2023 Virginia Business Person of the Year: Kristen Cavallo
In 2017, Kristen Cavallo and her son, Matt, then a student on spring break from James Madison University, set out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with a seven-day window to summit. Statistics from Kilimanjaro National Park, last updated in the 2000s, show a correlation between a route’s duration and success rate: Climbers on seven-day routes have […]
Benchmark Community Bank, parent announce next CEO
Kenbridge-based holding company Benchmark Bankshares and its bank, Benchmark Community Bank, will have a new leader at the start of the new year. Jay A. Stafford, president and CEO of the holding company and CEO of Benchmark Community Bank, will retire Dec. 31. He will also retire from the bank’s and company’s boards of directors, […]
Trader Interactive CEO Lori Stacy to retire
Trader Interactive CEO Lori Stacy will retire Dec. 14 and Chief Operating Officer David McMinn will succeed her in leading the Virginia Beach-based online marketplace for boats, recreational vehicles, motorcycles and other niche vehicles. Stacy, who has served as CEO since 2017, will take on the new position of chair of Trader Interactive’s board after […]
Brick Industry Association names new prez, CEO
The Reston-based Brick Industry Association has announced that Tricia Mauer will become its next president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2025. Mauer, who has served as the association’s vice president of membership and programs since 2016, will take over as chief operating officer for the organization on Jan. 1, 2024, and work in that position […]
Them’s the brakes
Total compensation for S&P 500 CEOs nationwide last year marked its smallest year-over-year increase since 2015, with pay increasing 0.9% from 2021. Here in Virginia, CEOs faced even greater headwinds — their total pay increased just 0.3% from 2021 to 2022, down from a 4.9% increase between 2020 and 2021. The slowdown was a result […]
VIPC leader to step down
Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. President and CEO Robert “Bob” Stolle will step down from his role in September after 13 years with the not-for-profit state corporation and its predecessor. Stolle became CEO of VIPC’s predecessor, the Center for Innovative Technology, in 2020. Before that, he was the economic development organization’s senior vice president for operations. […]
Virginia Housing CEO to retire
Virginia Housing CEO Susan Dewey will retire Dec. 31, after 24 years heading the Richmond-based authority. “Under Susan’s leadership, Virginia Housing made critical and timely strategic changes over the years to position us for success,” Bill Shelton, chairman of the Virginia Housing Board of Commissioners, said in a statement released Tuesday. “We thank her for […]
Stihl names new president, CEO
Virginia Beach-based chainsaw and outdoor power equipment manufacturer Stihl Inc. has announced a leadership shift a little more than a year after Terry Horan took on the role of president and CEO. Chris Keffer, senior vice president of sales and marketing, will become the company’s new president and CEO on August 4, replacing Horan, who […]
Wonder women
At an early June networking reception to celebrate this year’s Virginia Business Women in Leadership Awards winners, many in attendance pointed out how unusual it was for dozens of women executives from across various industries to join together in the same room. Held at law firm Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP’s Richmond office, the event […]
United Way of South Hampton Roads names new leader
Mark Uren will be the new president and CEO of the United Way of South Hampton Roads, the organization announced Tuesday. He starts in the role on July 17. Michele Anderson, the regional United Way’s previous CEO, left the organization in January. Kristel Fitzgerald, chief operating officer, and Kelsey Mohring, chief marketing and strategy officer, […]
Charlottesville regional chamber names prez and CEO
Natalie S. Masri will assume the role of president and CEO of the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce on June 1, the chamber announced Tuesday. She succeeds Andrea Copeland, who has served as the chamber’s interim president since February and will become the chamber’s chief operating officer. Masri most recently founded Brave May LLC, a […]
SAIC announces CEO transition
Nazzic S. Keene, CEO of Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), will retire in October, the Reston-based Fortune 500 contractor announced Thursday. She will be succeeded by former Microsoft Corp. executive Toni Townes-Whitley, also formerly president of CGI Federal. Townes-Whitley will become CEO-elect on June 12, taking the helm of a company exceeding $7 billion in […]