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LookingGlass appoints former CIA officer to advisory board

Reston-based contractor Cyber Solutions Inc. announced Monday that it appointed former officer William T. “Terry” Burruss to its .

Burruss is a retired senior intelligence service officer and was most recently deputy chief of the Center for Cyber Intelligence in the CIA’s Directorate of Digital . He oversaw intelligence collection, analysis and operations focused on foreign cyber threats and specialized in assessing technological risks and addressing them.

“I am thrilled to join the LookingGlass advisory board because of the company’s commitment to its customers’ missions and deep national security history,” Burruss said in a statement. “I have seen firsthand how nation-state actors continue to plague public and private sector organizations.”

Founded in 2009, LookingGlass provides cybersecurity services for the financial services, government/public, defense industrial base and sectors.

“Terry built the CIA’s first combined mission unit focused on understanding and countering the foreign , and we are fortunate to have someone of this caliber join our advisory team,” LookingGlass CEO Bryan Ware said in a statement. “As LookingGlass deepens our commitment to helping solve complex, nation-scale cybersecurity challenges, Terry’s unique credentials and expertise will be invaluable to our already deep advisory board bench.”

Commonwealth Lodging hires corporate HR director

Virginia Beach-based Commonwealth Lodging Management has hired Claire Larkin as corporate director of , the management and firm announced Thursday.

“Claire enjoys building strong relationships with clients and co-workers, often serving as a mentor and coach to help grow in their career goals,” Commonwealth Lodging Managing Director Duane Gauthier said in a statement. “She brings a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry, and we welcome her to our dedicated team at Commonwealth Lodging.”

Larkin was previously an executive recruiter for Gecko Hospitality. She held various positions in IHG & Resorts’ Holiday Inn brand over 20 years, including as director of human resources and risk management for the Holiday Inn Express Nashville Airport. She has more than 30 years of hospitality experience.

Larkin holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from the University of Missouri-Columbia and earned Senior Professional in Human Resources and Society for Human Resources Management-Senior Certified Professional certifications. She received a Hospitality Leader of the Year award from the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association.

Larkin’s community involvement includes creating a job shadowing program for junior and senior high school students with the Pencil foundation and assisting Army officers about to transition to the civilian workforce with Hiring Our Heroes. She was a member of Donelson Women in Business in Donelson County, Tennessee.

Commonwealth Lodging is a wholly-owned subsidiary of LLC that manages hotels for institutional clients and owners.

Dominion Energy promotes exec to CFO

Richmond-based has promoted Steven D. Ridge to and senior vice president, replacing James R. Chapman, who will leave the company, the announced Friday.

Currently vice president of investor relations, Ridge will start his new role later this month and will be responsible for corporate and financial planning, investor relations, tax, treasury, mergers and acquisitions and asset management. He joined in 2014 and was previously an executive director in the investment banking group at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in New York.

“At Dominion Energy, we have remarkable bench strength. Steven Ridge is a great example of that. After nearly a decade in energy investment banking, Steven joined Dominion Energy and has spent the past eight years in leadership roles in mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy, financial management and investor relations,” Dominion Chair, President and CEO Robert M. Blue said in a statement. “During much of that time he worked closely with Jim Chapman and me, along with the rest of our senior leadership team. For the past year, he has been successfully leading our western gas operations that serve nearly 1.2 million customers. He has a wealth of experience in finance, is well-known to many of our investors, and is a strong, capable leader.”

Ridge earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University and a master’s degree in international economics and finance from Brandeis University.

Chapman, the departing , has been in his role since 2018 and before that was senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions and treasurer since 2016. He started at Dominion in 2013.

“During his tenure, Jim has adeptly overseen a rapid transition to an asset mix largely defined by state-regulated utility operations and a capital plan aimed at decarbonization in support of public policy goals and our commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050,” Blue said. “He has served the company well, and we wish him good fortune in the next chapter of his career.”

Also on Friday, Dominion announced its third-quarter earnings. Operating earnings for the three months that ended Sept. 30 were $944 million, compared to $918 million for the same period last year.

 

Report: Bezos, Jay-Z could buy Washington Commanders

Could Beyoncé become a regular presence at games? It’s within the realm of possibility. According to The Washington Post, Amazon.com Inc. founder and Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos and billionaire rapper Jay-Z (Beyoncé’s husband) may team up to buy the -based team, currently owned by Dan and Tanya .

