Ted Hanson and Brad Hobbs will serve as the initial directors of Hokie Ventures, Virginia Tech athletics announced on Wednesday.
Hanson is a current Board of Visitors member who spearheaded the Future State Subcommittee of the Athletics Investment Oversight Committee (AIOC), the group that guided the 'Invest to Win' campaign and $229 million funding plan, plus the creation of Hokie Ventures. He'll serve as vice chair of the organization.
Hobbs will be Hokie Ventures' chair. He was appointed to the Board of Visitors by Governor Glenn Youngkin and served from 2022-24. He was also part of the eight-member search committee for the next football head coach that landed James Franklin.
Hobbs and Hanson will work with the Virginia Tech president, athletic director and Board of Visitors to "identify and recruit members to the independent board," per the school's release.
"We are committed to establishing a board of directors with individuals who bring savvy business acumen and who can help us create a more modern, business-oriented operating model aligned with the evolving economics of college athletics," Hobbs said in the release. "They can also help us advance philanthropic support and identify new investment opportunities to support our athletics program."
At the Board of Visitors meeting in early June, it was revealed that Hokie Ventures will have a nine-person board, which will feature the president, the athletic director, the senior vice president for advancement, a Board of Visitors appointee and five independent voting members.
Tom Wamsley is the senior vice president for advancement. Two of the board's other members have now been announced in Hobbs and Hanson. Tech is currently searching for its next athletic director, which is expected to be completed this summer, and president, which should wrap up in December.
The board of directors will help select Hokie Ventures' chief executive officer, too.
"The directors we seek will bring capabilities and experiences to help us move more quickly in areas such as corporate partnerships, sponsorships, emerging revenue opportunities and commercial investment strategies," Hanson said. "The establishment of Hokie Ventures puts Virginia Tech on the leading edge, creating a modern college athletics enterprise built for the future.
"If we are successful in doing that, it will allow the athletics department to remain focused on student-athlete support, coaching, compliance and other core athletic operations, while Hokie Ventures will focus on revenue generation, investment and related business activities in support of those programs."