Tom Hasty Receives Statewide Recognition as Black Business Leader

Congratulations to Tom Hasty, senior executive vice president and chief regulatory officer, who was named by Virginia Business magazine as a Virginia Black Business Leader. 

Here’s how Virginia Business describes this new award: 

Black History Month traces its origins to an annual weeklong observance started in 1926 by historian and scholar Carter G. Woodson, a Virginia native. And since then, the February celebration of Black history makers and events has been intertwined with commemorating successful business icons like fellow Virginia-born greats Maggie Walker and Booker T. Washington.

With this in mind, Virginia Business presents our 2023 Virginia Black Business Leaders Awards, recognizing a reader-nominated group of some of the state’s most accomplished Black executives. On this inaugural list are 17 leaders, chosen from 108 nominated executives in finance, federal contracting, higher education, law, technology, and other sectors. Our editorial team selected the 17 winners, scoring nominations based on factors including overall professional achievement, community impact, and mentoring.

 In this feature, you’ll read about our winners’ influences, what they’ve learned in the professional world and how they continue to pay that knowledge forward to others.

Tom Hasty is a founding member of TowneBank and its executive management team, where he has served in risk and regulatory roles from the beginning. A graduate of Hampton University, he was honored in 2022 as an Outstanding Alumnus. Dedicated to his community, in 2022 the American Heart Association named him chair of the Heart of Hampton Roads Heart and Stroke Ball, the first African American to chair the campaign. He also serves as chair of the Urban League of Hampton Roads. In 2020, the Urban League honored him with a Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Leader award.

 Here is a quote from the Virginia Business article: 

 Although Virginia has had notable Black banking leaders — including Maggie Walker at the start of the 20th century — it’s still a business that has not had a lot of African American representation in the C-suite. In 1999, after working for BB&T, Hasty took control of his fate and became a founding officer of Suffolk-based TowneBank, where he now focuses on the institution’s regulatory risks.

“General expectations weren’t always high for African Americans,” Hasty says, so he made it a practice to ask for complicated assignments that showcased what he could do. “If someone puts an obstacle in your way, you go around it,” he says. “You don’t stop.”

The Towne Family is very proud of you, Tom!