Richmond-based B Corp. opens office in Tysons

Published May 31, 2019 by M.J. McAteer

Impact Makers has brought its chartable spirit to Northern Virginia.

The Richmond-based technology and management consulting firm is a Benefit Corporation, or B Corp, meaning that it channels all net profits into effecting positive changes in society.

The best-known B Corp is Connecticut-based Newman’s Own Foundation, founded by the late film star Paul Newman. The company donates all profit from the sale of salad dressing and other organic food stuffs to charity. Newman’s Own has been an adviser to Impact Makers.

Impact Makers’ annual revenues top $20 million, its annual net profits of more than $3 million have gone to its charitable partners, the Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond and Virginia Community Capital. In Northern Virginia, Impact Makers is working with Homestretch, a Falls Church nonprofit that helps families in poverty become self-sufficient.

“In my heart, I’m a philanthropist,” says Andy Wolff, who became Impact Makers’ CEO in October.

Wolff succeeds Michael Pirron, Impact Maker’s co- founder, who departed the company in January 2018. Pirron’s now suing Impact Maker’s saying he was improperly removed as permanent director of the company’s board. Pirron also says an illegitimate sale of the company ultimately jeopardizes the firm’s mission.

“I decided to file a lawsuit because in this current business and political climate, it’s important to stand up against bullying business tactics and conventional business practices,” Pirron said in a statement. “I simply want to maintain the initial mission, values and models of the company that was built.”

However, Wolff, who is listed as one of the defendants in the complaint, says Impact Makers plans to vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit.  “The lawsuit is a culmination of claims and demands we believe have no merit,” Wolff says. The company is excited to build on its positive momentum, including replicating its model in Northern Virginia, Wolff says.

Impact Makers has tapped Senior Vice President Scott Mayo to establish the company’s Northern Virginia outpost in Tysons. The office, which opened in December, has 12 employees, all of whom are local. Mayo says his goal is for the office to be eventually run by a local manager.