Women in Business

John Asbury is Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NASDAQ: AUB), having joined the company in October, 2016. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Atlantic Union Bankshares is the holding company for Atlantic Union Bank, which has approximately $20 billion in assets and 135 banking offices throughout Virginia and in portions of Maryland and North Carolina. Atlantic Union is the first and only statewide independent bank in Virginia in nearly 20 years.

Asbury came to Atlantic Union as part of a planned succession for the former CEO, who retired following 26 years in role. Asbury is a career banker with over 33 years of experience in Commercial and Corporate banking. Most recently, he was President and CEO of privately-held First National Bank of Santa Fe, a multi-state bank with locations primarily in the Southwest I-25 corridor between Denver, Colorado and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Prior to that, he was Senior Executive Vice President and Head of the Business Services Group at Regions Financial Corporation, one of the nation’s largest full-service banks. Regions serves customers across the South, Midwest and Texas. At Regions, Asbury led all lines of business that serve the company’s business and commercial banking customers. Prior to Regions, he spent 17 years at Bank of America, ultimately leaving as the Pacific Northwest Region Executive for Business Banking in Seattle, Washington. Asbury has broad experience in commercial banking with prior positions responsible for multiple services and regions. After graduating from Virginia Tech, he began his banking career in the management training program at Wachovia Bank & Trust in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Asbury also holds an MBA from The College of William & Mary and is a native of Virginia, born in Radford.

Books: Best business book I have ever read: “Good to Great” by Jim Collins

Best book for current times:  “How To Be An Antiracist” by Ibram Kendi

Quote: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” by Winston Churchill

Tracy Castle-Newman is the COO for Global Institutional Equity Distribution and is a member of the Equity Operating Committee. In her role, she focuses on the division’s client strategy and business development.  She also has specific responsibility for the Equity and Fixed Income Institutional Client Joint Venture with MSWM, Systematic Advisory Sales (SAS), Commission Management and ETF Product Marketing.

Tracy joined Morgan Stanley in 1996 after spending her prior years at Bankers Trust and Bank of New York.  She has held various roles while at Morgan Stanley, primarily focused on client strategy and business development.  Tracy was promoted to Managing Director in 2004. In 2007, Tracy was inducted into the YWCA Academy of Women Leaders in recognition of her contribution to women’s initiatives.  In 2010, she co-founded the Morgan Stanley’s Women’s Business Alliance. In 2013, she founded Morgan Stanley’s Women’s Investment Roundtable which brings together women portfolio mangers for a 2 day stock picking roundtable.  In 2017, Tracy was named to Worth Magazine’s Power 100 List.

She is a graduate of Virginia Tech with a BS in Finance. She serves on the Cabinet of the Pamplin Advisory Council, the Executive Committee for the Pamplin Finance Advisory Board and the VT SEED Advisory Board.  Tracy lives in Westfield, NJ with her husband Andy and both are supporters of Va. Tech academics and athletics.

Books: Thrive by Arianna Huffington

American Dirt by Jeannine Cummings

Quote: “Be Grateful, these are champagne problems”

Jeff Hartman is an Executive Vice President and Senior Managing Director for the Eastern Region of Wells Fargo Private Wealth Management. Jeff oversees leaders and producers in Boston, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, DC, Maryland and North Carolina, including Private Banking, Credit, Brokerage, Trust, Investment Management, Planning and Insurance Services.

Since joining Wells Fargo and its predecessors in 1980, Jeff’s experience has included serving as Regional Director, Private Banking in the Southeast; Wealth Management Director, Mid-Atlantic; Wealth Managing Director, Florida; Private Banking Manager, McLean, Virginia and Corporate Banking Manager, McLean, Virginia. He has been in the financial industry for 40 years.

Jeff earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Management from Virginia Tech in 1979. He is a graduate of The Stonier School of Banking, The Executive Program at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and The Wachovia Leadership Program at Chapel Hill. He is a Board Member of the Pamplin School of Business at Virginia Tech as well as a Board of Trustee for the Virginia Tech Foundation. Additionally, he has held past Board Member positions on The American Heart Association, Make-A-Wish Foundation, International Children’s’ Festival and St. Mary’s Episcopal Day School.

Jeff and his wife Susan have three children as well as three grandchildren. They reside in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Books: The Extraordinary Coach by John Zenger

With All Due Respect by Nikki Haley

Quote: Mark Twain quote: “There are basically two types of people.  People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things.  The first group is less crowded.”  

Ms. Shanahan brings 25+ years of business and executive search experience to accelHRate. She has partnered with hundreds of CEOs, Board Members and CHROs across multiple industries and geographies. Prior to Co-Founding accelHRate in 2014, she spent eight years with Korn Ferry where she led the HR Center of Expertise as Senior Client Partner and simultaneously served as Managing Partner for a large office P&L. She was also an active member of the CEO and Board Practice.

Prior to joining Korn Ferry in 2006, Ms. Shanahan led Wireless Corporate Strategy and Business Development for MCI, where she helped develop MCI’s next generation broadband and convergence strategy, formed and managed strategic partnerships and launched new markets across the US. Ms. Shanahan was first recruited to MCI in Human Resources to develop and lead its global executive recruiting and talent strategy. Prior to MCI, Ms. Shanahan spent four years with Heidrick & Struggles, where she focused on C-level searches for technology companies globally. Earlier, Ms. Shanahan spent several years in management consulting with DFI International.

Ms. Shanahan serves on the Board of pre-IPO SaaS company Truvelop, National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF) and multiple Advisory Boards for Virginia Tech, including Vice Chair of APEX Center for Entrepreneurship/Startup Hokies, President Sands’ National Capital Region Leadership Council, The Department of Management, and the Pamplin College of Business (PAC). She is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Fairfax’s Signature Program. She has been published and/or featured in Fortune Magazine, Human Resource Executive Magazine, HROToday, Chief Executive Magazine, SHRM, The Washington Post and has been co-host on “The CEO Show” on Executive Leaders Radio. She has previously been named one of Washington’s 100 Tech Titans. Ms. Shanahan holds a B.S. degree with a double major in finance and communications from Virginia Tech.

Books: Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun 

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

Quote: "Courage is the enforcing virtue, the one that makes possible all the other virtues common to exceptional leaders: honesty, integrity, confidence, compassion and humility.”