Recent Articles from Virginia Business
Agriculture 2025: KING, JOHN
After multinational food company Pilgrim’s Pride announced it was closing a Hinton poultry processing plant in 2004 — constituting a major hit to the local economy — Shenandoah Valley turkey growers formed the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative. The co-op employs 565 people and has 165 member-growers; 100% of VPGC’s profits go back to its growers. […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2025: CREEDON JR., MICHAEL C.
Creedon became permanent CEO of Dollar Tree in December 2024, after being appointed interim CEO the preceding month, when Rick Dreiling stepped down, citing health problems. Creedon joined the Fortune 500 discount retailer as chief operating officer in 2022, after over six years with Advance Auto Parts. Recent years have challenged the chain, which employed […]
Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2025: WEIHRAUCH, POUL
Since taking the reins at the candy and pet food giant in September 2022, Weihrauch has been aiming to double its sales by 2033. He joined Mars in 2000. With approximately $55 billion in 2024 sales, Mars is the largest privately held company in Virginia and the fourth largest in the nation, with approximately 150,000 […]
Media 2025: EASTRIGHT, JOSH
In 2018, Eastright was named CEO at Bloomberg Industry Group, a Bloomberg affiliate company. His career at Bloomberg began more than 25 years earlier, when he was a college intern. Eastright received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Amherst College. Bloomberg Industry Group employs more than 1,300 people, about 1,200 of whom work in […]
Media 2025: STEIB, MICHAEL
Steib succeeded David Lougee, who retired in August 2024, as president and CEO, as well as a board member, of the nation’s largest owner of NBC-affiliate TV stations. Steib, a University of Pennsylvania alumnus, came to Tegna after serving as CEO for Artsy, an online art marketplace. He’d previously served as president and CEO of […]
Media 2025: TILL, KELLY
After 24 years as an advertising executive with Tribune Publishing’s The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press, Till became the first female publisher in the 175-year history of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2022. She also serves as regional vice president of sales for the newspaper’s parent company, Lee Enterprises. Till joined Lee Enterprises in 2020 as vice […]
Media 2025: KERGER, PAULA
The longest-serving president and CEO in PBS’ 56-year history, Kerger has served as the public broadcaster’s leader since 2006, and in 2024, PBS’ board extended her contract five more years. She has grown it from traditional TV broadcasting to multiplatform digital media, with 330-plus member stations. Before joining PBS, Kerger was chief operating officer for […]
Media 2025: SWAIN, JAYME
Swain leads VPM, a network of television, radio and digital media outlets across Central Virginia and Shenandoah Valley that reaches nearly 2 million people. The foundation manages its endowment. Before joining VPM in 2019, Swain spent nearly a decade as senior vice president of strategy and operations at the Arlington- based Public Broadcasting Service. With […]
Media 2025: CARPENTER, JON
Since July 2022, Carpenter has been chief executive for Comscore, an analytics company that measures audience and consumer behaviors, along with advertising impact, across media platforms. Carpenter started his career at Comscore as chief financial officer in 2021, moving up to CEO. Previously CFO for Publishers Clearing House, Carpenter also served in senior divisional CFO […]
Insurance 2025: GAYNER, THOMAS S.
Gayner has led the Fortune 500 insurance holding company as its sole CEO since 2023, after serving more than six years as co-CEO with Richard Whitt III, who retired. Gayner oversees about 22,000 employees and three divisions: insurance, investments and Markel Ventures, which owns controlling interests in a portfolio of about 20 businesses. The CEO […]



















