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BATON ROUGE — Vanessa Graham, a Natchez native and owner of VGraham, LLC, in Baton Rouge, has been recognized as a 2021 Influential Woman in Business by the Baton Rouge Business Report.

The annual award from the Baton Rouge Business Report honors professional women in the Capital Region who have distinguished themselves in business or through government or nonprofit work.

Graham is the daughter of Linda and Page Ogden of Natchez and a Natchez High School graduate of the class of 1992.

She is also an alumna of the Louisiana State University Center for Internal Auditing and is a Certified Public Accountant.

She is the current chairperson of finance for the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, which opened a Natchez location on Jeff Davis Boulevard in 2019.

Graham now lives in Baton Rouge with her husband Brent and their two children and operates the Baton Rouge-based financial consulting firm for businesses.

Graham said she launched VGraham in 2012 to offer outsourced chief financial officer and controller services to growing companies and assist them in achieving growth goals and overcoming challenges through business cycles.

In a news release from VGraham, Graham said her clients include both regional and international, private and public companies and takes “pride in our deep understanding of the small business arena.”

Graham said team of ten experienced CPAs and financial professionals — all of them women — serves as a critical resource for businesses across a variety of industries.

The firm has grown significantly over the past nine years, securing a spot in LSU’s Top 100 companies for the past four years.

While she currently does not have clients in Natchez, Graham boasts highly of her Natchez hometown and last year sponsored an off-site planning session with her team members here.

“This past year we had dinner at the Monmouth restaurant and shopped downtown and all bought fudge at Darby’s,” she said.

During a panel discussion at the luncheon celebrating the 2021 Influential Women in Business honorees held earlier this week, Graham was asked how her leadership has contributed to the firm’s continued growth.

Graham attributed the success to her highly skilled, client-focused team and a focus on building an environment of respect and support.

“In addition to being high-achieving professionals, the women of VGraham are caretakers of others and strong supporters of each other—both personally and professionally,” she said. “I believe it is our collective nurturing approach to client service that sets us apart and resonates across our audiences.”

Graham said her advice to other women or entrepreneurs hoping to be successful is to “consistently be a good partner” and it will all work out.

“Sometimes that means giving your time and making sure your clients concerns are at the top of your mind. Being a good listening partner and giving trusted advice is almost more important or equally important as the technical work that we do. Our team does that and does it well.”