John Suddarth--Army veteran, accomplished businessman, and active community leader—is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for Congress from the First District.
No stranger to the First Congressional District, John grew up in Prince William County and is a longtime resident of Hanover County where he lives with his wife Sigrid. They have two grown sons.
A graduate of West Point, John earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering with a minor in economics. Following graduation, John served as an artillery officer stationed in Germany and rose in the ranks to become a captain commanding a field artillery battery with the Rapid Deployment Force. During his military career, John earned the coveted Ranger Tab and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.
As a civilian, John worked as an aerospace engineer at GE before attending business school at Stanford University where he earned both an MBA and a Certificate in Public Management. He went on to become a successful senior corporate executive running companies with multinational operations in over 15 countries. He has served as president of AMF Reece, Morse Controls, Humminbird and Teleflex Aerospace and Commercial Groups; he was also chief operating officer of AMF Bowling Products. Within the businesses he led, John was known as a motivator, team builder and mentor.
John founded and is the principal of Linden Tree Capital, which has equity in private companies and owns commercial real estate. In addition, he is a co-investor in and a director of Lacas Coffee Company.
An active community leader, John served as the elected Board Chair of Hanover Habitat for Humanity where he used his business experience to help the organization improve its fundraising and increase its home construction. He has also been active in the Hanover Democratic Committee, overseeing the Committee’s fundraising efforts that have enabled the Hanover Committee to become one of the state’s most generous committee contributors to Democratic candidates.