West Virginia’s rich history and culture, deeply connected to its coal industry, faces challenges for future growth. Eighty-nine percent of the state’s energy supply relies on coal, well above the national average. In 2022, the state was the fifth-largest coal consumer in the country, despite ranking 38th in population. But the industry and its impact on the state’s culture, which includes some of the most monumental efforts for workers' rights in American history, is tied to a sort of cultural identity that is hesitant to change.
The number of coal miners in West Virginia has dropped tenfold over the past 80 years, despite the use and output of coal remaining relatively stable. This is a result of less of a need for manpower because of new technology, decreased mining activity, and new environmental regulations.
Now, West Virginia’s best young talent is leaving the state, creating a “brain drain” problem for its future outlook. For Candice Holcomb, CFO of Generation West Virginia, a non-profit focused on retaining the state’s top talent through building communities and supporting transformative economic growth, she understands the perspective. Her experience growing up, going to college, and earning a leadership position might have led her to leave as well. Instead, Holcomb has made it her mission to give her fellow West Virginians a reason to return home.
Candice Holcomb
CFO, Generation West Virginia
First CFO Position: 2023
Notable Previous Employers:
- West Virginia University Institute of Technology
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
ADAM ZAKI: “Brain drain” has been a major problem for West Virginia and is something your organization is focused on overcoming. How do you encourage more young people to stay in West Virginia?
CANDICE HOLCOMB: The best part about this job is I get to be honest about the challenges I grew up seeing. We have to roll up our sleeves and take this problem head-on. We’re doing that now at Generation West Virginia. We are creating communities and employment networks and building the professional infrastructure that young people here can leverage to help develop their personal and professional lives.
It’s not just us though; this idea of making our communities more lively is happening everywhere in the state. Where I live in Fayetteville, our community has done so much to make this place an enjoyable place to live. It’s one of the many towns that has focused on walkability and developing a community centered in a downtown, Main Street-esque environment. We’ve even won the coolest small town in America a few times.
Our cities have so much potential which you can see when you come here. The property value is amazing, and there is now a growing cohort of young professionals here who realize this. From the eastern panhandle’s areas like Harpers Ferry to the capital area of Charleston, to where I live near the New River Gorge Bridge, this state has beauty, commerce, affordability, and friendliness that I challenge you to find elsewhere.
Your education experience has a lot to do with your career trajectory. Can you explain the timeline, and how it plays into a desire to preserve the well-being of your state?
HOLCOMB: When I was eight years old, I had my CEO briefcase with a fake cell phone and business cards toy set. I have always wanted to pursue a career in business and finance. My story was, at first, the same as a lot of West Virginians. I thought, especially in high school and college, that to be successful, you had to get out of here. Lots of people, myself included, had a sense that all the new industries and career opportunities were happening outside of the state.
I did leave briefly. I went to the Hamptons Road area in Virginia and tried to get a job and pursue a career there. I didn’t like it; so I returned home and set a new course for my career by going back to school for accounting. When I was in college studying business, I actually had a professor tell me to do this, but I remember being like, “I don’t want to be in a spreadsheet all day, so I'll catch you later on that.”
But when I came back home and studied accounting, and got to see what it is about, I was like wow, this is exactly what I want to do.
It all came down to being able to grow my career while helping my fellow West Virginians. It was an amazing experience and led me down the path I am on today.
Candice Holcomb
CFO of Generation West Virginia
I then got an internship in West Virginia University’s (WVU) finance department, which led to a full-time role in student accounts. I was able to help guide first-generation college students, many of whom were from West Virginia, on how they navigate all the finances around going to college. It was so invigorating. I climbed the ladder at WVU over six years there. I became a budget analyst for the entire university in my final role there, and I worked super closely with the CFO daily.
It all came down to being able to grow my career while helping my fellow West Virginians. It was an amazing experience and led me down the path I am on today.
West Virginia University is a great example of how a large university system can benefit the community it’s in. The university does so much for the state and it’s where your career opportunities began. How does this all play into the value of education?
HOLCOMB: I think it’s all a really big balancing act. My education-to-career path is unique, I admit. I got two bachelor's degrees and then got licensed as a CPA. When I got my CPA, sure I learned some new stuff, but what it taught me is that I am capable of doing anything.
I studied 40 hours a week for 13 months and passed my exams on the first try. It was a huge confidence booster for me going into my career and taught me the value of hard work. I feel like for CFOs and other people in finance positions of leadership, it’s a must to know the rules of the game and to be able to have that work ethic.
But, especially here in West Virginia, I know a ton of people who are so emotionally intelligent, who do very complicated work, and have no sort of higher education. That is very common in our state with people working in the coal mines and with lots of machinery. West Virginians are great examples of how education is not an end-all-be-all for success or signs of intelligence, but for a finance role, it is very important.
You got into a CFO role very early in your career. What is your leadership style, and how did you develop it?
HOLCOMB: I try to create a developmental environment as a leader. It’s how I was led at WVU. I have to remember that I am looking at the numbers day in and day out so I know them very well. But that is not the case for everyone else, so I’ve focused on articulating data without jargon, in ways that everyone can understand and be able to take action from. Through this, I can collaborate, teach, learn, and develop new ideas.
I think leadership is a constantly developing thing, but my focus is being able to communicate our data and our mission to people in ways that are interesting, exciting, and actionable.
Candice Holcomb
CFO of Generation West Virginia
I also serve on the WVU Tech alumni board, which helps me get insight into how some of my peers and younger finance professionals are thinking. But it comes down to being able to relay that I am not above anyone and we are all in this together. I think leadership is a constantly developing thing, but my focus is being able to communicate our data and our mission to people in ways that are interesting, exciting, and actionable.
Coal mining is hard work, and that’s an understatement. With many West Virginians' family members coming from this industry for generations, do you believe this work ethic has been passed on to the younger people, Gen Z for example, who may have ended up in that lifestyle in the past, but now are pursuing careers elsewhere?
HOLCOMB: Absolutely. In Appalachia, we exist out of spite. Many of our communities are incredibly remote. We exist in challenging terrain that leaves some communities disconnected and insular. To make it here, you have to put in the extra effort, no matter what you do.
There seems to be this idea that some people will come to a workplace and say, “Oh, that’s not my job.” Good luck finding that here — we just don’t think like that. Our communities, for generations, have always been built upon hard work, sacrifice, and a mentality that we as West Virginians, we're all here to make this place better for each other. Our job at Generation West Virginia is to continue that initiative.