Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin has named Caren Merrick to serve as the next Secretary of Commerce and Trade of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
“Virginia’s jobs machine has stalled out, and Caren is going to play a pivotal role on the team that will jumpstart our economy and reinvigorate job growth here in the Commonwealth,” Youngkin said. “Caren is an innovator, a business builder, and a true leader in workforce development — the kind of experience needed to develop talent, train workers, attract investment, and make Virginia the best state to start a business as we set out to add 400,000 jobs and launch 10,000 startups.”
Merrick co-founded enterprise software company webMethods, growing it from zero to $200m and the most successful software IPO in history at offering. She is a partner in NextGen Venture Partners investing in category defining early stage companies.
Merrick has built boards of directors including webMethods Inc., the webMethods Foundation, and the Virginia Ready Initiative, where as the CEO she oversaw $10 million in funding through public-private partnerships to help mitigate the economic hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting labor shortages by retraining Virginians for in-demand careers.
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