Resetting the bar
Two venerable Virginia law firms — Roanoke‘s Woods Rogers PLC and Norfolk‘s Vandeventer Black LLP — combined forces in July 2022, creating the state’s fifth largest firm, Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black PLC, based in Roanoke. It’s a true statewide firm, with branch offices in Norfolk, Richmond, Lynchburg and Charlottesville, in addition to locations in Kitty […]
Lego to hire 500 Chesterfield employees by year’s end
The Lego Group plans to hire approximately 500 people for its $1 billion Chesterfield County manufacturing facility by the end of this year, according to the Danish toymaker’s head of talent operations in the Americas, Karra McCormack. Lego expects to create more than 1,760 jobs over 10 years. The company and Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced […]
Arlington hires new economic development director
Arlington Economic Development‘s new director is Ryan Touhill, Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz announced Monday. Touhill will assume the role on Nov. 28. He succeeds Shannon Flanagan-Watson, who has been serving as interim director since Telly Tucker announced he was leaving to return to Danville, where he became president of the Institute for Advanced Learning […]
Stihl names finance VP
Virginia Beach-based chainsaw and outdoor power equipment manufacturer Stihl Inc. has named Uwe Hirsch its vice president of finance, effective Nov. 7. Hirsch will plan, direct and control the company’s financial plans and will support IT operations and system implementations. He was most recently global vice president of finance, controlling and purchasing in the automotive […]
Chesterfield Carvana facility opens with 240 employees
Fortune 500 used car online retailer Carvana Co. is more than halfway to its 400-employee hiring goal for its $25 million, 191,000-square-foot Chesterfield County inspection center, General Manager Robert Sheets said Wednesday at the center’s ribbon cutting. Carvana has hired 240 employees and expects to reach 400 workers when it begins full production later this […]
Virginia Transformer Corp. launches EV charger module
Roanoke-based power transformer manufacturer Virginia Transformer Corp. has entered the electric vehicle market by launching a manufacturing division to create components for commercial electric vehicle power chargers, with plans to expand the initiative, the company announced Monday. Commercial customers can build self-contained, scalable power modules from VTC’s new product, E2V. The unit [...]
Prince George County hires economic development director
Prince George County has appointed Panayiotis “Yoti” Jabri its director of economic development, effective Aug. 1. Jeff Stoke, who became the county’s administrator on April 12, selected Jabri as his successor. “We are very pleased to be able to appoint Mr. Jabri to this very important county position,” Stoke said in a statement. “He has […]
Need a job? Fairfax wants you
In the past two years, despite the pandemic, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority attracted more than 5,000 people to eight career fairs. The website for the workforce initiative — workinnorthernvirginia.com — lists jobs, internships and training opportunities from more than 500 companies and is getting 45,000-plus views per month, the EDA says. “We’re really […]
Amazon HQ2’s Ardine Williams retires — again
Ardine Williams, vice president of HQ2 workforce development for Amazon.com Inc., has retired — again — Amazon confirmed this week. Williams, who had been one of Amazon’s most high-profile Virginia executives, was leading the effort to hire 25,000 workers by 2030 for Amazon’s multibillion-dollar HQ2 East Coast headquarters in Arlington. So far, about 5,000 HQ2 […]
Sentara Healthcare names new general counsel
Earl Barnes will join Sentara Healthcare as its general counsel on June 2, the Norfolk-based health system announced Tuesday. Barnes previously was executive vice president and chief legal officer for Chicago-based Amita Health. In that role, he managed the legal, compliance, audit and risk departments, leading a 60-person team and managing a $10 million annual […]
Norfolk Tourism Foundation names new director
The Norfolk Tourism Foundation and VisitNorfolk announced Thursday that Kelsey Backe is the foundation’s new director. “I am thrilled to be able to join the Norfolk Tourism Foundation and to put my skills to use supporting our current hospitality workers, our future hospitality workers and tourism research initiatives that will help our community invest wisely […]
Roanoke College selects next president
Roanoke College‘s next president will be Frank Shushok Jr., the college announced Tuesday. Shushok, Virginia Tech‘s vice president for student affairs, will succeed Michael C. Maxey, who served as president for 15 years and is retiring in July, to become the school’s 12th president. “I am thrilled to welcome President-elect Frank Shushok to the Maroon […]





















