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Recent Articles from Virginia Business
Real Estate 2024: ROBERT M. ‘BOB’ KING
Since 1978, King has been leasing shopping centers for individuals, private partnerships and institutional clients, and has led the commercial real estate company’s retail leasing team since 1985. He was named president of the firm in 2019, and took over as chairman last year when his adoptive father, Harvey L. Lindsay Jr., died at 93. […]
Education 2024: JAMES E. RYAN
Since becoming president in 2018, Ryan has spearheaded several growth initiatives at the state’s flagship university, including the School of Data Science, a new performing arts center and the Karsh Institute of Democracy — all projects funded by donors, including a record 2019 gift of $120 million from alumni couple Jaffray and Merrill Woodriff for […]
Retail 2024: STEVE PRESLEY
Presley has been overseeing the U.S. market — Nestlé’s largest market, with around $30 billion in annual sales — since 2018. In 2021, he also became head of the Swiss food producer’s continent-wide business when Nestlé created a North America business zone, along with a China zone, to align with its market-led approach. In this […]
Transportation 2024: MONICA BACKMON
This year, Backmon was on hand for the completion of two projects funded by the NVTA: the $19.6 million Boundary Channel Drive Interchange Project in Arlington, for which the agency contributed more than $4.3 million, and the $313.9 million Route 7 Corridor Improvements Project in Fairfax County that NVTA provided with more than $22 million. […]
Manufacturing 2024: JOHN PARKINSON
Parkinson has served as Drake Extrusion’s CEO since 2001. A subsidiary of Duroc AB, a Swedish manufacturer specializing in filament yarn and staple fiber, the company established its roots in Henry County in 1996. In 2021, Drake acquired North Carolina-based yarn manufacturer Michael S. Becker. Drake has expanded its Henry County footprint twice in the […]
Agriculture 2024: NEIL A. HOUFF
Starting as a liquid fertilizer business on a Shenandoah family farm in 1975, Houff Corp. grew to provide a range of agricultural and industrial services, including agronomy, supply chain solutions, transloading and biosolids management. Two years ago, the company acquired 14 acres to expand its Doswell rail transload yard, where it’s laying more than a […]
Banking | Finance 2024: THOMAS RANSOM
Ransom boasts 24 years in the banking industry. At BB&T he started as a commercial banker in 2020 and went on to become greater Washington, D.C., market president. After Truist formed in 2018 through a merger of BB&T and SunTrust Banks, Ransom went to Charlotte, North Carolina, as an executive vice president before returning to […]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: DeETTE GRAY
After starting her career as a middle school math and science teacher, Gray’s interest in coding led her into the IT field, where she worked as a software developer. A former executive at Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, Gray has won the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association International Women’s Appreciation Award for promoting STEM […]
Law 2024: RANDALL S. PARKS
Parks joined Hunton & Williams, Hunton Andrews Kurth’s predecessor, after graduating from law school at the University of Virginia in 1988. He has served as the chair of the state’s second largest law firm’s executive committee since 2022. With 35 years of experience under his belt, Parks handles complex corporate transactions, especially information technology and […]
Law 2024: W. RYAN SNOW
Benjamin D. Leigh, the immediate past president of the Virginia Bar Association, administered the oath of office to Snow in January, installing him as the 136th president of the voluntary organization composed of Virginia-based lawyers, judges, law school faculty members and students. The VBA was founded in 1888 and advocates for legislation, offers continuing legal […]
