PAT DAVIS-HAGENS
Pat Davis-Hagens earned a reputation as a change agent after she presided over a successful turnaround at the Mercy Health Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati. When she was tapped for another such transformation, this time in Virginia, Davis-Hagens offered a measured promise to the senior leaders of the Bon Secours Mercy Health system: “I’ll come and […]
ERICA CARTER
Captaining Pennsylvania State University’s women’s swimming and diving team, Erica Carter learned valuable lessons from the “grueling, grinding sport” that have benefited her career at Kimley-Horn. “Swimming taught me tremendous time management skills, a really strong work ethic and how to achieve goals as a team,” says Carter. In 24 years, Carter has assumed various […]
KIM SNYDER
Fewer than one in five C-suite positions in financial services are held by women globally, according to Deloitte. But Kim Snyder, founder and CEO of Roanoke-based banking software company KlariVis, defies the odds. After “many rewarding years in community banking,” a 2015 acquisition by BNC Bancorp displaced her from her job as chief financial officer […]
DANA WESTON GRAVES
Dana Weston Graves will never forget a meeting she had with a vendor who came in and started shaking hands and speaking to a man in the room whom he assumed was the hospital’s president. “It never occurred to him that the one woman in the room could be the hospital president,” Graves says. While […]
CONNIE NYHOLM
Connie Nyholm had never set foot on a racetrack until 1998, when she and Harvey Siegel decided to resurrect Virginia International Raceway. The duo came to motorsports after successful real estate careers, though their motivations differed; Siegel was a racing enthusiast and competed in vintage racing events all over the country, while Nyholm wanted to […]
NICOLE STUART
Top Guard Security President Nicole Stuart has one word to describe being a woman in her industry: lonely. “Because the security industry has always been male dominated, it was unquestionably more difficult to be accepted as a leader in the field,” Stuart says. But during the past three decades, she’s seen increases in the number […]
CANDICE LING
Although there’s a great sense of responsibility helping the federal government fulfill its mission, Candice Ling has also found government contracting work to be an incredible privilege. Serving as a trusted partner to federal agencies is something that must be earned, she says, and so it’s especially satisfying when she can work together with a […]
ELIZABETH ANN McCLANAHAN
When Elizabeth Ann McClanahan mentors younger people about how to achieve success, her advice is straightforward: “Showing up is 75% of it.” What she means, beyond the most literal interpretation, is showing up with passion, saying yes to every career opportunity that comes along, and taking the initiative to pursue those opportunities. McClanahan credits others […]
LINDA RABBITT
Linda Rabbitt’s career started in the classroom, teaching middle schoolers. But when she returned to work after her daughters were born, she took a role at KPMG, where she eventually moved up to become director of marketing. Entrepreneurship wasn’t on Rabbitt’s radar until she was approached by another woman who wanted to launch the first […]
Virginia Business wins three national journalism awards
Virginia Business won three national journalism awards June 21, placing silver in three categories at The Alliance of Area Business Publishers’ (AABP) 2024 Editorial Excellence Awards ceremony, held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The magazine took home a silver award in the Best Magazine Cover Category for the November 2023 cover, an AI-generated photorealistic illustration of […]
Virginia Business announces 2024 Va. CFO Awards winners
Virginia Business recognized some of the state’s top chief financial officers from nonprofits and businesses across the commonwealth Thursday at its 2024 Virginia CFO Awards ceremony. This year’s Virginia CFO Awards black-tie banquet — the largest annual gathering of CFOs in Virginia — was held at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. “Being nominated for these […]
Va. Chamber honors four execs with lifetime achievement awards
The Virginia Chamber of Commerce honored four Virginia business leaders with lifetime achievement awards during a May 16 ceremony at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. The honorees were: Carilion Clinic CEO Nancy Howell Agee; Michael Daniels, chairman of the board of CACI International; Benjamin Davenport Jr., chairman of the board of First Piedmont and Davenport […]




















