Virginia Chamber appoints Transurban exec as board chair

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce has elected Lakshmi Williams, North American general counsel for Transurban, to serve as the 2023 chair of the chamber’s board of directors. Her term will last one year.

Based at Transurban’s U.S. headquarters in Tysons, Williams joined the Virginia Chamber’s board in 2018 and has served on the executive board since 2019. She has also served in leadership roles, such as at-large officer on the executive committee and first vice chair. An Australian company, Transurban is one of the world’s largest operators and developers of toll roads, with operations in Australia, Canada and the United States.

“Lakshmi has been a vital member of the chamber’s board of directors and executive committee for several years and is a valued leader in the business community and the Northern Virginia region,” Barry DuVal, president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber, said in a statement. “I look forward to having Lakshmi serve in this leadership role and am grateful for her strong commitment to implementing Blueprint Virginia 2030 and ensuring Virginia continues to lead as the best state for business, talent and education.”

Williams earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree from Rice University. She also earned a certificate in executive management and leadership from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.

“I am thankful for the opportunity to serve and am eager to get to work on behalf of the more than 29,000 members of the Virginia Chamber alongside Barry, the chamber team and fellow board members,” Williams said in a statement. “Together we will work to promote Virginia as a top state to do business.”

The Virginia Chamber elected 14 new members at its annual meeting in Richmond. Virginia Natural Gas President Robert Duvall will serve as first vice chair. Fred Thompson Jr., chief administrative officer for Thompson Hospitality, is the chamber’s immediate past chair. Linda Stanley, senior vice president of corporate banking for First Citizens Bank, is treasurer.

At-large officers include:

• Gilbert Bland, CEO, The GilJoy Group
• Janice Crawford, director, safety, security and loss prevention, Framatome Inc.
• Ben Davenport, chairman, First Piedmont Corp.
• Tammy Finley, executive vice president, general counsel & corporate secretary, Advance Auto Parts Inc.
• Mark Hourigan, CEO, Hourigan
• Chris Kyle, vice president, Shenandoah Telecommunications
• Stewart Leeth, chief sustainability officer, Smithfield Foods Inc.
• Mike Melo, CEO, ITA International LLC
• Jennifer Siciliano, chief external affairs officer, UVA Health
• Eric Sisco, chairman, Virginia International Gateway Inc.

New members to the board of directors include:

• Katharine Bates, president and CEO, Arlington Chamber of Commerce, Arlington
  Manmeet Bhatia, president and CEO, TMEIC Corp. Americas, Salem
  James E. Cook, vice president, strategic engagement & partnerships, The MITRE Corp., McLean
  Tom Curtin, senior vice president, Kaiser Permanente, McLean
  John Fox, owner, Fox Urban Farms LLC, Winchester
  Edmond E. Hughes, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Newport News
  Ronald J. Lauster Jr., president, W.M. Jordan Co. Inc., Newport News
  Aubrey Layne, executive vice president, governance and external affairs, Sentara Healthcare, Norfolk
  Tavis Maxwell, managing director, Capital One Financial Corp., Henrico County
  Joe Nolan, senior manager government affairs, Lockheed Martin Corp., Arlington
  Erik Rison, senior regional manager, government relations, WestRock Corp., Richmond
  Robert F. Shuford Jr., chairman, president and CEO, Old Point Financial Corp., Hampton
  Cathie J. Vick, chief development and public affairs officer, Port of Virginia, Norfolk
  Richmond Vincent Jr., president and CEO, Goodwill Industries of the Valleys, Roanoke