Kyle Benusa - Intro of Tom Barkin, Richmond Fed President
The following is the transcript of Kyle Benusa’s introduction of Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin, at a VACEOs event on Wednesday, November 19th, 2025.
“I’m told I have 2 minutes to talk about our firm - Ballast Consulting Group.
I suppose the conventional thing to do would be to tell you about who we are and what we do, how we’re different.
But it’s not every day I get to talk to a room full of people, so I’m not going to miss the opportunity to speak from my heart.
…I will be going over my two-minute allotment, I’m sorry….
Instead of the standard who we are, what we do - I’d like take this time to tell you about who we help, and the why behind what we do.
My hope is to recruit you to our cause. You’ll understand what I mean in a minute.
I grew up in small businesses. I hear a lot of other consultants and advisors say they understand small business owners, and when they do I think ‘hold my beer.’
My great-great grandfather started a bakery in Little Falls, Minnesota. My great grandfather Felix bought it, ran it, and sold it to my great-uncle Phil. My dad, aunts and uncles, and my dad’s cousins still talk about running down to the bakery when they were kids, the smell of fresh bread as they ran behind the counter to grab what they call a long john (it’s a Minnesota name for a donut).
My grandfather, who married Felix’s youngest daughter, eventually started his own business in St. Cloud Minnesota. It was called “Benusa TV and Appliance.” I remember as a kid visiting grandpa at the store, squeezing our way between washing machines, and floor model TVs to so we could surprise grandpa in the store, give him a big hug and steal a Werther’s off of his desk.
My dad also started his own business, a CPA practice. My late uncle Mike, did the same.
It wasn’t just a Benusa trait, this entrepreneurial bug. My mom’s brother and sister-in-law, my aunt and uncle, Mark and Cynthia Lorenzoni, opened a running shop in Charlottesville, VA back in 1982. My cousins own and operate the business today.
When I was in middle school my mom started her own catering business and when I was in high school, she and my dad opened a wedding venue in Powhatan, just west of here, called the Mill at Fine Creek. My mom, she’d be embarrassed to hear me tell you this, she used to sleep on futon in the office closet. She’d work until midnight, sleep on that futon, wake up at 4am shower, and work another 20 hour day. She did this for seven days a week for years. She’s amazing.
My brother, a glutton for punishment, opened a microbrewery next door, and a few months back he bought a majority of the wedding business from my mom.
These are the people we fight for.
Almost seven years ago Jack Allen and I started Ballast Consulting Group. Our mission was to help small business owners. To help people like my great grandfather, my grandfather, my uncle and aunt, my mom and dad, my brother and my cousins.
The idea was to develop a service model to professionalize finance and accounting for these small businesses and use this as a foundation to drive improvements and growth.
We named our firm after the stones in the bottom of merchant ships. Ballast stones are placed in the bottom of the holds to give ships stability while at sea. We loved the visual of these unseen stones, these unsung heroes, that gave these 17th century ships the ability to travel across the world. And then at the end of these journeys these merchants would throw the stones overboard and fill their holds with spices for their return journey. Our vision was to support small business owners until they could discard us overboard.
We started our firm to help entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of starting, running, scaling, and selling their small businesses.
We know how hard it is. It’s exhausting, it’s stressful, and it can be lonely.
Every day at our firm our employees show up to fight the fight for these people. It’s built into the fabric of our firm.
And now for the why. Let’s talk about our beliefs.
We are free-market capitalists. We believe in social mobility. We believe that those that work hard should be rewarded more than those that do not. We believe that those who take risk should have more opportunity for upside.
We believe, deeply and to our core, that small businesses are a requirement for markets to function.
Without them, we might as well be feudal Russia.
And to us this a religion, and like most religions we see the world in dichotomies. Good vs evil. Us vs. them.
The dichotomy that drives us? Small businesses vs. everyone and everything that serves to hold back, hold down, and take from us.
We see the world as corporate behemoths vs. small businesses. We see the world as modern-day gilded-age monopolies vs the rest of us who play by the rules and don’t have politicians in our pockets.
We believe that we are at war. And in war, you have to choose sides.
At Ballast, we’ve chosen sides. We do not and will not work for big companies. We only work for small businesses. For the likes of my grandfather, mom, dad, brother, and cousins. For Ryan and Ashley at Cloth and Paper, for Kim and John at MaxxPotential, for Meghan and Chelsea at Abundant Life Partners, for Yvonne at Zoe Therapy, for Ethan and Susanne at 89 Paint.
When you see the world the way we do….you really don’t have a choice.
It’s work with the rebellion or work for the empire.
For the baby boomers in the room:
It’s work with Lennon and McCartney or work for Apple records.
For my fellow millennials in the room:
It’s cheering for the mighty ducks or cheering for the Edina hawks (or worse, for those assholes from Iceland). And team, we’re with coach Gordon Bombay, all day.
And this is why it’s such an honor that I’m here today with Tom Barkin, it’s an honor because in this war we’re fighting Tom has also chosen sides, and Tom has chosen our side.
Tom Barkin is the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. He’s held this position for 7 years.
He serves on the Fed’s chief monetary policy body, the Federal Open Market Committee, and is also responsible for the Richmond Fed’s bank supervision and the Federal Reserve’s technology organization.
Prior to joining the Richmond Fed, Tom was a senior partner and CFO at McKinsey & Company. He earned his bachelor’s, MBA and law degrees from Harvard University.
But that’s not what makes him special.
Tom describes his work in the fifth district as being “on the ground”, this ground covers South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, D.C., West Virginia and Maryland. His engagement in the region has brought real attention to areas facing economic challenges.
Each fed branch president has their own interests, style, and approach.
Tom has a reputation for his grassroots approach to understanding the economy. His style differs markedly from the more ‘academic’ or ‘wall street oriented’ Fed presidents.
Tom is known for his extensive travel throughout his district, regularly visiting small towns, manufacturing plants, and main street businesses.
While others might grace the streets of DC and NY, lunching at the Palm or supping at Gramercy Tavern, Tom’s on the ground in Beckley, WV or meeting with folks in Warsaw, VA, on the Northern Neck.
Other fed presidents might pass the time by reading white papers. Instead Tom is out in the field, slogging in the trenches.
As I said, I believe that we are at war and Tom Barkin has chosen to fight on our side.
Tom – we’ve never met, but let me say - it’s an honor to be in the trenches with you.
Everyone please join me in welcoming our fellow champion,
Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin.”
Kyle Benusa