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Government | Politics 2024: ABIGAIL SPANBERGER
The Democratic Spanberger first became a household name in 2018, when she narrowly defeated incumbent Dave Brat to flip control of a longtime Republican stronghold in Central Virginia. Now, with three terms in Congress under her belt, she’s set her sights on occupying the Executive Mansion. She’s currently the frontr[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: TONI TOWNES-WHITLEY
In October 2023, Townes-Whitley took the reins of federal contractor SAIC, becoming one of two Black female Fortune 500 CEOs and leading a company with fiscal 2023 revenue of $7.7 billion. She told USA Today that she wanted people to move beyond focusing on a CEO’s race and gender, but added, “If there is a […]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: TOM WALKER
DroneUp in March unveiled its new autonomous drone ecosystem, presenting a leap forward in last-mile delivery logistics. This system combines automated ground infrastructure where workers can deposit packages with autonomous pickup and delivery by drones. The drones are capable of operating at speeds up to 60 miles per hour over[...]
Education 2024: MAJ. GEN. DONDI E. COSTIN (U.S. AIR FORCE, RET.)
Costin, a retired 32-year Air Force veteran who went on to serve five years as president of Charleston Southern University, became president of Liberty in July 2023 during a time of turmoil. The private evangelical university was rocked by the 2020 ouster of former President and Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr., the late founderR[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: CANDICE LING
Since taking the lead of Microsoft’s federal arm in July 2023, Ling has focused on forging partnerships and advancing artificial intelligence, cloud computing and emerging technologies for federal customers. This year, Ling announced that Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI generative AI tool would be available to federal custo[...]
Hospitality | Tourism 2024: JANE KAMENSKY
Named president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in October 2023, Kamensky started work in January. The nonprofit owns and operates Monticello, the mountaintop plantation of the third U.S. president. Kamensky previously served as the Jonathan Trumbull Professor of American History at Harvard University and as the Carl and Lily[...]
Retail 2024: WARREN THOMPSON
Thompson’s start as an entrepreneur came as a teen, when he purchased and ran his family’s hog farm in Windsor. He now heads the largest minority-owned food and facilities management corporation in the nation, which he founded in 1992 with the purchase of 31 Bob’s Big Boy restaurants. Thompson Hospitality provi[...]
Banking | Finance 2024: JAMES SCHENCK
Over the course of his military career, Schenck flew Black Hawk helicopters in Korea and trained others as a night vision goggle instructor pilot. He also served on the Army staff in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, a post with responsibilities for overseeing the flying hour program, which [&hell[...]
2024 Virginia 500: Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage
ROBERT A. ‘BOB’ ARCHER CHAIRMAN, BLUE RIDGE BEVERAGE, SALEM ELIZABETH ‘LIZA’ MYERS BORCHES PRESIDENT AND CEO, CARTER MYERS AUTOMOTIVE, CHARLOTTESVILLE YOUNG CHOI PRESIDENT AND CEO, STARKIST, RESTON REID A. BROWN PRESIDENT, BROWN DISTRIBUTING, RICHMOND MICHAEL DAVIS CEO AND PRESIDENT, CORT BUSINESS SERVICES, CHANTILLY RICK DREILING CHAIRMAN AND […][...]
Banking | Finance 2024: GWEN FAW
In April, Faw, who has worked at Wells Fargo for close to three decades, was named the regional executive for the greater Virginia market, a territory that spans from Virginia Beach to Bristol. She replaced Janet M. Tope, who worked at Wells Fargo for more than 35 years before retiring this spring. Faw, who lives […[...]
Hospitality | Tourism 2024: MICHAEL GEORGE
A 40-year hospitality industry veteran, George founded Crescent Hotels & Resorts in 2001. The company operates more than 100 hotels and resorts in the U.S and Canada. Its hotel portfolio includes Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt brands, along with the Latitudes: Lifestyles by Crescent collection of independent hotels and resorts. [...]
Real Estate 2024: MARK DAVID EIN
Founded in 1972, Kastle Systems is a building and security systems provider that employs 700 people, including more than 100 Virginians. An investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Ein also is a minority owner of the Washington Commanders as of 2023. Ein is founder and owner of MDE Sports, which owns the Mubadala Citi DC Open [...]
