EAB Global Inc., the D.C.-based education data, direct marketing and recruitment firm for colleges and universities, is expanding its Richmond-area presence with plans to add 206 jobs there in the next five years, according to an announcement from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The company plans to invest $6 million to add the jobs in Henrico County, where it will consolidate its operations into a 70,000-square-foot former SunTrust Building on West Broad Street.
Chris Marett, president of marketing and enrollment solutions for EAB, said in a statement the “more flexible, hybrid workspace” at the new building “will strengthen our ability to attract and retain the local talent we need to continue helping our partner institutions meet the complex challenges facing the education sector.”
Youngkin’s office approved a $741,600 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Henrico County with the project. Youngkin’s office said Virginia beat out other states where EAB has a presence — including Minnesota and Alabama — to land the expansion project. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Henrico Economic Development Authority and the Greater Richmond Partnership to land the commitment from EAB.
Jennifer Wakefield, CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership, said in a statement the company’s expansion was proof “technology companies like EAB and other office users find Henrico County and Greater Richmond to be the perfect mix of low business costs yet high quality of life for their employees.”
EAB is not the only D.C.-based company that is plotting an expansion in the Richmond area. In December, commercial real estate data giant CoStar Group Inc. said it would invest $460 million into the construction of a new expanded corporate campus in downtown Richmond that will ultimately house 3,000 of its employees. The project will result in 2,000 new jobs for the company. CoStar already has a big presence in Virginia's capital city, opening its research headquarters there in 2016 and growing its local headcount to a little more than 1,000. CoStar said the new hires will make it the largest technology company in Richmond and one of the city's largest employers.
EAB spun out of D.C.-based The Advisory Board Co. in 2017. It has operated in the Henrico area under different names for more than 30 years. Its services are focused on enrollment, student success, institutional strategy, data analytics and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
