On the move

John C. Asbury, CEO, Union Bankshares Corp., Richmond
Asbury joined Union Bank & Trust as its CEO in August 2016 and became head of the parent company at the start of last year. Virginia’s largest community bank for many years, Union in January became a $12.3 billion regional bank after completing its acquisition of Richmond-based Xenith Bank. 
                
Thomas Barkin, president and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond 
A former senior partner and chief risk officer at McKinsey & Co., Barkin became the head of the Richmond Fed in January. Barkin is a voting member this year on the Fed’s chief monetary policy body, the Federal Open Market Committee. He is a former board member and chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Robert M. “Bob” Blue, executive vice president, president and CEO, Dominion Energy Power Delivery Group, Richmond
Blue’s star continues to rise. He’s responsible for Dominion’s electric transmission, distribution and customer service operations. Expect to see and hear more from him as Dominion makes a big push into renewable energy and seeks to upgrade its transmission grid through a legislative proposal intended to replace a controversial rate freeze in effect since 2015. Blue, who joined the company in 2005, was promoted last May from senior vice president to executive vice president. He chairs the Virginia Healthcare Foundation’s board of directors and also serves on the Sports Backers board in Richmond.

Michael Bor, co-founder and CEO, CarLotz Inc., Richmond
CarLotz, a consignment store for vehicles, opened in Richmond in 2011. The company recently opened a store in Tampa, its first in Florida. Its other locations are in Richmond, Midlothian and Cheseapeake in Virginia and Charlotte and Greensboro in North Carolina.

Jennifer Boykin, president, Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News
Boykin is the first woman president of the largest shipbuilding company in the country. Newport News Shipbuilding is the nation’s sole builder of nuclear aircraft carriers.  She joined the company 30 years ago as an engineer.

Matt Calkins, founder and CEO, Appian, Reston 
Earlier this year, when the stock market was surging, Calkins was heralded as one of Northern Virginia’s newest billionaires, at least on paper. He owns about 47 percent of the stock, or 28.4 million shares, in his business software company, which had one of the most successful IPOs in 2017. After the IPO, shares rocketed from $12 to more than $40 a share but were trading at just over $27 at press time.

Teresa Carlson, vice president, Worldwide Public Sector, Amazon Web Services, Herndon
Amazon seems to be everywhere in Virginia these days. It is building an e-commerce and distribution center in Frederick County and put Northern Virginia on the short list of the 20 areas still under consideration for Amazon’s second corporate headquarters.  Carlson leads the public sector of Amazon’s cloud-services unit, which plans to build an East Coast campus in Fairfax County.

Stephan Cassaday, CEO and founder, Cassaday & Co. Inc., McLean
Cassaday heads an independent wealth management firm in McLean, which has $2.4 billion in assets under management. He has been ranked by Barron’s as the top financial adviser in Virginia for three of the past four years.

Carrie Chenery, executive director, Shenandoah Valley Partnership,  Harrisonburg
Chenery, a Rockbridge County native, joined the partnership in 2015. She previously was an assistant secretary of agriculture and forestry with responsibility for economic development efforts. Chenery is a member of the board of directors of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

Kimberly Christner, president and CEO, Cornerstone Hospitality, Williamsburg
Christner has become a driving force in Virginia’s boutique hotel industry. Her company is a key partner in the development of hotels in small markets, typically properties that involve rehabbing historic buildings. The Western Front hotel opened in St. Paul in Southwest Virginia in February.

Tad Deriso, president and CEO, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corp., South Boston
Deriso is leader of a company that promotes economic growth in rural areas through the development of a fiber-optic broadband network. He serves on the board of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce.

Jeff Detwiler, president and CEO, Long & Foster Real Estate, Chantilly
Detwiler heads one of the largest residential real estate companies in the country. Previously COO, he became CEO in September when HomeServices of America Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, acquired Long & Foster. The company had $29 billion in sales last year and has11,000 agents. Detwiler serves on many Washington, D.C.-area boards, including the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

Mike Grisham, president and CEO, Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corp. (Virginia Catalyst), Richmond
Grisham has led the nonprofit organization, funded by the state and seven public universities, since its beginning five years ago. The Catalyst has awarded 26 grants totaling $10.5 million to bioscience projects that encourage collaboration among universities and private companies.

Suzy Kelly, CEO of Jo-Kell Inc., Chesapeake
Kelly is the new chair of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce board of directors.  Her company specializes in Navy shipboard and high-tech industrial automation products, systems and services. It has more than 60 employees in five offices. Kelly also is a member of the Chesapeake City Council.

