Robert Ward, a former adviser to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, has been appointed interim director of Activation Capital at a time when the group is grappling with how to proceed with a long-planned innovation center in downtown Richmond.
Ward steps in for Chandra Briggman, who left Activation Capital earlier this month. A state delegate told the Richmond Times-Dispatch the Youngkin administration had been dissatisfied with Briggman’s performance, which led to her departure from the independent state authority that promotes research, commercialization and innovation ecosystem development in the Richmond region. But a Youngkin spokesperson told the Times-Dispatch the governor was not involved in Briggman’s departure.
Ward most recently served as Virginia’s chief transformation officer, supporting cabinet secretaries with technologies aimed at improving operations. Prior to that, he was a senior adviser to Youngkin. He spent more than 21 years with construction and development company Skanska USA, including his final five-plus years there as president and CEO.
“As the search continues for a CEO, I am committed to growing and fostering Activation Capital’s venture, ecosystem and pharmaceutical cluster development,” Ward said in a statement.
His background in real estate and construction could come in handy as the group works to construct a 100,000-plus-square-foot, $51 million innovation center on the VA Bio+Tech Park it operates in Richmond. Activation Capital has struggled to land an anchor tenant for the planned four-story building, which is also to feature labs, officers and infrastructure to support scientific testing. Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center had been targeted as an anchor, but a deal has not been finalized, according to reports.
Activation Capital is also considering a scaled back version of the innovation center that would span 25,000 square feet across two stories and feature less lab space, according to reports. Such lab space is at a premium at the Bio+Tech Park that Activation Capital operates. Activation Capital has already secured about $31 million in grants and other funding that would cover the scaled-down center.
The innovation center would be located at East Leigh Street between North Seventh and North Eighth streets.
