W. Ford Graham, Senior Vice President, McGuireWoods Consulting

W. Ford Graham is a senior vice president on McGuireWoods Consulting’s national infrastructure and economic development team and a partner with McGuireWoods. Ford has a depth of experience working in the economic development sector, where he has been one of the leading recruiters of international companies to the Southeastern United States. He has facilitated new industry and industrial expansion in over 123 projects, which have resulted in commitments of more than 11,000 new jobs and $3.9 billion in new investment. Ford’s practice focuses on companies opening or expanding operations in the U.S. In addition to economic incentives, Ford assists companies with the full spectrum of legal needs that arise when companies enter new markets. Most recently, Ford was a partner at an international AmLaw 100 law firm, and he previously served as director of international strategy and trade for the South Carolina Department of Commerce. In that role, he directed all aspects of the agency’s international efforts, including South Carolina's four international offices in Delhi, Munich, Shanghai, and Tokyo, uncovering foreign direct investment opportunities, and assisting South Carolina companies with exporting their products to the rest of the world. Before that, he worked as general counsel for a real estate development/investment firm and served as a judicial clerk in the 5th and 14th Judicial Circuits of South Carolina. Ford also served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala.