A Northern Virginia investment firm is tapping Glenn Youngkin as chairman.
McLean-based Red Cell Partners, which specializes in scaling early-stage national security-related companies, on Wednesday announced the appointment of the former Virginia governor. In addition to being chair, he’ll become a partner and board member.
It’s a return to familiar ground for the 59-year-old Richmond native. Before serving four years in public office as a Republican, Youngkin worked at private equity firm The Carlyle Group for 25 years. He started as an associate and eventually climbing to co-CEO before winning the election in 2021.
Youngkin made tech and business a cornerstone of his time in office.
“By specializing in national security, cyber, and healthcare,” Youngkin said in a release, “Red Cell is creating solutions to problems that are both mission-critical for those industries and our country.”
Youngkin made tech and business a cornerstone of his time in office. He signed a law limiting teens’ access to social media and mandated restricting phone use during school. On the business side, Youngkin rejected a sweeping AI regulation framework claiming it would impose expensive compliance costs for companies.
In the state with the highest concentration of data centers in the world, he encouraged additional development. He moved away from restrictions on the industry and vetoed a bill that would have set new review requirements for Virginia local governments reviewing land use applications for large facilities in the state, including data centers.
Red Cell Partners actively invests in data center innovations. McLean portfolio company Claros, which is developing hardware and software to power the infrastructure, raised $30 million for its tech this spring.
“The industries we work in are the hardest and most consequential to America’s future,” said Red Cell Partners CEO and founder Grant Verstandig. “Transforming them requires people like Governor Youngkin, people who know how to run things and who aren’t afraid to break from the status quo.”