On Wednesday, the Commanders announced that the Snyders had hired Bank of America Securities to consider potential offers for the team’s , according to a news release. has been under increasing pressure to sell the team in recent weeks, as both he personally and the team’s head office have been under investigation by the NFL and Congress for alleged sexual harassment and fostering a hostile work environment. Recent leaks from inside the group of NFL team owners indicated that some want Snyder to sell the team, which he’s owned since 1999. Tanya Snyder, his wife, took over as co-CEO of the team in 2021, following the NFL’s $10 million fine of the team, which was formerly known as the Washington Redskins and by the interim Washington Team moniker.

Also on Wednesday, ESPN reported that the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia has opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the Commanders engaged in financial improprieties.

As owner of The Washington Post, Bezos already has considerable ties to the Washington, D.C., region, where he owns a $23 million mansion in the city’s tony Kalorama neighborhood. This fall, Amazon Prime started carrying the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” games. The Post reports that Bezos is interested in bidding for the team, and that Jay-Z, who was part owner of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team and was allegedly eyeing the Denver Broncos NFL team last year, would be part of the bid.

Other mentioned as having an interest in buying the Commanders are Entertainment Studios Inc. Chairman and CEO Byron Allen, who also tried to buy the Broncos; Tesla and SpaceX head Elon Musk, who took over Twitter this week for $44 billion;  Washington Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein, who also are bidding on the Washington Nationals baseball team; and former Broncos bidders Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano, according to the Post report.

The Commanders — despite a mediocre record since 1999, when Snyder purchased the team, including no championship wins — are assessed as being worth $5.6 billion, although the price could climb higher, according to estimates.

The announcement that the Snyders are considering selling the team did not specify whether they would sell the entire team or  minority shares in the team. Last year, Snyder purchased his former partners’ shares of the team for $875 million, taking on $450 million in debt, making him the full owner of the Commanders. He had been feuding with co-owners Dwight Schar, Robert Rothman and Frederick Smith, who bought into the team in 2003 but tried to sell their stakes last year, The New York Times reported.

Earlier this year, as Snyder and the team’s front office were accused of sexual misconduct and were the subject of NFL and congressional investigations, Virginia lawmakers backed away from offering a generous incentive package for the Commanders to build a new stadium in or Prince William County, and Maryland and Washington officials have similarly declined to welcome a new stadium to replace FedEx Field in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Richmond seeks developers for Coliseum property

Two city authorities issued a request for interest Thursday to redevelop the area surrounding the Richmond Coliseum into a -anchored mixed-use development, the District. Owned by Richmond’s authority, the 9.4-acre property includes the shuttered Coliseum and other structures that were part of the failed development proposal.

The Richmond Economic Development Authority and the Greater Richmond Convention Center Authority invited development teams to submit applications by Dec. 20 to be considered for phase one of the project. In-person visits to the property will take place Nov. 29, according to the project website.

The $1.5 billion Navy Hill project was killed by Richmond in February 2020 after city residents strongly objected to the public-private plan driven by former Dominion Inc. President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II, who formed NH District Corp. with other Richmond business leaders to develop a 10-block area that included the Richmond Coliseum site. No other groups submitted plans after the 2017 call for proposals by Mayor Levar Stoney, a vocal proponent of the deal.

The new request, however, appears to be more in the mold of the city’s Diamond District redevelopment, which was part of the Richmond 300 master plan created with extensive citizen input. According to the city’s announcement, the City Center Innovation District Small Area Plan is also a “direct outcome” of the comprehensive plan. A 242-page RFI notes that the first phase of the project would include the following properties, which are occupied by currently unused buildings:

  • Richmond Coliseum, 601 E. Leigh St., 7.36 acres
  • Sixth Street Marketplace, 530-550 E. Marshall St., 0.624 acres
  • Blues Armory, 411 N. 6th St., 0.487 acres
  • Park space, 406-408 N. 7th St., 1 acre
The Richmond Coliseum, seen here, has been closed since 2019, when some city officials backed the Navy Hill plan to build a new arena, a project quashed in 2020. Photo taken by Kate Andrews for Virginia Business in August 2019.

