How Did You Get Your Start?

I was always interested in math and science. But, when I got to UVA, really as early as 1st semester, I felt that a career in those fields wasn't suited to me.

In some respects, I took a pretty big pivot by applying to McIntire, and ended up studying Accounting there. The analytical foundations of math and science overlapped, so it was a good first step.

That was the foundation. When I was in school, the excitement around consulting didn’t really exist — you were either going to be a public accountant or an investment banker.

Given what I chose to study, I was in the first camp. The big 4 accounting firms we know today were the big 8 back then. They recruited heavily from McIntire and valued the preparation they provided candidates. I went to work for Price Waterhouse. Of the 40 of us in my training class, half a dozen were from UVA.

I loved working there, but what stood out to me was the work was always about someone else's business. I was on the audit side. What was missing for me was the ability to help shape a business directly. So after 8 years in public accounting, I left for an industry position.

It was kind of like starting over. I went to work for a small little technology startup, pre-IPO stage, for 2 ½ years. They were in the cellular telecommunications business, but they missed the strategic business window and didn't pan out to be a financial success.

There, I learned how to manage a team, build banking relationships, produce things, file taxes – all the things needed to know how to run a business. It was an invaluable education.

When it became clear the startup was winding down, I went back to my PwC network. After a couple of conversations, someone said a media company was looking for someone, and I should talk to them. So I did.

It was a private company with a group of broadcast television stations owned by the Allbritton family in Washington, D.C. I started as a controller, and moved my way up. The seminal moment for me was when our CFO, who was a commercial banker by trade, wanted to go back into banking. I had been there for 18 months, was 34 years old, probably didn't have all the right experience, but they gave me an opportunity and I took the role of CFO.

I spent the next 16 years there. I fell in love with media and the dynamic nature of the business, especially the experience to participate in the founding of Politico in 2007.

Ultimately, in a strategic exit for the family, I ran a process to sell the broadcast business in 2014. Around the same time, Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post, and the CEO I had worked for under the Allbritton family went on to become its CEO. He asked if I’d come join him as their CFO.