Executive insights

Virginia Business asked six Hampton Roads leaders to discuss how their organizations are contributing to the region’s success and meeting challenges such as sustainability, regional cooperation and workforce training.

LAURA HAYES CHALK

Executive director, Virginia Beach Vision, Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach Vision is partly focused on resiliency and sustainability — what do you hope to achieve in those areas? 

In terms of resiliency and sustainability, Virginia Beach is at the forefront of the new energy economy with the development of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project. As a coastal community, we need to continue to think about how Virginia Beach can implement strategies that promote sustainable development, enhance infrastructure resilience and foster environmental stewardship, while balancing our economic development and tourism efforts. 

This includes advancing renewable energy projects, improving stormwater management systems, encouraging sustainable business practices and redevelopment of underutilized properties throughout the city.

What specific initiatives do you think would help bring in more businesses and investment to Virginia Beach?
The city has strong leadership in place and the City Council has developed a comprehensive strategic plan that outlines many of the initiatives we should focus on to continue to bring investment to the region. Virginia Beach is and will always be a major maritime and defense hub that is also a tourist destination. We have a prime location for business, and we need to continue to highlight and market our strategic advantages, quality of life and economic opportunities.

DR. MICHAEL DACEY

CEO and president, Riverside Health System, Newport News

Riverside Mental Health & Recovery Center opened last year, and Riverside Smithfield Hospital is underway. How important are these two facilities?
Our country has seen an uptick in mental health and substance abuse care needs. In the U.S., about 20% of the population, or almost 50 million people, suffer from mental health problems. This has only worsened in the wake of the pandemic.

Our mental health hospital in Hampton provides treatment for people suffering from these kinds of illnesses through inpatient, outpatient and partial hospital programs. We also opened the first psychiatric emergency department in the state to provide immediate care for those experiencing the most severe forms of mental illness.

Further, we’ve also seen a need to increase the convenience of care for some communities, which is why the new Smithfield hospital will open January 2026.

How significant is the merger of EVMS and ODU for the health care industry in Hampton Roads? Medicine is advancing at an almost unbelievable pace with diseases that were once fatal in a year or less now being curable or seeing greatly extended survival. In order to take advantage of these advances, you need to have great cooperation between academic medicine and the health systems in the region.

LISA MORGAN

Hampton Roads market president, Atlantic Union Bank, Norfolk

What have you learned so far as Atlantic Union’s Hampton Roads market president? I am six months into my new role, so I am still learning things every day, which is wonderful. One of my focuses as market president is to make myself available to any Atlantic Union Bank client who wants to meet with me or learn who is the new market president.

How are your customers bearing up under higher home prices and still somewhat high mortgage rates? We continue to see new inquiries and activity related to mortgages with Atlantic Union Bank. Our clients are making adjustments and adapting to the current homebuying market, including home values and interest rates, and they are finding ways to provide the liquidity needed to achieve the typical 20% down payment or leverage mortgage insurance to reduce their down payment.

What are your plans for 2025? In 2025, our major goals for Atlantic Union Bank in the Hampton Roads market are to continue to grow loans and deposits, highlight our personalized and differentiated client experience in comparison to both larger and smaller banks, and continue to focus on asset quality. 

ERIK NEIL

Macon and Joan Brock director, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk

What exhibits do you have coming up in the next few months? I am very excited by our whole slate of new exhibitions beginning with “Farm to Table,” which features 50 paintings from the era of Impressionism. The focus is on representations of food following the path from agricultural origins all the way to the presentation in the elegant restaurants of 19th-century Paris.

“New Frames of Reference” is a photography show that covers roughly the same period as “Farm to Table.” Since the 1990s, the Chrysler has developed an important collection of early French photography, and with this exhibition we can tell a story of the importance of this modern art form and show off pieces of our collection that can only be shown for a limited time.

We are opening our expanded Perry Glass Studio very soon. [Editor’s note: The reopening was set for Sept. 12, after this issue’s print deadline.] Peter Bremers, a world-famous artist from the Netherlands, will be creating new works for the exhibition “Ice to Water” and for permanent installation in the new studio.

You’ve been vocal about flooding and how to protect artwork since the Chrysler is so close to the water. What plans are in place? Resilience is at the center of our designs for the expanded Perry Glass Studio. We have raised the building several feet and are creating a specially designed pond to accommodate runoff, among other features.

TOWUANNA PORTER BRANNON

President, Virginia Peninsula Community College, Newport News

Workforce training is an important focus in the state, especially for maritime-related jobs. How is VPCC contributing? The local demand for maritime and skilled trades training is at an all-time high. Newport News Shipbuilding is the Peninsula’s largest employer of individuals who support nuclear submarine and aircraft shipbuilding. By 2030, they anticipate hiring 26,000 additional individuals. This is in addition to the hundreds of other shipbuilding, ship repair, health care, HVAC, electrical, transportation and information technology vacancies that will need to be filled.

VPCC has witnessed a 20% increase in students enrolling in our workforce development programs — with one-third of our workforce students completing multiple certifications.

While the plethora of financial aid we offer makes our training affordable, accessing our Hampton training center was a barrier. This is why VPCC opened a second trades center in the Toano area of James City County last year. In 2025, we will open a maritime and skilled trades center in the City of Newport News.

What about this region do you enjoy, and what do you think needs to improve? What I enjoy most is the people. My role allows me to travel from Virginia Beach to James City County — engaging with individuals from all walks of life. The people I encountered have been warm, welcoming and have a desire to see the region thrive. My sole recommendation is that the Peninsula and the Southside continue to collaborate on initiatives that support the region’s economic vitality.

SHAWN J. TIBBETTS

President, chief operating officer and CEO designate, Armada Hoffler, Virginia Beach

You’re a native of Portsmouth. How has Hampton Roads changed over the decades, and what do you think it will be like in 10 years? The Hampton Roads region has undergone substantial changes over the past decades, and the area has seen significant shifts towards diversification and urbanization. While the military remains a cornerstone, there has been a deliberate effort to diversify the economy.

Technology, health care, tourism and higher education sectors have grown, contributing to a more balanced economic landscape. The area has seen healthy population growth, which has led to increased demand for housing and infrastructure. Looking forward over the next 10 years, I think we will see more development of residential and mixed-use properties as the population growth steadily increases.

Do you think traditional office buildings will come back in style one day, or do companies like yours need to make adjustments? The trend we’re seeing shows employers making a significant shift toward office space in mixed-use environments, like Town Center of Virginia Beach. This is driven by the need to attract and retain top talent.

Today, companies are increasingly recognizing that employees value flexibility, collaboration and convenience in their work environments. Mixed-use projects offer a blend of office spaces, residential and retail.

Traditional office buildings may not necessarily come back in style as they once were, but we are seeing continued migration to adaptable and integrated mixed-use environments that cater to the evolving preferences and expectations of both employers and employees alike.