The plan must include demolition of the Coliseum, which has been closed since 2019, and development of a hotel with at least 500 rooms and meeting space, according to the planning document. The City Center Innovation Small Area Plan suggests adding public green spaces on part of the Coliseum footprint, with a main plaza at the intersection of North 6th and East Clay streets that could “serve as a citywide convening space” for concerts, festivals and ice skating when weather permits. Smaller spaces could be used for outdoor dining, playgrounds or other uses, according to the small area plan, which was released in November 2021.

The Coliseum site presents an opportunity for a grocery store with “sit-down, fast-casual dining and … space for entertainment and local vendors,” according to a market analysis prepared by AECOM that was included in the RFI.

The Blues Armory building, a 1910-built brick castle-like structure that once housed the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, must be renovated in a “creative adaptive reuse,” and proposals also must include “a significant number” of residences at multiple price levels; space; parking areas; and Class-A office space for biotech and life sciences businesses, many of which are already located nearby in the Virginia Bio+Tech Park. Public transit, pedestrian walkways, bike paths and open spaces also are priorities, according to the RFI.

In another change from the Navy Hill project, which was also criticized for its early funding plan to create a special tax district, the developers of City Center’s first phase must instead use “financing approaches that minimize public investment and risk and maximize private investment,” the document says, although it doesn’t offer further specifics. The project must also generate new revenue sources for the EDA, GRCCA and the city, as well as creating a fund to support technical assistance and training for minority-owned businesses and funding postsecondary for financially disadvantaged Richmond Public Schools students.

“Now is the time for Richmond to reinvigorate this part of our downtown to be a more vibrant destination for innovation, residential life and tourism,” said Richmond City Council Vice President Ellen F. Robertson, who represents District 6, where the property is located, in a statement. “The collaboration between the Richmond EDA and GRCCA is the right approach to getting this redevelopment project done.” Robertson was among the council members who rejected Navy Hill in 2020.

“We are thrilled to start the redevelopment of our City Center and to align it with the vision of the City Center Innovation District Small Area Plan,” said Leonard Sledge, executive director of the Richmond EDA. “All of the pieces are in place to position the redevelopment of the Coliseum site into a mixed-use, hotel-anchored development. We look forward to seeing this initial phase of the City Center redevelopment become a lively innovation district that attracts both established and startup companies, adds mixed-income housing, creates green space, expands tourism and so much more, while also creating opportunities for as many Richmonders as possible.”

After the Dec. 20 deadline for RFI submissions, an evaluation panel made up of representatives from the city and the two authorities are set to release a shortlist of development teams in winter 2023. Those groups will be invited to respond to a request for offers that will be evaluated by the same panel. In spring or summer 2023, the panelists expect to select one or more development teams for the project, pending approval by the EDA and GRCCA boards and other public bodies as needed.

ODU announces $500M capital campaign

Old University on Thursday announced the formal launch of a five-year, $500 million campaign to raise money for , research, campus improvements and , with the university saying it’s already more than halfway to meeting its goal.

President Brian O. Hemphill announced the campaign, Forward Focused: For Dreams and Beyond, Oct. 20 during an alumni dinner. The university raised $275 million during a quiet phase that began July 1, 2016, and concluded in September, prior to the campaign’s rollout. That included lead gifts, including the university’s Barry Art Museum.

“As we embark on this campaign, Monarch nation is stepping boldly forward to declare our dreams possible,” Hemphill said in a statement.  “We will focus our investment and efforts in the areas where ODU is poised to innovate and lead – social mobility, research and workforce .”

ODU was designated last year as an R1 research university, which recognizes it under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of as a doctoral university with a great amount of research activity. The designation creates a pathway to recruiting high-quality faculty and students, obtaining large research grants, and attracting industry and government agency partners, and the new campaign capitalizes on that momentum, ODU said. 

The campaign will focus on the following areas:

  • Student scholarships: $100 million in new scholarship support and $8 million for more student-led research opportunities and the expansion of internships and experiential learning;
  • Academics: $85 million to recruit faculty, add department chairs and professorships, and fund new technology and equipment;
  • Research: $81 million to support ODU’s recent designation, with a focus on coastal resilience, and data sciences, maritime and autonomous systems;
  • Public Health: $70 million in philanthropic investment in public health, including mental health initiatives, a library for the proposed ONE School of Public Health, a professorship in substance abuse nursing and a chair in mental health nursing. In addition, ODU plans to establish a Center for Movement Health and Disability;
  • Campus upgrades: Adding a data science facility and alumni center, improving the Perry Library and modernizing engineering lab technology;
  • Athletics: $120 million to add athletic scholarships and facility improvements, including expansions and upgrades to the university’s baseball stadium.

