DC Power Moves: CoStar heads to Arlington with huge new HQ

It’s already been a busy 2024 for DC-area companies, nonprofits and government agencies.

The year kicked off with Forcepoint Federal rebranding as Everfox, Amazon laying more workers off and new leadership for the likes of T. Rowe Price, Howard University and Future Kings. We also spotlighted the local startups and founders we think are primed for future success via our 2024 RealLIST Startups, which includes emerging leadership in AI, health, standards regulation and beyond.

When it comes to recent leadership transitions, staff changes, branding pivots and new launches, what details should you know? Read on for a recap.

Power Moves in the DC area

• CoStar Group, a commercial real estate analytics company founded in DC, announced plans to invest $14 million in a new global headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, at Central Place Tower in Rosslyn.
  • The company plans for 650 employees to work at the facility, where CoStar will occupy 175,000 square feet of office space.
• The inaugural CEO for the recently formed Coalition for Health AI (CHAI) will be Brian S. Anderson, a former chief digital health physician for McLean, Virginia-co-headquartered MITRE. The coalition of private, university and government partners and observers launched with funding from MITRE, which focuses on research and development for government agencies, and a mission to create guardrails for AI’s use in health tech contexts.
  • CHAI also announced its full board of directors, which will be chaired by Mayo Clinic Platform President John Halamka and includes scientists and administrators from Duke University, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Microsoft and the Digital Medicine Society.
  • The coalition’s announcement further noted members of constituent advisory boards and working groups, as well as new partnerships with HL7 and the National Health Council.
• CalypsoAI, a government AI firm and 2023 Technical.ly Awards nominee, appointed Donnchadh Casey its new chief operating officer. Casey was previously the chief customer officer for the experience management platform Qualtrics. Casey is based in Dublin, Ireland, where the company maintains its non-DC offices.
• DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office made a few big announcements to boost responsible tech and business development in the district. They include:
  • Signing an order that establishes ethical AI principles while tasking her office and the Office of the Chief Technology Officer with collaborating to use AI for more efficient government services
  • Teaming up with the DowntownDC and Golden Triangle business improvement districts on a new plan to boost economic development and business retention in the district’s downtown neighborhoods
• Fairfax, Virginia-based aerospace tech company and government contractor Trident Systems opened a production facility in nearby Chantilly that the Washington Business Journal reported cost $3.7 million and will create about 50 tech jobs.
• The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released both an updated version of its signature cybersecurity framework and a new database for researchers to track long-lasting chemical pollutants in various consumer products.
• The Arlington-HQed Association of State and Territorial Health Officials named former Louisiana state health official Joseph Kanter its new CEO.
• BuildWithin, a workforce training platform and 2023 RealLIST Startup, established new partnerships with Destination DC, Predict Health, United Fray and Compass Pro Bono. These and other partnerships across industries aim to put people who take BuildWithin’s courses in apprenticeships.
• DC-based public affairs software company Quorum released Quorum Copilot, a suite of tools that use AI to help government affairs workers streamline legislative document review.
• iTech AG, an Arlington-HQed tech consulting firm, named Marvin Soward its new chief financial officer.
• Deltek, a Herndon, Virginia-based producer of HR software for many government contractors, appointed Bob Hughes as its new president and CEO. He replaces Mike Corkery, who will next month start another position at parent company Roper Technologies.