Sign In
Free Newsletter
Recent Articles from Virginia Business
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: BALTIMORE JR., THOMAS J.
Park Hotels & Resorts fell off the Fortune 1000 list this year, after ranking No. 957 in 2024. The lodging real estate investment trust reported more than $2.59 billion in 2024 revenues, down from more than $2.69 billion in 2023. Nonetheless, it had a 2.9% year-over-year increase in comparable and total revenue per available room. […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: CARROLL, JAMES
A former Navy fighter pilot with a Harvard MBA, Carroll parlayed his financial management expertise into running one of the largest independent hotel operators in the country. Founded in 2000, Crestline Hotels & Resorts operates about 18,300 rooms in 28 states and Washington, D.C. In January, the company announced its acquisition of Five Senses Hospitality‘s […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: MCCLENNY, RITA
A Southampton County native, McClenny has been working to bring tourism and film productions to Virginia since 1991. She ran Virginia Film Office, a division of the Virginia Tourism Corp., for two decades before becoming president of the state agency in 2012. As Virginia Film Office head, McClenny was responsible for bringing high-profile TV and […]
Health Care 2025: JONES, DR. J. STEPHEN
Jones has led Inova Health since 2018. The Northern Virginia health system employs approximately 25,000 people across its five hospitals and numerous other facilities, including the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Jones previously led Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals and Family Health Centers. The editor of an American […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: GEORGE, MICHAEL
A 40-year hospitality industry veteran, George founded Crescent Hotels & Resorts in 2001. The company operates more than 120 properties in the U.S and Canada. Its hotel portfolio includes Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and InterContinental Hotels Group brands, along with the Latitudes: Lifestyles by Crescent collection of independent hotels and resorts. In 2024, the company announced […]
Health Care 2025: SAMPSON, AMY
Since 2023, Sampson has led Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, where she oversees 4,000 employees. She has worked for the pediatric health system for about 35 years. Established in 1961, CHKD offers neonatal and pediatric intensive care, cancer care, acute inpatient rehabilitation, and medical and surgical care, as well as transitional care. Additionally, the […]
Health Care 2025: MATHEIS, DENNIS
Matheis has led Sentara Health, a not-for-profit health system with 12 hospitals in Virginia and North Carolina, since 2022, overseeing more than 34,000 workers. Sentara broke ground in October 2024 on a $107 million, 42-bed acute care hospital in South Boston expected to open in summer 2026. After the health system said in April it […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: EVANGELISTA, ALLIE
A native of Brazil, Evangelista arrived in Bristol in 2022 with more than 20 years of experience in hospitality and gaming. She previously worked for Penn National Gaming and joined Hard Rock to lead the state’s first casino, which opened three years ago in a temporary home. Since then, the $515 million Hard Rock Hotel […]
Health Care 2025: FRIEDLANDER, MICHAEL J.
As founder and head of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Friedlander leads 40 research teams with more than 450 faculty, staff and students working together to solve major health challenges, including brain disorders, heart disease and cancer. Under his leadership, the institute, which was founded in 2010, had been awarded more than $379 […]
Hospitality | Tourism 2025: DESAI, NEEL
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 invested in Dallas-based fast food franchise Super Chix Chicken & Custard[...]
