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Virginia’s Gateway Region adds three localities to footprint
Virginia’s Gateway Region Economic Development Organization announced Thursday that its board of directors voted three additional Virginia localities — the city of Emporia, along with Greensville and Brunswick counties — into its geographic footprint. Based in Colonial Heights, the VGR is a private nonprofit economic development organization that works closely with the Virginia Economic [...]
UR students launch food startup — for school credit and profit
Lindsay Batten never thought she’d become a CEO before leaving college, but the University of Richmond senior is beginning her final semester as head of a brand-new startup. The company — which will produce a newly conceived pesto Caesar salad dressing called Envee — is the result of a marketing class focused on entrepreneurship, Bench […]
Former Bush White House staffer named Akima VP
Rachael Duffy, a former assistant press secretary in President George W. Bush’s administration, has joined Herndon-based federal contractor Akima as vice president of marketing, communications and government relations. An Alaska Native corporation that handles federal contracts for the for-profit NANA Regional business owned by Indigenous Iñupiat shareholders, Akima has more than 10,000 emp[...]
Breeden VP returns from retirement
Retired Breeden Co. executive Barry Tomlin has rejoined the Virginia Beach real estate development and property management company as its vice president of customer service and marketing, The Breeden Co. announced Dec. 5. Tomlin initially joined Breeden in 2007, working as vice president of property management at the time of his 2022 retirement. In his […]
Bassett Furniture names new chief marketing officer
Home furniture manufacturer and retailer Bassett Furniture has named Tony Chivari as its new chief marketing officer. Chivari has held similar positions with 1-800-Flowers.com, Gem Shopping Network and Things Remembered. “We are very excited to welcome Tony to the Bassett team as we continue our journey to become a national omnichannel provider of home furnishings,” […]
Woods Rogers returns to original name
Call it a strategy of going back to the future — the merged Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black law firm is shortening its name back to its original appellation of Woods Rogers, executives announced Monday. In 2022, Roanoke-based Woods Rogers merged with Vandeventer Black in Norfolk, creating the state’s fifth largest law firm, with more than […]
VCU revives Atlanta’s Creative Circus ad school
Editor’s note: The print version of this story in the May 2024 issue of Virginia Business incorrectly reported the amount of Virginia Commonwealth University’s purchase of the Creative Circus. VCU acquired Creative Circus’ branding and intellectual assets from Texas-based Ancora Education for $75,000. The potential bottom line wasn’t the sole motivator behind Virginia Commo[...]
Cavallo announces retirement
MullenLowe Global CEO Kristen Cavallo, formerly also CEO of Richmond-based marketing and advertising firm The Martin Agency, is retiring from her role to pursue political and social activism, MullenLowe and Martin parent Interpublic Group of Cos. (IPG) announced Monday. Cavallo became CEO of MullenLowe Global in November 2022 and continued to lead Martin until January, […]
Martin Agency has new CEO
Danny Robinson is taking over from Kristen Cavallo as CEO of The Martin Agency, parent Interpublic Group of Cos. announced Tuesday. Robinson has been chief creative officer of the Richmond-based ad agency since 2020. Cavallo has headed Martin for the past six years, and IPG named her global CEO of MullenLowe Group 14 months ago. […]
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 […]
‘Smokeless’ Snoop Dogg ad is Martin Agency creation
Known as much for his love of weed as for his music, celebrity rapper Snoop Dogg posted Thursday on X that he was “giving up smoke,” an announcement that raised eyebrows among some fans, while others figured it must be a marketing ploy. To be blunt, it was the latter, and Richmond’s The Martin Agency […]
W&M Law School hires comms, marketing officer
William & Mary Law School has named Doris Taylor as its first chief communications and marketing officer. Taylor began her new role June 12 and has primary responsibility for developing and executing strategic communication plans and initiatives to support the engagement and professional needs of the law school. Taylor was most recently interim director of […]
