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Cover Story


‘Good problem to have’ John Braun agrees that Amazon


will be a formidable competitor for talent. “That’s always a concern, but it’s a good problem to have,” says the president of Dynamis, a Fairfax-based company providing a broad range of services and support to government clients. Braun says companies already


facing challenges may be more vulner- able when competing with Amazon than firms that have grown, even in difficult times. He is impressed with the state’s


“From a corporate talent standpoint, I’m terrifi ed,” says Lisa Rosenthal, CEO of Mayvin, an Annandale-based federal contractor.


At least 30 of the 100 companies


on the 2019 list of the Best Places to Work are involved in technology or government contracting, and about 50 are based in Northern Virginia. Already recognized as being


highly desirable workplaces, what will these companies do to continue to attract the workers they need?


Fierce competition Officials from Best Places com-


panies acknowledge that the competi- tion for talent in Northern Virginia could become fierce when Amazon begins to staff its National Landing headquarters, which will include parts of Arlington and Alexandria. “From a corporate talent


standpoint, I’m terrified,” says Lisa Rosenthal, CEO of Mayvin, an Annandale-based federal contractor that serves national-security agencies. “For companies who do any kind of government contracting, it’s going to suck our labor pool completely dry.” Rosenthal says Amazon’s arrival


likely will mean her woman-owned company won’t bid on contracts in the


24 | FEBRUARY 2019


metro D.C. region. “We can’t compete with their salaries,” Rosenthal says of Amazon. “I’m a cool company for the Department of Defense, but I’m not a cool company when I’m competing with Amazon.” Rosenthal believes that HQ2


will initiate a cultural shift that will remake the region and change its identity. “It will make the business of D.C. no longer government. The business of D.C. will be Amazon,” she asserts.


Rosenthal acknowledges that


Amazon could greatly expand what she calls Northern Virginia’s “innova- tive gene pool.” The problem: “We’re not going to be able to afford guys,” she says. For Rosenthal, the one bright


spot is that the value of the condo she owns in Arlington already is soaring because of Amazon’s announcement. She hopes that when she finally decides to put the condo on the market, the price it commands will be over the top. “Maybe I’ll be able to retire on my condo,” she says with a laugh.


education investment proposals, which are designed to ensure that a large number of qualified workers will be available not only to Amazon but to others. His company is continually


investing in its employees’ education and training, whether they want to get a master’s degree, a doctorate or a certification in a critical area. “To be successful in the long run, you have to spend money,” Braun says. If his company gets in a bind in


trying to keep a particularly talented employee, he says, “we would offer additional benefits,” on top of what he believes is already an attractive compensation package. Braun’s final thought on why HQ2 is a positive development: “Business begets business.”


An economic boost Jeanette Chapman, deputy direc-


tor of the Stephen S. Fuller Institute for Research on the Washington Region’s Economic Future at George Mason University, sees both sides of Amazon’s possible effects on the Northern Virginia talent pool. On one hand, she says, concerns


about Amazon’s soaking up the talent “are valid, but hard to quantify.” On the other hand, “the counter-


vailing point is that Amazon will be a big enough name to attract a signifi- cant workforce on its own,” Chapman says.


“One thing Amazon could


actually do is create a new reason to attract and retain young workers. Amazon would be a draw in that


Photo by Stephen Gosling


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