Robert T. Gow

Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

In the 1980s, Mr. Gow acquired the historic 256-acre Powhatan Plantation in Williamsburg, Virginia, and transformed the site into one of America's premier destination resorts. He was also the principal shareholder in Greensprings Plantation, a golf and resort home community situated on one of America's most historical land sites, and the Williamsburg Yacht and Country Club. In addition, he owned Greensprings Trust and Powhatan Associates, which comprised one of the largest privately held consumer loan portfolios in the United States. By developing innovative financing structures, Mr. Gow expanded his consumer finance companies' capacity to access capital in the international debt markets. Mr. Gow has been a pioneer in promoting U.S. business activities in Asia, especially in the People's Republic of China, where he was instrumental in forming a number of joint ventures with PRC government entities. In 1995, Mr. Gow began investing in Latin America, where he established a series of business ventures in agriculture and hospitality businesses. In 1997, Mr. Gow sold certain of his real estate and consumer finance businesses in a transaction valued over $160 million. Prior to his entry into real estate and financial services, Mr. Gow was the founder and sole shareholder of several successful enterprises, including an independent refined petroleum trading company, a major barging operation on the Mississippi River and a coal transport business. Mr. Gow built each of these start-ups into companies with ≥ $100 million in revenues within two years. He was also a founding director and major shareholder of Delta Research Inc., a leading technical consulting company based in Washington, D.C.