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Recent Articles from Virginia Business
Education 2024: MAJ. GEN. DONDI E. COSTIN (U.S. AIR FORCE, RET.)
Costin, a retired 32-year Air Force veteran who went on to serve five years as president of Charleston Southern University, became president of Liberty in July 2023 during a time of turmoil. The private evangelical university was rocked by the 2020 ouster of former President and Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr., the late founder’s son, and […]
Retail 2024: WARREN THOMPSON
Thompson’s start as an entrepreneur came as a teen, when he purchased and ran his family’s hog farm in Windsor. He now heads the largest minority-owned food and facilities management corporation in the nation, which he founded in 1992 with the purchase of 31 Bob’s Big Boy restaurants. Thompson Hospitality provides dining services for more […]
Banking | Finance 2024: GWEN FAW
In April, Faw, who has worked at Wells Fargo for close to three decades, was named the regional executive for the greater Virginia market, a territory that spans from Virginia Beach to Bristol. She replaced Janet M. Tope, who worked at Wells Fargo for more than 35 years before retiring this spring. Faw, who lives […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2024: NEEL DESAI
Desai joined LTD Hospitality Group in 1998 as the second generation of the family-owned hotel development and management company co-founded by Desai’s father in 1983. As a managing principal, he oversees property management and the profitability of its portfolio. Following in those entrepreneurial footsteps, Desai in 2021 invested in Dallas-based fast food franchise Super Chix […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2024: MICHAEL GEORGE
A 40-year hospitality industry veteran, George founded Crescent Hotels & Resorts in 2001. The company operates more than 100 hotels and resorts in the U.S and Canada. Its hotel portfolio includes Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt brands, along with the Latitudes: Lifestyles by Crescent collection of independent hotels and resorts. In May, Crescent added the dual-branded […]
Federal Contractors | Technology 2024: WILLIAM H. ‘BILL’ DEAN
In August 2023, Dean opened the doors to a new, 168,000-square-foot building on his company’s manufacturing campus in Caroline County, completing a five-year, $63 million phase three expansion that created more than 500 jobs in Virginia. It’s just the latest development for Dean, who grew the relatively small business that his grandfather started in 1949 […]
Health Care 2024: DR. K. CRAIG KENT
Since joining UVA Health in 2020, Kent, a vascular surgeon who grew up in Nevada, has overseen significant expansion of the integrated health system. With University of Virginia President Jim Ryan, Kent helped establish the $350 million Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology, which broke ground in late 2023. Recognizing Kent’s work, members of […]
Health Care 2024: DR. MARLON LEVY
Levy has held his interim posts for nearly two years since Virginia Commonwealth University leadership pushed Dr. Art Kellermann to resign. Kellermann’s November 2022 exit came shortly before news broke in 2023 that VCU Health had paid approximately $73 million to back out of a $325 million development project that Kellermann warned against. Levy appeared […]
Real Estate 2024: MARK DAVID EIN
Founded in 1972, Kastle Systems is a building and security systems provider that employs 700 people, including more than 100 Virginians. An investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Ein also is a minority owner of the Washington Commanders as of 2023. Ein is founder and owner of MDE Sports, which owns the Mubadala Citi DC Open tennis […]
Real Estate 2024: CARL L. HARDEE
Hardee has been with Lawson Cos. for more than half of its 52-year tenure, and he became president and CEO in 2016. He oversees a 190-employee real estate company specializing in the development, construction and management of affordable, low-income and market-rate multifamily housing communities. Although the company got its start in Hampton Roads and still […]
