Greg Wingfield

“My entire career,” Gregory H. Wingfield says, “has been focused on job creation, which is the best way to make a difference to one person who needs a job.” Wingfield helps put Richmond on the economic map, for 20 years recruiting businesses to the region and bringing millions of dollars to the area. But the next year will bring a big transition for Wingfield and the Greater Richmond Partnership. After two decades, Wingfield, 63, is about to put the cap on a distinguished career with the group.

At the end of June 2015, Wingfield will step down as the only president and CEO the organization has had since its creation in 1994. Think about the companies that have come to the area in recent years, including the corporate headquarters of Altria and MeadWestvaco, and ones that are coming, including the Shandong Tranlin Paper Company. The regional economic development organization has worked on more than 450 regional projects in the last 20 years, resulting in $10.7 billion in capital investment and millions of tax dollars for Virginia localities.

PHILOSOPHY FOR LIFE: “It is hard to articulate. It revolves around taking care of others less fortunate than yourself but making sure you have the means to do so.”

CURRENT PET PROJECTS: “I am on the board of the Wingfield Family Society and chair a committee to honor Edward Maria Wingfield, the first president and investor in the Virginia Company that founded Jamestown. I am helping to restore a family grave site in Louisa County with several other family members.”

OTHER AFFILIATIONS: VMFA board of trustees; Richmond Children’s Museum; Leadership Metro Richmond; Greater Richmond Partnership Inc.; past president, Richmond Real Estate Group.

RECENT HONORS: The Jeff A. Finkle Award from the International Economic Development Council for organizational leadership.

WHAT HE ENJOYS IN HIS FREE TIME: Music, vacation travel, reading nonfiction books about history and watching movies from 1930s to 1950s.