Recent Articles from Katherine Schulte
Midlothian lighting company promotes exec to CFO
Midlothian-based lighting and home decor company Shades of Light promoted Sean Acton to chief financial officer on Thursday. Acton was the company’s controller for about two years, and he will continue to oversee the accounting team until the company hires an accounting manager. Acton will take on oversight of the purchasing, inventory and production teams. […]
Intelsat donates space artifact to Smithsonian
McLean-based satellite operator Intelsat Corp. has donated the launch backup of the first commercial communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The company donated the ground spare of the Intelsat 1 satellite, also known as Early Bird. Intelsat 1 was launched on April 6, 1965, and is now inactive […]
Coalfields Expressway: Mostly unfinished and unfunded
Progress on a proposed 115-mile federal highway to improve transportation connectivity between Southwest Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky has been crawling in the commonwealth. Authorized by Congress in 1995, the Coalfields Expressway (CFX) — U.S. Route 121 — would run from U.S. Route 23 in Pound to Interstates 64 and 77 in West […]
Embedded finance
Several years ago, Blue Ridge Bank President and CEO Brian Plum began to notice a movement across the broader economy. “We live in a world where data has value,” Plum says. “It only made sense that over time, [as] you would see more sellers or other service providers that have built out platforms to try […]
SW community colleges to create wind manufacturing workforce
The presidents of four community colleges in Southwest Virginia signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to establish a wind manufacturing workforce development partnership. “Today’s MOU signing is meaningful because it demonstrates our resident and abiding interest in collaborating. Our four community college presidents are setting an example of how to find ways to work together[...]
VFCCE names Ben Davenport chairman
Davenport Energy Inc. Chairman Ben Davenport is the next chairman of The Virginia Foundation for Community College Education, the Richmond-based foundation announced Tuesday. In 2016, Davenport and his wife, Betty, invested $1 million through VFCCE to create a pilot program with four community colleges that provided early childhood programs to 150 early childhood professionals. Those […]
Hilton Richmond Downtown completes multimillion-dollar renovation
Hilton Richmond Downtown’s multimillion-dollar renovation is complete, New Orleans-based management company HRI Lodging LLC announced March 24. The renovation includes a new lobby bar and lounge and hybrid meeting space, as well as updating the fitness center, indoor pool and guest room bathrooms. The 250-room Hilton Richmond Downtown occupies the former Miller & Rhoads department [&hell[...]
Owens & Minor acquires home health care company for $1.6B
Mechanicsville-based Fortune 500 health care logistics company Owens & Minor Inc. announced Tuesday that it had closed its acquisition of Indianapolis-based Apria Inc. for a cash consideration of $1.6 billion. Owens & Minor funded the purchase with a combination of debt and cash on hand. The company is combining Apria and its Byram Healthcare Centers […]
VCU Health names first COO
Virginia Commonwealth University’s inaugural chief operations officer is Michael Elliot, effective May 15, the system announced Monday. “Operational excellence matters because it allows us to expand services into more communities,” Elliott said in a statement. “VCU Health is continuing an exciting journey of growth, and I am excited to strengthen our operational efficiency to better [&[...]
Va. Tech professor elected council chair of national institute
Jennifer S. Wayne has been elected Academic Council chair of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), Virginia Tech announced Friday. Based in Washington, D.C., AIMBE is a nonprofit composed of leaders in the medical and biological engineering fields and advocates for the value of those fields. Wayne is the department head of […]