Innovation was at center of Mighty Dream Day 3

On the third and final day of Pharrell Williams‘ in , the theme was . The first day‘s focus was and equity, while Wednesday was largely dedicated to inspiring entrepreneurs to find and create opportunities.

Panelists throughout the day Thursday encouraged attendees to innovate, seek out resources and do their homework to find opportunities and access.

Astronaut Leland Melvin and speak on Thursday at the Mighty Dream Forum in Norfolk. Photo by Mark Rhodes

In a conversation with retired NASA space shuttle astronaut and Lynchburg native Leland D. Melvin, Williams talked about creativity and innovation and Melvin discussed gaining a whole new perspective from going into outer space.

Then, in a panel with Melvin; Chegg Inc. CEO Dan Rosensweig; Megan Holston-Alexander, a partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz; and Sydney Sykes, a partner with venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, Williams talked about how to make the innovation space more inclusive. The concept that innovation is as much about as it is about ideas came up over and over. Melvin told a story about growing up in Lynchburg, when his father bought an old bread truck for $500 and repurposed it into a recreational vehicle for the family to use for summer travels. “It taught me creativity, innovation and the ability to transform something to something we need for our family,” he said, citing how his father’s implementation of an idea was an example of innovation.

Rosensweig made a point that innovation isn’t always about creating something new, but it can be about improving something and making it better. Innovation isn’t just about founding something, he stressed. It’s finding leverage where there wasn’t before. When a founder is pitching an idea, he or she has to think about the benefits, instead of the features, he added.

Another panel hosted a conversation between Afdhel Aziz, co-founder and chief purpose

Annie Wu, H&M Group’s global head of inclusion and diversity, speaks at the Mighty Dream Forum in Norfolk. Photo by Mark Rhodes

officer for social impact marketing agency Conspiracy of Love, and Aaron Mitchell, former director for Netflix Animation, about how Mitchell convinced Netflix executives to move 2% of its revenues, or about $100 million, to banks. He described sending a proposal to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, and how he was encouraged by the response he got, and then seeing it happen. There was a ripple effect with other major tech companies following suit and at least $2 billion worth of corporate deposits being funneled into Black banks, he said. Mitchell noted that Microsoft had quietly done this 10 years prior and it wasn’t an original idea on his part.

Author Ben Nemtin, who co-created MTV’s 2010 reality TV show “The Buried Life,” spoke in TED Talk style about living with purpose. He encouraged attendees to follow their passions, saying, “You’re not done until you get your yes.”

Annie Wu, H&M Group’s global head of inclusion and diversity, delivered a presentation about how the global clothing retailer employs initiatives. H&M, the world’s second-largest retailer, with 4,700 stores worldwide and 150,000 employees, chose four focus areas: people, business, communities and transparency, and made inclusion a priority above diversity.

In one of the final panels of the day, representatives from the White House’s Economic Opportunity Coalition spoke about actions the Biden administration has taken to help underserved small businesses gain access to capital and resources. One of the key points was about taking advantage of not just available capital, but also seeking guidance and mentorship.

 

Cadmus Group acquires Fairfax contractor

Massachusetts-based consultancy The Group LLC announced Wednesday it has acquired Group, a -based business and technology consultancy and .

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2003, Wheelhouse provides organizational change management, stakeholder engagement and communications, workforce transformation and enterprise optimization services. The company employs almost 100 .

“Wheelhouse’s outstanding consultants are highly adept at delivering the impactful, stakeholder-focused guidance leaders need to ensure organizations are equipped to adopt transformative actions that yield lasting results,” Cadmus President and CEO Ian Kline said in a statement.

The company will expand Cadmus’ federal client base, adding the departments of Treasury, Labor, Interior and Education. The also reinforces Cadmus’ existing presence with the General Services Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Justice and commercial clients.

Wheelhouse will form a new strategy and transformation line within Cadmus’ U.S. public sector division. Wheelhouse co-founder and President Beth McDonald will lead the business line as a Cadmus senior vice president. Wheelhouse co-founder and CEO Laurie Axelrod will support the company’s integration and provide services post-integration.

