Former Virginia secretary of commerce and trade joins McGuireWoods Consulting

Published October 30, 2014 by Robert Powell, III

Robert T. Skunda, a former Virginia secretary of commerce and trade, has joined Richmond-based McGuireWoods Consulting as senior consultant of infrastructure and economic development.

Skunda recently retired as the president and CEO of the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park in Richmond.

Trained as an architect and urban planner, Skunda worked for several major architecture and engineering firms in the U.S. before becoming a cabinet secretary under Gov. George Allen in the 1990s and then president of the biotech park.

During his time as secretary of commerce and trade, the commonwealth saw $12 billion in new private sector investment leading to the creation of 300,000 net new jobs. 

Skunda worked with the biotech park from its the earliest stages of planning and development, helping it become one of the largest urban research and technology parks in the nation. 

The park covers 34 acres of downtown Richmond, providing more than 1.3 million square feet of laboratory and office space to more than 60 private companies, nonprofits, research institutes and government laboratories.