A longtime Fredericksburg-area business leader who helped lay the groundwork for the data center boom now under way in the region announced his retirement Wednesday.
Curry Roberts, who has been president of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance (FRA) at the University of Mary Washington since 2014, will retire in April.
Among Roberts’ accomplishments mentioned in the FRA’s announcement Wednesday are:
- Helping to attract 6,446 new jobs and $117.5 billion in capital investment to the region
- Undertaking fundraising efforts that allowed the FRA to nearly double its budget
- Working with local governments to establish a common tax rate and depreciation schedule for data center equipment, and helping to attract Amazon Web Services (AWS) to the region
- Building a program with NSWC Dahlgren to create partnerships between the lab’s technological capital and the region’s commercial and academic capacity
- Helping to create the River’s Region Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Council (RREEC), a 501(c)(3) organization designed to help Main Street and high-growth businesses connect with regional resources
- Re-branding and re-launching the FRA’s “ACES luncheons” to connect professionals in the architecture, construction, engineering, surveying and aligned industries
“Curry’s leadership has simply been transformative for the Fredericksburg Region,” FRA Board Chair Charlie Payne said in the announcement Wednesday. “His accomplishments are the foundation for a stronger and more viable economic development environment that will pay great dividends towards this region’s future. We thank him for all he has done for the region.”
Before joining the FRA, Roberts’ 35-year career included leadership stints in the non-profit, public and private sectors. He previously served as Virginia’s Secretary of Economic Development (now Commerce and Trade), helped manage JWK Properties Inc. and PM Holdings LLC, and served as President and CEO of the State Fair of Virginia Inc.
The FRA will begin a search for a new president in the coming months with the help of executive search firm Jorgenson Pace Inc.
