Virginia Chamber elects Va. Natural Gas president as board chair

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce has elected Robert Duvall, president of Virginia Natural Gas, to chair its board of directors, the chamber announced Thursday.

Duvall succeeds Lakshmi Williams, North American general counsel of Transurban, who chaired the board in 2023. Duvall’s term as chair will last a year.

At Virginia Natural Gas, Duvall is responsible for the delivery of natural gas to more than 300,000 customers in southeastern Virginia and its system growth, expansion and community involvement. He is also senior vice president of Southern Company Gas, VNG’s Atlanta-based parent company, and a member of the Southern Company Gas management council.

“I look forward to working with Robert this year and am thankful for his commitment to the implementation of Blueprint Virginia 2030,” Barry DuVal, president and CEO of the Virginia Chamber, said in a statement. “Robert has been a vital member of the chamber’s board of directors and executive committee for many years and is a valued member of the business community in the commonwealth.”

A civil engineering graduate of Clemson University, Duvall started his career in 1984 as a distribution engineer at Atlanta Gas Light, a subsidiary of Southern Company Gas. From 2014 to 2016, he was VNG’s president, then served as Southern’s senior vice president of customer operations before returning to helm VNG in 2020.

“I am honored to embark on this journey with the Virginia Chamber and its over 30,000 members,” Duvall said in a statement. “Over the coming year, I look forward to prioritizing the key focus areas of progress: energy, infrastructure and the workforce. Together, we can build resilient foundations and cultivate a workforce to shape a thriving commonwealth for generations to come.”

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce elected a new executive committee and board members at its annual meeting Thursday in Richmond. Linda Stanley, managing director of First Citizens Bank, is first vice chair. Williams is immediate past chair, and Chris Kyle, vice president of Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel), is treasurer.

The rest of the board includes:

At-large officers

• Gilbert Bland, CEO, Urban League of Hampton Roads
• Janice Crawford, director, safety, security and loss prevention, Framatome
• Ben Davenport, chairman, First Piedmont
• Stewart Leeth, chief sustainability officer, Smithfield Foods
• Mike Melo, CEO, ITA International
• Jennifer Siciliano, chief external affairs officer, UVA Health
• Eric Sisco, chairman, Virginia International Gateway

• Katharine Bond, vice president for public policy, alternative energy and economic development strategy, Dominion Energy
• Brad Hall, vice president external affairs, Appalachian Power
• Thomas Ransom, executive vice president, Virginia region, Truist Financial
  

New members of the board of directors

• David B. Armstrong, president and co-founder, Monument Wealth Management, Alexandria
• Sweeny Bansal, VP/general manager, Atlantic division, Virginia Labcorp, Richmond
• Jim Bibbs, chief human resource officer, LifeNet Health, Virginia Beach
• Nick Blessing, director, public policy & economic development, QTS Data Centers, Ashburn
• Jeff Bourne, SVP and general counsel, The Branch Group, Glen Allen
• Dr. Michael J. Dacey, president and CEO, Riverside Health System, Newport News
• Eric Deaton, representing the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association; EVP and chief operating officer, Ballad Health, Johnson City, Tennessee
• Eric J. Finkbeiner, director, state and local government Affairs, SAIC, Reston
• Eric Fletcher, senior vice president, Mary Washington Healthcare, Fredericksburg
• Dr. William A. Hazel, senior deputy executive director, Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, Fairfax
• J.P. Holland, president and CEO, Johns Hopkins Health Plans, Hanover, Maryland
• Anthony L. Jones, vice president, external affairs, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Baltimore
• Mary N. Mannix, president & CEO, Augusta Health, Fishersville
• Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan (ret.), CEO, Virginia Tech Foundation, Blacksburg
• Jennifer Montague, president and COO, Columbia Gas of Virginia, Chester
• Patrick Murray, vice president of government affairs, KinderCare Learning, Alexandria
• Ian Northrop, CEO, JHNA, Virginia Beach
• Beth Rhinehart, representing the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives; president and CEO, Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Bristol
• Israel Rocha Jr., regional president, mid-Atlantic states, Kaiser Permanente, Rockville, Maryland
• Shawn Tibbetts, chief operating officer, Armada Hoffler, Virginia Beach
• Jennifer Wold, CPA, Virginia market managing partner, Forvis, Richmond