J. Ryan Lingerfelt, principal, president, chief investment officer, Lingerfelt Commonwealth Partners, Henrico County
Lingerfelt is a key player in a real estate firm that continues to grow through acquisitions. One recent purchase is the 405-room Norfolk Waterside Marriott. Lingerfelt plans $25 million in renovations at the downtown Norfolk property. He has been instrumental in the development of the company’s portfolio of 5.5 million square feet and 1,221 hotel rooms in seven states, totaling $930 million in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

Diane Leopold, executive vice president, president and CEO, Dominion Energy Gas Infrastructure Group, Richmond
Leopold has been the Dominion executive responsible for shepherding its controversial application for the 600-mile interstate Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the project in October. Before taking on that challenge, Leopold already had a major pipeline project behind her. She took charge of Dominion’s successful application to build its first natural-gas liquefaction plant at its Cove Point facility in Calvert County, Md. Leopold, who joined Dominion in 1995, was promoted in May from senior vice president to executive vice president. She’s a member of the board of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.

Kevin Murphy, CEO, Ferguson Enterprises Inc., Newport News
Murphy, a longtime Ferguson executive, was named CEO in August. He heads the largest plumbing wholesaler in the U.S.  Ferguson is expanding in Newport News with the construction of an $82 million, seven-story headquarters building. 

Dr. John E. Niederhuber, executive vice president and CEO, Inova Translational Medicine Institute, Falls Church
Niederhuber, a renowned surgeon, leads ITMI, an integral part of the Inova’s Center for Personalized Health. The institute’s goal is to turn genomic research and data into clinical care. Last year, ITMI announced a business partnership to analyze massive amounts of clinical and genomic data from Inova patients. Inova also is working with Veritas Genetics to begin offering full genome sequencing and pharmacogenomics testing to its patients.

Gary M. Philbin, president and CEO, Dollar Tree Inc., Chesapeake
Philbin was named CEO and appointed to the board of directors in September.  He had been enterprise president of Dollar Tree since December 2016. Philbin previously served as president and chief operating officer of Family Dollar Stores and COO of Dollar Tree.

 Staci Redmon, president and CEO, Strategy and Management Services, (SAMs), Springfield  
Redmon heads a small business that provides back office support and building services for federal agencies, state and local governments,  higher educational institutions and commercial entities. Last year, the Fairfax County Commission for Women named her one of seven “Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business.” Redmon was named the U.S. Small Business Administration Person of the Year for Northern Virginia in 2016 and the Small Business Veteran of the Year in 2013.

 Dalal Maria Salomon, CEO and founding partner, Salomon & Ludwin LLC, Henrico County 
Salomon is one of the top-ranked women financial advisers in the U.S.  She will be inducted into the Greater Richmond Business Hall of Fame in May.  

 Carlos Tapias, USA CEO, Grupo Phoenix, Dublin 
Tapias’ company is one of the largest employers in Pulaski County where it makes containers for companies such as Yoplait, Dannon and Keurig. Last spring the manufacturer announced a $48 million expansion in Dublin that’s expected to add 145 jobs, bringing its total area employment to more than 600. Tapias also serves on the board of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

 J im VandeHei, co-founder and CEO, Axios Media, Arlington County 
At a time when many newsrooms are shrinking, VandeHei’s news site is growing. About a year after launching, Axios said it has raised $20 million in funding.  It plans to use the money to increase its staff to 150 by the end of 2018, up from 89 employees late last year.

Howard Willard, chief operating officer, Altria Group Inc., Richmond
In May, Willard will become chairman and CEO of Altria, the nation’s largest tobacco company, succeeding Marty Barrington. During his 25-year career at Altria, Willard also has served as chief financial officer and executive vice president of strategy and business development.

James Xu, co-founder and CEO, Avail Vapor LLC, Richmond
Since its founding in 2013, Avail has quickly grown into one of the largest U.S manufacturers and retailers of e-liquids with more than 100 stores. The growth of this alternative to cigarettes caught the attention of tobacco giant Altria, which became a minority investor in the company late last year.

Ting Xu, founder and chairman, Evergreen Enterprises and CEO, Plow and Hearth, Richmond
Since Xu founded Evergreen in her garage in 1993, the company has become a global provider of gifts and garden and home décor items. The company has made a number of acquisitions, including Plow & Hearth. Xu was named to the Greater Richmond Business Hall of Fame in 2017.