Virginia Economic Review

VEDP Vice President of Knowledge Work Meghan Welch spoke with Steven Chen, the founder of PFP Cybersecurity, about the cybersecurity funding environment in Virginia.

Candice Ling is a senior vice president at Microsoft and head of the company’s federal government business unit. Previously, she served as the company’s government industry lead in Asia.

Brad Medairy is executive vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, a Virginia-based Fortune 500 company where he leads the national cyber account and focuses on the cyber missions of national-level clients like the FBI, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S.

Quokka entered the cybersecurity world with a big reputation — under its previous name, the company landed on the front page of The New York Times after discovering a critical security vulnerability in some Android smartphones that sent user data to Chinese servers.

Cybersecurity attacks are evolving at rapid speed, and the U.S. lacks sufficient professionals to address them.

In an era where cyberattacks threaten everything from bank accounts to national security, the need for cybersecurity has never been higher. In 2020, data breaches, ransomware, and other cybercrimes cost the United States over $4 billion in damages, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Recently, an Air Force research agency reached out to George Mason University (GMU) with a pressing issue. Drones were attacking Air Force facilities around the globe.

Virginia's proximity to the federal government and the wealth of private technology leaders headquartered in the Commonwealth have helped its workforce rise to the forefront of the cybersecurity industry.

In an increasingly digital world where data breaches, ransomware attacks, and other cybercrimes are pervasive, a skilled cybersecurity workforce is more important than ever. Yet the industry grapples with a significant worker shortage.

States, nations, and any municipality can build and tout their critical infrastructure that, on the surface, may appear second to none. Think: thriving, automated food and agriculture ecosystems. Sprawling office buildings outfitted with remote smart sensors. Unflappable financial markets.

Why So Many Executives Choose Virginia for Their Corporate Headquarters The last few decades have solidified Virginia’s position as America’s hometown for corporate headquarters. In total, 580 companies have relocated to or expanded headquarters offices in Virginia in the last decade.

International Companies Find Advantages in Locating U.S. Headquarters in Virginia Foreign companies looking for a launching point to serve the U.S. and North American markets have many choices on where to plant their flag. Virginia has proven fruitful as that launching point for many of them.

New Amazonians are onboarding. Construction milestones are being met. From timelines to pipelines, Amazon’s mammoth HQ2 undertaking is on time and full speed ahead.

In the competitive realm of corporate headquarters location decisions, the COVID-19 pandemic upended the way companies operate and could have major ramifications on office space moving forward.

Virginia's Veterans are a Natural Fit for Corporate Headquarters Virginia is home to 30 military installations and more than 721,000 veterans. It’s also home to 36 Fortune 1000 companies (eighth among U.S. states) and 2,300 corporate headquarters operations (seventh).

From its Bedford HQ, Company Eyes Overseas Markets for its Conveyor Systems For the past four decades, Sentry Equipment and Erectors, Inc. has fostered a reputation for delivering quality conveying systems and service to customers in all 50 states.

Town-and-Country Lifestyle, Access to University Talent Attract Investment While Virginia's larger metro areas along Interstates 95 and 64 have been recognized as technology hubs, the Commonwealth’s smaller metros are leveraging their unique strengths to create their own tech clusters.

Matt Calkins is founder and CEO of Appian, an enterprise cloud software company headquartered in McLean in Fairfax County. Calkins is a California native who founded Appian in 1999 and grew it into a publicly traded company.