“Cadmus’ technical expertise directly addresses many of the challenges our clients are facing today and perfectly complements our team’s capabilities on the side of organizational transformation,” Axelrod said in a statement. “We couldn’t be more excited to offer this enhanced support to clients as they work to transform their organizations for long-term success.”

Cadmus provides consulting in the , water, transportation, safety, security and resilience industries. It employs more than 600 consultants.

Thalhimer buys Diamond District properties for $4.6M

TRP Hermitage LLC, an entity connected to Richmond-based Inc., has purchased two industrial properties near The Diamond baseball stadium in Richmond for $4.6 million, announced Thursday. It was an off-market deal, according to Thalhimer.

The plots — 0.735 acres at 1701 Rhoadmiller St. and 0.978 acres at 2508 Hermitage Road — are part of the Diamond District, a 67-acre area that is set to be redeveloped in a project centered around a new baseball stadium for the Richmond Flying Squirrels AA team. Thalhimer is part of the winning team of developers, designers and builders known as RVA Diamond Partners LLC. A panel of elected and other officials with the city of Richmond tapped the joint venture in September.

The entire project is expected to cost $2.44 billion, with the first phase costing $627.6 million, according to the city.

Other partners in the RVA Diamond Partners joint venture include Washington, D.C.-based Republic Properties Corp., Chicago-based Loop Capital Holdings LLC and San Diego venue developer JMI . According to the city’s announcement, the group committed to purchase the first $20 million in bonds needed to finance the stadium, which is required to be completed and open for the 2025 Minor League Baseball season.

According to , parent company of Thalhimer Realty Partners, the ballpark will have a capacity of 10,000 patrons, and the rest of the project will include 935,000 square feet of office space, 195,000 square feet of and community space, and two with a total of 330 rooms.

Nusbaum’s news release Thursday said the new owner of the two properties on Rhoadmiller and Hermitage, which currently are occupied by industrial buildings, plans to retain the land for future development. The two warehouses have been occupied by Wurth Wood Group for decades, and the company will continue to be tenants in the near term, according to Thalhimer, which bought two other properties at 1715 Rhoadmiller St. and 2501 Hermitage Road last year. Golf Acres Investments LLC was the properties’ previous owner, and Reid Cardon of Nusbaum represented the seller in the transaction.

“While we don’t have any immediate plans, we view this has a good, long-term investment,” Thalhimer Realty Partners Principal Matt Raggi said in a statement Thursday. “Combining the four parcels will give us almost 3 acres in a location which we believe is in the path of growth. In addition to the Diamond District , the Hermitage Road corridor is seeing a lot of great momentum both from the private sector as well as with VCU’s publicly announced plans for their new athletics village.”

In addition to the new stadium, the Diamond District is expected to include an 11-acre park and 2,800 residential units — both rental and 157 condos for — available at different price points, with 20% of rental units priced for households earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income, and 100 apartments under project-based vouchers for public residents. The Diamond District development will connect with the neighborhood and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Athletics Village, set to be built on 41.7 acres on Hermitage Road.

NJ resin/vinyl manufacturer to invest $13.5M in Tazewell

New Jersey-based custom resin and vinyl manufacturer Ronald Mark Associates Inc. will invest $13.5 million to establish a operation in , a project expected to create 29 , announced Thursday.

The company will occupy the former Komatsu Mining Corp. facility at 1081 Hockman Pike in .

“Ronald Mark Associates’ decision to establish a manufacturing operation in County is a great testament to Southwest Virginia’s many advantages, including competitive operating costs and a skilled workforce,” Youngkin said in a statement. “We are thrilled that the company will revitalize a vacant facility and create 29 new jobs for the hardworking citizens of this region.”

Ronald Mark Associates has marketed, distributed and packaged PVC resin since 1971 and has manufactured vinyl films since 1979. The company provides vinyl fabrics to the military.

“The mechanical talent of Tazewell County is a perfect match for the infrastructure fabrics and technical textiles Ronald Mark will produce,” Ronald Mark Associates President Michael Satz said in a statement.

The worked with Tazewell County and the to secure the project, for which Virginia competed with North Carolina and South Carolina. Youngkin approved a $116,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist the county. Ronald Mark Associates is eligible to receive benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of and Community. will provide funding and services to support employee training through its Virginia Jobs Investment Program.