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Recent Articles from Virginia Business
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: STEVEN C. ‘STEVE’ SMITH
Smith is carrying on his family’s legacy at the helm of K-VA-T, the Southwest Virginia operator of Food City supermarkets. His father, Jack C. Smith, grew the K-VA-T empire from a single Piggly Wiggly store opened in Grundy in 1955. Steve Smith joined the family business after graduating from James Madison University in 1979, becoming […]
Finance | Insurance 2023: THOMAS S. GAYNER
On Jan. 1, Gayner became Markel’s sole CEO after serving more than six years in an unusual co-CEO arrangement with Richard Whitt III, who retired after more than two decades at the Fortune 500 insurer and holding company. Gayner, also chief investment officer, joined Markel in 1990. As CEO, Gayner oversees three divisions: insurance, investments […]
Manufacturing 2023: KAI FRIEDRICH
Friedrich has worked for Swiss equipment manufacturer Liebherr Group for almost 20 years, and after holding management roles in Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Switzerland, he joined Liebherr’s U.S. operations in 2021 as its managing director and director of the global company’s earthmoving and material handling technology. He also serves as a divisional director for […]
Manufacturing 2023: PRABHAT JAIN
Jain has been CEO of Virginia Transformer, the continent’s largest U.S.-owned power transformer manufacturer, since 1982, 14 years after he arrived from India, mechanical engineering degree in hand. Over the past 40 years, Jain grew the company from 35 employees to more than 2,700 across five plants. Last fall, it opened an additional manufacturing facility […]
Transportation 2023: WEBB ESTES
As the great-grandson of the company’s founder, Estes is the fourth generation of his family to lead Estes Express Lines, one of the nation’s largest privately owned freight carriers. Before being named president and COO in January, he was vice president of process improvement. His father, Rob Estes, continues to serve as chairman and CEO. […]
Professional Services 2023: JOHNNY C. TAYLOR JR.
A lawyer and human resources executive, Taylor has led the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) since 2017. The global professional association has about 400 staff members and represents about 325,000 human resources professionals worldwide, across more than 575 chapters. An expert in workplace topics, Taylor frequently testifies before Congress about issues affecting American workers. [&h[...]
Real Estate 2023: ALLISON WEINSTEIN
Weinstein leads a multifamily real estate development and management company founded by her father, Marcus Weinstein, in 1952. She joined the company in 1994 with her husband, Ivan Jecklin, who serves as co-president. Before that, Weinstein lived in Chicago, where she worked in the recruiting and personnel department for a large Chicago-based law firm. She […]
Arts | Entertainment | Sports 2023: BRIDGETTE C. BYWATER
Coming out of pandemic-driven restrictions, “Kings Dominion will be the cure for cabin fever in 2023,” Bywater said in October 2022, announcing the 48-year-old amusement park’s intention to welcome guests year-round, adding weekends in January, February and March to its regular April to December season. Kings Dominion aimed to hire 2,500 employees this year; in […]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: MILE CORRIGAN
In October 2022, Corrigan succeeded Amr ElSawy as the not-for-profit federal contractor’s chief executive, 21 years after joining Noblis as a computer scientist and software architect and manager. A graduate of Virginia Tech and Georgetown University, she previously was senior vice president of Noblis’ Federal Civilian Solutions (FCS) division. Corrigan’s promotion started a round of [&helli[...]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2023: STEPHANIE MANGO
In 2021, Mango became president of CGI Federal, the U.S. arm of the Montreal-based IT and professional services consultancy. A University of Virginia graduate with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Mango joined CGI in 2004 when it purchased American Management Systems, her former employer. In 2015, she became a senior vice president, the position she held […]
