to a crowd of external mentors, investors and industry experts.
The University of Virginia’s College at Wise is a public, four-year liberal arts college located in Southwest Virginia.